Show Up Consistently (Productive Flourishing Pulse #500)
It's the best way to do anything that matters
I got tagged in to write today’s Pulse and I’ve been struggling with what to say, because the number 500 doesn’t mean a whole lot to me and honestly felt like a forced milestone. I just do what I do and it adds up over time.
But it’s when I thought more about what 500 Pulses meant that its significance hit me:
500 weekly digests means we’ve consistently been shipping a weekly drop for over ten years if you count intentional pauses. (I’ve been publishing since 2007, but didn’t start a weekly newsletter until later.)
That’s ten years of grappling with the doubts and uncertainties about whether the form of the Pulse is right and if it’s worth doing weekly — but showing up anyway.
That’s ten years of experimenting, adding, subtracting, switching, and wondering — but showing up anyway.
That’s ten years of having enough people read, respond, like, save, bookmark, share, and fund the work — and showing up with us as we try new things with the Pulse.
That’s ten years of the Pulse being the steady heartbeat of connection between us.
People have told me over the years that, for them, the Pulse is a weekly moment to be reminded that they can show up and do their best work, today and this week, even if they don’t read anything but the subject line. The wiser part of me knows to pay attention to that reader feedback more than the number of comments, likes, and engagement with the Pulse that we can see via the backend.
When I think about these aspects of the Pulse, I can find that wonder, excitement, and appreciation about 500 of them being out there in the world. I’m not sure if we’ll always have a Pulse — or if it even survives the year — but I look forward to having some kind of at-least-weekly connection for the next few decades.
The Pulse thus parallels a broader principle: I may never really know the best way to show up, but I know the best way to do anything that matters is to show up consistently.
You each have your own version of the Pulse. I hope our showing up continues to help you show up, too.
It adds up over time.
~Charlie
Take a Moment
A prompt to pause and reflect.
What’s one thing that matters to you that you keep showing up for? What’s one thing that matters to you that you want to show up more consistently for?
We’d love to hear what’s coming up for you.
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The first Pulse in my email archive has the number 138. Since then I have an alarm set not to miss any of your weekly newsletters. Hell ya. Thanks to those words you & your team put together. They saved lives.
That's a bold and thoughtful statement — "It's the best way to do anything that matters." It suggests that the method or mindset you're referring to is essential for meaningful work or life purpose. https://www.dogtranslator.net