I just watched the old Keanu Reeves movie Hardball (highly recommend, by the way—it’s like Miracle meets the Sandlot). Anyway, there’s a quote in it that really resonated with me: "One of the most important things in life is showing up. Show up through everything that’s going on." It’s a simple statement, but I think it highlights the most critical (and potentially only) key to success.

When you show up, no matter what, you’re laying the foundation for success. Life, work, and startups (where I, and probably you if you’re trying out Article, focus my time) are filled with ups and downs, setbacks, challenges, and moments when quitting feels like not only the easy option, but the right option. The key to weathering these storms? Consistently showing up. Just pushing through day in and day out is half the battle. In my experience, passion combined with consistency is a recipe for eventual success. No shortcuts, just showing up and putting the work in, even when it feels tough. Even when it feels like you’ll never succeed from where you’re at now. I think the people (and teams) that show up and keep pushing, no matter the obstacles in their path, almost always end up finding a winning path in the end.

About Me

I’m the Founder of Tatem (tatem.com), and our journey has been full of highs and lows, but through it all we’ve kept showing up. It’s gotten us to where we are now, and I’m confident it will take us a lot further in the years to come.

In 2025, I’ll be sharing more insights and thoughts on Twitter (@crlaferla). If you’re interested in hearing more about startups, leadership, and the hard-fought lessons I’ve learned thus far, you’ll find me there writing quite a bit more. Maybe here too, who knows.