Being a professional is hard. It means showing up fully when you do want to. When you are grumpy, tired, and would rather stay in bed. It means practicing daily, often more than once a day. Doing things you’d rather not or don’t enjoy. It also means saying no to a huge number of things. Saying no to family, friends, cake, and so on.
Becoming a professional requires dedication, accountability, and determination. It looks different depending on what kind of professional you are becoming. But one thing is common – it doesn’t work to be a professional ‘when you feel like it’. Becoming and being a professional doesn’t happen randomly.
Becoming a professional requires practice, some even say 10,000 hours of it. But I don’t know. I don’t think counting hours helps. Being a professional is a mindset. It doesn’t matter if you are an athlete, businesswoman, artist, humanitarian, writer, doctor, dentist, change maker, carpenter, or farmer. Being a professional is a choice. A choice made multiple times everyday.
And here’s the thing. We want to work with and be served by people who have turned pro. Why do we think those that interact with us want anything different?
The choice is up to us.
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