November 27th, 2012
Tuesday Tips (for living awesomely): Don’t Be An Amateur, Be A Pro.
One of my mentors, Marie Forleo, put out this awesome video on her blog a couple weeks ago, and I want to share it with you…because it rocks. And is super important. And it made me feel good, so it might also make you feel good.
It’s all about how to be a Pro at what you do. And by Pro…she means going from “I feel like I have all this potential but I’m not doing anything with it” to “I’m a big freakin super star.”
And it’s not what you think. It’s a simple technique, and it goes like this: If you want to be a Pro, make the decision, and start acting like one. Now. Wear the outfit. Go the extra mile. Don’t crap out. Don’t just “say” you want to write….put in the time and effort and actually do it.
There is this and so much more in this video, in which she interviews Steven Pressfield, author of the new book “Turning Pro.” It’s a bit of a long video, but SO worth it. Trust me. If you dream of doing anything great, or making a big impact on the world, or having a baller business, you must watch this. Time to step up the game, don’t you think?
Besides the fact that your chosen pic kicks ass – perfect timing to get your email with this post in it. Had a rough morning and was feeling like gosh, I can’t do anything right. sob, sniffle, wah! Decided to watch the video at that moment, as this is something I’m pushing to make myself believe, and it really pulled me back to a good spot. Even pros make mistakes, I handled the one I made today professionally and I’m not going to let it derail my day (aaaand not make that particular mistake again!). :)
Hey girl….phew! Video to the rescue, eh? I felt the same way when I saw it. It was like PERFECT timing. We all get that way and the reminder is so important. I’m glad it came at the right time! You go girl!
I think this definitely applies to me. Since I’m in sales, I have to realise that not every day will I be making a sale. I also have to realise that a part of it has to do with the way that I work. Now, what that means is that I’m only chasing after certain things. Much like any other store, I’m only going to chase after things that I feel will move, move fast, and move at a decent dollar amount.
However, having said that, since I am making a living only with this, I have to come to terms with the fact that it’s only me, and after so long doing this, I have certain ways of keeping inventory, and listing items, and stock photos and my Facebook, and all kinds of things. Now, see, I already divested myself of bad habits like partying all night and so forth, since I didn’t really do that anyway. So, I feel I’m a half step ahead of the game there.
Of course, I know there’s always work to do, which is a big thing, an important thing, because were I some jabroni, I wouldn’t have to sweat how much I can accomplish in one day, or how I’m going to do things to maximise my accomplishments of the day to make the most headway on things. I’d just do whatever.
Back to not selling every day. First off, sometimes you have to do the PITA stuff of administration, logging things in, cataloguing, screening, etc. that comes with just being a pro and not some jabroni. Part of that also includes knowing that it’ll all still be there tomorrow, and as The Monkees said, “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day”. You have to know what to do in terms of balancing the administration end of things with the “active” end of things that includes uploading items, plugging them, working on the site, etc.
Working on the theory that tomorrow is another day, you still have to go to work, even if you didn’t sell anything yesterday or or on one heckuva slump. It’s just the way it works.
Steven Pressfield in the interview with Marie talked about guys like Kobe Bryant and other professional athletes “going to the gym” every day. That’s an excellent statement, especially as it pertains to pro wrestling. Since most guys at the top level of this business are on the road a lot, it takes a certain amount of discipline to get up each morning and go to the gym and get on another plane to another city to once again get the crap kicked out of you getting bounced around a ring.
The same thing applies to the work from home crowd. Yeah, sure it would be so easy to just sleep in a day and say, “nahhh…I’ll deal with it later”, but again, it’s discipline. The same discipline that keeps you going when you’re in a sales slump or you feel like your work is overwhelming.
What does all of this mean? All of these positive traits, all of this discipline to be “a pro”, or be the best is what separates the World Champions from the jabroni curtain jerkers.
So, you have to ask yourself, “Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya? Punk?” Oh, wait…sorry, wrong quote…that’s what I get for screening “Dirty Harry” while trying to compose an email! No, what you ask yourself, when you’re undecided about something, or think you have that “potential” (such a dirty word! It really is) to be someone, or do something or whatever, you ask yourself, “Do I want to be the BEST I can be today? Do I want to reach for that brass ring? Do I want to wear the belt of the World Champion around my waist and BE the Champion? Or…..so I just want to be satisfied being a curtain jerking jabroni for the rest of my time?
So when you say, “Oh, gee..if only…” or whatever other excuse you have for not DOING IT, then at the next commercial break, put down the beer, and head to your closet (or under your bed), find that awesome set of boots you have, and if you’re right handed, get your right boot, and vice versa for lefties and then using that boot, kick yourself in the arse to go and DO IT.
Once again…this comment is full of so much wisdom. Thank you for sharing it. And thanks for the Dirty Harry reference. Totally made me laugh.