Are you an Amateur or a Pro?
Are you struggling with meeting your goals or simply getting stuff done? Have you ever looked at others: a friend, a colleague, someone “famous” in your field, and wonder why they are having success and you aren’t? One reason may simply be that the other person treats their work like a professional, and you are treating yours like an amateur. You may have to learn how to be a pro. In fact, the mindset and action of treating your work like a professional may be the single biggest factor in helping you get to where you want to be.
Being a Professional has Nothing to do with Money
The distinction between pro and amateur is not based on whether you are getting paid or not. You may be getting paid, or you may not, but that is irrelevant. The distinction lies in the mindset and action you bring to your endeavor.
Being a pro starts with proper mindset. Its a mindset that requires and begs for dedication to your vision and your work. Its a mindset that knows that beating the Resistance is about consistency and taking action. Its a mindset that understands the principles of the Slight Edge and the Compound Effect. Its a mindset that prioritizes correctly.
Amateur vs Pro
Because of my own experience and journey, I am a big believer in awareness, and that awareness is usually the first step that leads to the “Aha!” moment. It’s usually the set of arms that are swinging the sledgehammer at our old selves. With that in mind, I want to help you become aware of Amateur vs Professional behavior. Here are some differences between the two. Maybe some of these will resonate with you.
- The amateur works at something when its convenient…Whereas, the pro prioritizes and commits consistent time to do the work, even when its very inconvenient.
- The amateur works at it when they feel inspired…Whereas, the pro works at it even when they have no inspiration. They continue to take the action, and they realize the inspiration comes through the action.
- The amateur invests in the project with spare money…Whereas, the pro prioritizes the required financial investment over other things in their life.
- The amateur rarely takes action on improvement or learning and rationalizes why he/she cannot…Whereas, the pro realizes that self improvement, learning, and skill development are critical.
- The amateur is OK with letting the Resistance and the fear win sometimes…Whereas, the pro recognizes the Resistance and its clouds of doom, and works at overcoming it.
- The amateur is non-committal and wandering…Whereas, the pro is definitive and purposeful.
How to Be a PRO
Now you are aware. Actually, you were likely already aware, but now you have been explicitly reminded and called to the carpet. What’s next? How do actually become a pro? What are the skills or actions necessary to be a pro? Here are 5 great ones with which you can start:
1. Make a Decision
You must commit to the vision, and in order to do that, you must DECIDE to make that commitment. What is it that you WANT to become a pro at? Or…What is it that you NEED to become a pro at? Make that decision.
2. Prioritize Your Life
You MUST make your vision a PRIORITY, and then prioritize your resources accordingly. This means specifically prioritizing your:
- Time: Spend your time on important things. Simply say no to things that don’t make the priority list.
- Money: You may have to forgo other shiny things in order to prioritize your money properly.
- Mind: You must stay focused. There is only so much brain effort that you can give, so make sure you are giving your vision the right amount of brain power.
3. Invest
Invest in yourself, things, experiences, and others that are involved in your journey. It is critical that you become the best that you can be at whatever it is that is required for your vision. You must learn the skills you need to be a pro at your work. Invest in coursework, or a coach, or an event, or inventory, or the right food, or the right partners, etc. INVEST according to where you WANT to BE, not according to where you are presently.
4. Commit to Daily Routine Based on Actions (Not Results)
Get yourself a daily routine (here’s my morning routine). One key to effective daily work planning is to ensure that your task list is filled with things TO DO, not the results. The intended results have been worked out previously and show up in the plan. They are the purpose of the plan. The daily work schedule focuses on the things you need to do today, and everyday, to reach the goals. You make a routine and commit to it everyday. It’s the Slight Edge and Compound Effect in action. Here are some examples:
- If you are working on a fitness or health goal, you don’t focus on “lose 3 pounds today”. Instead you focus on things like, “1) Prepare my lunch, snack, and nutrition supplements for the day, 2) 60 minute workout at lunch time, 3) Drink 8 glasses of water, etc…”
- If you are writing a book, you don’t focus on how much final content you get done in a day. Instead you focus on setting a time to sit down and write, and a length of time at which you will work at it. Maybe the “length of time” is really “number of pages”, but if so that number of pages is simply stuff you’ve written. You don’t burden yourself with ensuring it’s final copy worthy.
- If you are working on your business, you don’t focus your daily plan on “Acquire 10 new customers today”. You can only control how much work you do, not who will respond favorably, so instead you focus on the actions that lead to acquiring the new customers. Maybe that’s making phone calls with new leads and following up with other people with whom you’ve already spoken. So your daily plan would include things like: “1) From 10-11am: Call 20 new leads, 2) From 11-11:30, follow up with 10 potential customers”.
5. Wake Up Everyday With Purpose, Kick it in the Teeth, and Execute the Plan
Go do it! And most importantly, go do it on the days that you don’t want to!
Conclusion
One key to making progress in your business and your life will be understanding the difference between being an amateur vs a pro, and determining exactly how to be a pro for your endeavor. To summarize some of the areas in which you can learn to be a pro:
- Make a decision to be a pro
- Prioritize your life accordingly
- Invest properly
- Commit to a daily routine
- Wake up every day with purpose and execute the plan
Maybe you’re not ready to jump in with both feet yet, and that’s OK. Maybe a little training is in order. Here’s something concrete you can do to help train your mind (and body) to become a professional. This is not likely to be THE thing that you need for your particular vision, but it’s an outstanding training tool. Reach out to me on Facebook or email and I would love to add you to our group!
