“Honesty and integrity are by far the most important assets of an entrepreneur.” -Zig Ziglar

Don’t say we might be able to make it or I think we should be there. Tell the truth. You’re not coming. We all know it anyway so you might as well say it. Don’t feel bad for hurting someone else’s feelings. It would hurt worse if you said you’d be there and never showed up.

If you’re upfront with someone you don’t need an excuse. You don’t need to explain yourself and you especially don’t need to lie. Honesty is key. If you become known for being flaky and for telling people you’ll be somewhere and never showing up, people won’t trust you. If they don’t trust you they’ll never help you and they sure as hell will never do business with you. If you tell someone you’ll be somewhere — be there. If you ask them to lunch sometime this week set that date right away. Put everything on your calendar so you don’t forget. Make sure you let that person know you’re committed to seeing them and taking time out of your schedule. By doing this you hold the other person accountable to show up as well. It helps both parties in the end.

Think back to a time when you asked a friend to hangout over the weekend or a colleague to go out to dinner and they let you know the day of that they couldn’t come or, better yet, they never showed up? How did that make you feel? Pretty fucking pissed I’m sure. Now imagine that same situation but instead of promising they’ll be there they let you know that day won’t work. They then proceeded to pull out their phone and add your time/event to their calendar. Not only do you know they’re committed to coming but you also are inspired by their actions. You feel special. You know exactly what day and time they’ll be there. They immediately become a trustworthy person.

So next time you tell someone you’re going to be somewhere you better be there. It’s simple really — all you have to do is show up.

“Eighty percent of success is showing up.” -Woody Allen