Professional or Amateur, which are YOU?

Are you professional or amateur Professional or amateur, which are you? Here are some thoughts on the differences between professionals and amateurs. If you do whatever you do as a business then you really should be acting like a professional even if you are currently not making enough money as you would like! These tips have been borrowed from well known writer and trainer Jeff Goins and modified slightly.

Please feel free to agree or disagree.

Amateurs wait for clarity but Professionals take action

You have to know who you are before you can work out what you want to do. If you want to be an artist then call yourself an artist and then perfect your skills, don’t wait for someone else to label you as an artist.

Amateurs want to arrive but Professionals want to get better

You need to become a student long before you get to be a master. You need to be around people who know, and allow yourself to be taught by those people. If not then you will delude yourself that you are better than you actually are!

Amateurs practise as much as they have to but Professionals never stop

You may need to practise even when it hurts. It’s not enough to just turn up each day, you must challenge yourself. It is also said that frequency beats quantity so practise regularly not for long periods with long breaks in between.

Amateurs leap for their dreams but Professional build bridges

You have to build a bridge not just jump into the unknown. Work is a marathon, not a sprint and you need to take time to get to where you are going. People often say ‘stick at it’ but what is the ‘it’. It is the person i.e. you not the thing that you are actually trying to do. This may change over time.

Amateurs fear failure but Professional embrace it

You need to learn from your failures. Some talk about failing frequently. In an ideal world, we would not fail, we would simply make the best choices on our way through life. However, most of us will fail at something at some point in time. Be ready to learn from it and move on, it is not the end of the world.

Amateurs learn a skill but Professionals create a portfolio

You should master more than one skill. This is not a call to be a jack of all trades but rather to be a master of some (not one or none!). If you work on your own you will be a skilled person (say a mechanic) but you may also be a master of marketing (getting work in) or sales (selling more to your customers). The more skills you can master the more flexible your business can be and the more opportunities you will be able to take.

Amateurs want to be noticed but Professional want to be remembered

You must worry more about legacy then ego. Don’t think about the quick win but think about where your business is heading. Are you working towards your next book deal, speaking at a big trade conference or perhaps looking to take on a big fleet contract for your garage business? Look beyond today’s instant gratification and plan for long term success.

So how about it? Professional or amateur?