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Renowned artist Chuck Close’s said one of the most profound quotes to finding success in anything you want in life.
“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.”
No matter who you are, you can become a professional.
You don’t need a fancy degree or a perfect SAT score.
What you do need is the willpower to change your attitude, and the hunger to expand your skills, no matter how small the task may be.
Here is what a professional does not do:
- Complains about their pay but does nothing to change their habits, increase their skills, or go above and beyond their job title.
- Constantly whines that they hate their job or they are not being “fulfilled”.
- Daydreams about the weekend instead of getting to work.
- Never takes ownership. Everything is someone else’s fault, always.
- Has zero self-awareness. Always thinks they are “above” their current position.
Do the exact opposite of these examples and you will begin to understand what a true professional is.
Before I dive deeper, there is something you need to understand. A professional who has not reached what they feel is their full potential, must constantly be working to get better.
Most people who graduate with a degree, expect life to hand them amazing opportunities. Then whine and complain when things don’t go their way. Thinking tasks are beneath them.
What do they do about it?
Sit at home and play video games or scroll through Instagram all day. They Complain to their mom who they still live with. Or worse, go back to school and get another degree filled with false promises and insurmountable debt that they will never payback.
This is what amateurs do.
Every job, no matter how small, is an opportunity. Do your very best in every situation.
You have to scrub toilets to pay the rent?
Be the best toilet scrubber that ever walked the face of the earth.
You have to push paper all day?
Be the best in the office. The most accurate, organized, timely paper pusher to ever step foot in your office.
Or if you’re like most people they are just small jobs you hate to do and put off.
Change the way you approach it and give 100%
Why would you want to do this with any minuscule task?
You are building your professional muscle. Your reputation, integrity, and work ethic will grow each day. You will be prepared for the moments when you are promoted or finally open that business.
There’s a reason you hear so many stories of individuals who started in the mail room and ended up in the corner office.
They were a professional from the day they walked into that mailroom.
Here’s what it means to be a professional.
They Do Their Job Even When They Don’t Feel Like It
One of the longest standing bands of all time is U2.
If you are a millennial, then you may just recognize them as the annoying band who automatically plays when your iPhone connects to your car’s Bluetooth speaker.
It’s so annoying.
Yet, they’ve actually been touring since 1979.
I am sure their lead singer, Bono, would rather get punched in the face then have to play “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” or “Beautiful Day” again.
I’m sure he’s completely and utterly sick of those songs.
But guess what, Bono is a professional. So he gets up and plays those songs for raging fans across the globe.
This is what it means to be a professional. It doesn’t matter how you feel, it matters what you do.
Nobody in this world cares what you “feel like”.
They are Extremely Consistent
Lebron James, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, is known for his exhausting training methods.
He is constantly either training, recovering, or fueling his body with “clean” meals that will guide him to peak performance.
What Lebron James is really good at is consistency.
He shows up every day.
He is relentless with his regimens and doesn’t take down time unless it is premeditated and strategic.
I am sure that there are plenty of days that Lebron does not want to train. He’s physically and mentally exhausted. The thought of shoving another piece of chicken into his mouth makes him want to gag.
Yet he shows up in every situation because that’s what a professional does. They are radically focused on being consistent.
The big picture never comes together if you don’t show up.
They Don’t Complain When Things Don’t Go Their Way.
No matter what work you do in life, you are going to run into some major obstacles.
When I was in high school, I had multiple lung surgeries.
When searching for my Cardiothoracic Surgeon (lung surgeon) I was not looking for a person who only operated when she/he felt like it.
I am looking for a professional. A physician who gets up and operates on my lung even if he doesn’t feel like it.
Imagine that same physician in the middle of surgery, says “performing this lung surgery does not fulfill me”.
That would be insane.
A professional pushes through any obstacle that may come along. They handle it with a steady hand. Maintaining composure with every step.
Obstacles are inevitable. You have to plan for them. One way to do this become aware that they are very real.
Become comfortable with how you will handle obstacles. Come up with a plan, but understand it won’t be perfect because more obstacles will arise.
You know what? Scratch that. Prepare for none of it to work.
The person who does this will have the advantage over anyone who lives in candy land and things their work life will be roses and rainbows.
The only way to overcome things that are not going your way is to attack them head on. Take a deep breath. Gather your thoughts. Think about what step one is to get through the problem.
Then take actions and complete step one.
Do the same thing for step two. Then three and so on..
Soon you will chisel your way through the problem like a professional. You handled it calm, cool and collected.
They Control Their Nerves
Everyone gets nervous at work.
It could be because you have to give a speech or submit an important spreadsheet to an executive.
The difference between a professional and just another employee is steadying those nerves.
I think former president Theodore Roosevelt said it best:
What such a man needs is not courage but nerve control, cool-headedness. This he can only get by practice.
Theodore Roosevelt
Showing confidence while everyone else stutters at the boss’s hard questions. Diving headfirst into the problem instead of running away from it.
Taking on the department presentation as a challenge to grow. Putting yourself (strategically) in uncomfortable situations to steady those nerves.
The more you practice, the better you will become.
Let’s be honest, most people act like they know what they are doing.
If you actually know what you are doing and can portray what you know in a controlled manner, you have become a professional.
Andrew is the host of The Personal Finance Podcast, a show that is changing the way you think about your money. His primary goal with the podcast is to bring as much value as possible to his listeners.
Andrew's favorite free financial tool he's been using since 2014 to manage his net worth is Personal Capital. Each month he uses their free Investment Checkup tool and Retirement Planner to track his investments and ensure that he's on the fast track to financial freedom.
His favorite investment platform is M1 Finance, a site that allows him to build a custom portfolio of stocks for free. It has no trading fees and is his preferred way to invest without having to lift a finger.
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