Eighty percent of success is just showing up.

The line is widely attributed to Woody Allen and is most often traced to his reflections on work and reliability in the entertainment business—where auditions, rehearsals, and production schedules reward the person who consistently turns up and is ready. It circulated broadly in print and speech as a compact piece of practical advice about professional life, especially in creative fields where talent is common but dependability is not. Although frequently quoted in motivational contexts, it originally functions less as a self-help maxim than as a wry, experience-based observation about how opportunities accrue to those who make themselves available.

The quip reframes “success” as less a product of extraordinary talent than of consistent participation. “Showing up” implies punctuality, preparedness, and the willingness to be present through uncertainty, boredom, or fear—traits that, over time, create opportunities and compound into achievement. The humor lies in the blunt reduction of a complex outcome to a simple habit, but the underlying point is serious: many ambitions fail not because of lack of ability, but because people withdraw before effort can accumulate. It also hints at Allen’s recurring theme that life rewards endurance and engagement more than grand plans.

1) “Eighty percent of life is showing up.”
2) “Ninety percent of life is just showing up.”