80 Perecent of Success

Woody Allen once said, "80 percent of success is just showing up."  Or something like that. 
I remember the first time I heard the quote - it wasn't exactly 80 percent but I still got the meaning.  I wasin an advertising class at SUNY New Paltz.  Our professor had been a suit at a big ad firm on Madison Avenue in New York City but seemed to favor leather jackets and motorcylces at his new job.
He had a fervent outlook on life - especially when it came to young people finding their footing in the world.  He delighted us with anecdotes about the "real" working world and what we could expect from our bosses and coworkers.  He warned us about the perils of working with "creative types" (they aren't driven by the bottom line) and CEOs (they're driven by the bottom line).  But the stories and quotes I enjoyed most from him were the ones that reminded us to be active participants in our own lives. 
On our first day of class a girl showed up and asked to be considered for a spot in the class,which was completely full and had not even an extra desk for her to sit at.That's when he said to us, "I'm going to let you in to this class.  I want you all to remember," he said speaking to the entire class now "95 percent of success is just showing up.  She showed up today." He told us that the great Woody Allen had authored the quote.   Our professor would go on to inject Woody Allen's words into his lessons throughout the semester.  He would also continue to remind us that "showing up is half the battle."
I took that quote with me over the past decade and it's meant different things to me at different times.  Now I understand it to mean that showing up is the hardest part and once you've done that the rest will come (or it won't).  Today I showed up.  I went there.  I gave it a shot.  I didn't sit in my car and think about the reasons I shouldn't go in.  I didn't hunt for an excuse to reschedule or cancel altogether.  I don't know if things will pan out because I "showed up" but I do know that both my professor and Woody Allen would be very proud of me today.