The Art of Showing Up

After a brief break from the basketball season, I’m back to work this week.

I used this time to reflect and gain some perspective on the frustrations of the past few weeks.

I couldn’t help but think back to where I was at this same point last season:

• A small role on the team

• Frustrated with my performance

• Determined not to return to Lisbon

• Hungry for change

Looking back, I realize how far I’ve come in just one year.

So, what changed?

I made the decision to show up every single day—not just physically, but with intention. I chose to approach each day in a way that I knew would have a lasting impact on my life.

I didn’t know exactly how things would unfold, but I knew that showing up with purpose would change my life in ways I couldn’t predict.

For this week’s newsletter, I’ll share how I turned "showing up" into an art form and how this simple shift can change your life too.

Let’s dive in!

YouTube Contest Giveaway Winner

In my previous YouTube video, I made a giveaway for either a pair of Atypical paisley shorts or an Atypical “Principles” Collection T-shirt. The instructions of the giveaway were simple:

1. Like The Video

2. Comment the best poster you've ever seen

3. Subscribe to this newsletter

I got over 200 comments of various poster dunks and I am not going to lie, it made me feel so much better about getting dunked on haha

Here were my 4 finalist:

I picked a couple from different levels and different time periods, but one was clearly my favorite, and I think my favorite dunk of all time.

You guys know I am from Washington, so when I saw a Shawn Kemp, Seattle Supersonics comment, I was already pretty sold.

I had seen this dunk before, but this time watching it hit different.

The cuff, the landing, the power, and the double point at the end… iconic.

Seattle Supersonics legend.

So with that, the winner of the contest is:

@Luda_quin, please email me at [email protected] so that I can get your information and get your prize sent to you.

Thank you everybody for participating, this was a fun contest and I hope you guys found some cool poster dunks to reminisce on.

If you did not win, but still want to support the channel and get a piece of the Atypical “Principles” Merch Collection, you can pick some up here: LIVE ATYPICAL WEBSITE.

The Art of Showing Up

Show Up For Yourself First

In short, ‘showing up’ means striving to be the best version of yourself in everything you do.

This applies to your habits, your work, your relationships, and most importantly, yourself.

Back in February, I made a conscious decision to follow through on everything I told myself I would do. Whether it was waking up early for some alone time, getting in extra shots after practice, or committing to make a YouTube video every Sunday—I did it.

There was no room for negotiation. Sure, I still had those internal battles, but the decision had been made. The answer was simple: do whatever I knew was necessary. Every. Single. Time.

Was I 100% consistent? No. But close to 90%? Absolutely.

I committed to following through on my thoughts, plans, and promises—especially the ones I made to myself.

By doing this, I became solution-oriented rather than problem-obsessed.

Instead of overthinking what was wrong with my life, I started taking action to move it closer to how I wanted it to be.

Each time I took action, I built a stronger relationship with myself.

I was becoming who I had always told myself I could be.

I respected myself, so I followed through... or maybe it was the other way around—

I followed through, and in doing so, I began to respect myself.

Either way, the decision to follow through, the decision to ‘show up,’ was life-changing.

I was taking control of my life through action.

That daily effort to become the best version of myself became non-negotiable.

It was set in stone.

It became the foundation of my life moving forward.

I had my backbone back, and that foundation was getting stronger every day.

Now, it was time to really build.

How to Show Up

As I started living with the foundation and expectation that I would show up no matter what, I began evaluating how to maximize the value of my efforts.

At first, my default was to show up with grit and determination.

I thought that if I just worked as hard as possible, it would change my life.

So I asked myself:

How can I work as hard as humanly possible?

For a while, I believed that hard work was the ultimate answer—because it had worked for me in the past.

But this assumption started to be tested.

I began to feel my capacity to grind and push through start to break down.

Eventually, I just got tired and burned out.

Whether it was physical burnout from injuries, mental burnout from a decline in cognitive sharpness, or emotional burnout from feeling depressed, I realized that my motivation and energy had limits.

This forced me to rethink how I could sustain showing up as I continued to level up—because clearly, there was a natural limit to my work output.

So, how could I continue to scale my development?

That’s when I started to focus on directing whatever “work capacity” I had in the most efficient and beneficial way possible.

At this point in the year, I had gotten into yoga, and I was always curious as to why the instructor would ask the class to "set their intention" before class began.

What was the point of “intention setting” before starting the work?

As I reflected, I realized that setting your intention was simply about clarifying your broader purpose and goals. By doing this, you direct how your work will serve you best.

I realized that intention setting could be done before any action or work in order to serve me better.

It was really quite simple: Set your intention, have a clear purpose for your work, and build your path more consciously.

Each day, living with an explicit “why” allowed me to stack my days in a way that reinforced one another, instead of each day standing alone.

Along with this broader daily intention setting, I also started setting “micro-intentions” for every practice, every weight room session—literally everything I did to develop as a player and a person.

Now, my workouts had premeditated direction that I could revisit and base decisions on.

For example, before a practice, my intention might be to work on my fakes—pass fakes, head fakes, eye fakes, etc.

Sure, maybe I didn’t make every shot in practice, but did I experiment with different fakes? Yes, and in doing so, I got better in a very specific way.

Having that intention gave me a clear path to improve.

Now, my hard work had direction.

It was organized, and as a result, my progress went from scattered to accelerated, with clear focus.

Instead of taking 1,000 steps in 1,000 directions, I was now taking 500 steps in one direction.

The best part?

I was the one choosing the direction—each morning and before every step.

I had unlocked the power of intention.

There was an art to showing up beyond just raw action and hard work.

It was a game changer.

The Unexpected Outcome

I felt the difference right away.

Days became clearer, more purposeful.

I felt more awake and in control.

Showing up was the commitment.
Showing up with intention was the adjustment.
Momentum was the unexpected outcome.

Every day I showed up with intention, it became harder to imagine living without it.

The habit of setting intention reinforced itself, because I felt so much better each time I practiced it.

It became increasingly difficult to have bad days because I knew the decision I had to make every morning.

Momentum is all about consistency, and showing up with intention breeds that consistency.

I had accidentally discovered a habit that had momentum built right into it.

Conclusion

At this point last season, I went from averaging 9 points with poor efficiency to 15+ points on incredibly high efficiency.

I went from playing 15-20 minutes a game to playing 25+ minutes every single game during an undefeated playoff run.

In the biggest moments, I delivered.

In last year’s Finals, I averaged 18 points, shooting 50% from the field, 60% from three, and 90% from the free-throw line.

Since then, have I still had ups and downs in my performance? Of course.

But instead of being drastic, they’re much smaller. Slumps are shorter, and the emotions of bad moments aren’t as intense.

I believe the change happened because I now have a simple target to focus on each day, and I’m the one who gets to set it.

I chose to show up, and I choose how I show up.

Everything else is extra.

This is the art of showing up, and it’s how my life changed over the last year.

This Week’s YouTube Video

Another week trying everything to get healthy and produce at the level I know I am capable of.

Big week at that, we played our rivals Porto on the road in a battle for first place.

Check it out here:

I’ll Leave You With This:

I know a bit different then the normal newsletter structure, but hopefully my story of actualizing the power of intention will inspire you to search to do the same.

I truly think it is life-changing.

Show up every day.

Outline your why.

Attack your why.

Evaluate your day through the lense of your why.

Intentional living.

Intentional development.

Intentionally Atypical.

Love you guys,

Trey