The One Simple Thing Equated With Career Success That Few Will Do

If you ask the most successful and admired leaders the secret to their success, you might expect them to answer with a growth hack, a way to game the algorithm, or a shortcut guaranteed to take your business to the next level.

But as they’ll likely tell you, their “overnight success” is rarely that. Instead, it’s the culmination of many years of hard work and a deliberate choice to continue to show up, no matter what, day after day.

In other words, it’s all about consistency.

Successful people have the courage and grit to keep going even when they don’t feel like it. Or when they’ve suffered a setback. Or when things are going so well, they feel like it will last forever.

Is it simple? Yes. Is it easy? Definitely not, which is why so few actually do it and why it will set you apart.

Here are four ways embracing the power of consistency will propel your career:

1. It helps others understand your value

Consistency sends a message to the world about who you are and what you’re about. Without it, you run the risk of trying to be all things to all people. And doing so lowers your competitive advantage and waters down your offering. Worse, people won’t know what to think of you (if they think of you at all).?

Consistency is about aligning and maintaining your “voice” and look and feel in all your communications and interactions. It’s how you present yourself, engage with others and the way you move through the world. So much so that people come to expect and anticipate your specific point of view and unique perspective and understand how valuable you are.

2. It allows you to track your progress

The first time you do anything, you’ll probably be only so-so at it. Make your peace with that and focus on repeatedly and consistently putting in the reps, so you’ll improve over time. By sticking with it, you’ll establish a proven track record to document your results. Remember, practice brings progress, and if you give up too soon, you’ll never find success.

3. It demonstrates your commitment

When you continue to show up as yourself, and for others, you demonstrate your accountability as a leader and human being. Your consistency also means you’ll earn a rock-solid reputation as someone who always means what she says and says what she does. And that dependability helps build and maintain trust, the ultimate currency of business.

4. It raises your profile

Consistency is all about playing the long game, and resisting the latest trend du jour, chasing popularity. Taking small steps every day that align with and showcase your talents, putting them to their highest and best use, is the best way to build awareness of your personal brand.

When you consistently share your wisdom and demonstrate your value to others, you also bolster your “know, like, and trust” factor, making it easier and more desirable to work with you. Better yet, it raises your profile as a trusted thought leader in your field.

This article first appeared on Forbes.com. Find all my Forbes articles?here .

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