Turning Pro

1. The professional shows up every day 2. The professional stays on the job all day 3. The professional is committed over the long haul 4. For the professional, the stakes are high and real

Turning pro is like kicking a drug habit or stopping drinking. It's a decision, a decision to which we must re-commit every day. Twelve-step programs say "One Day at a Time." The professional says the same thing.

structure our hours not to flee from fear, but to confront it and overcome it. We plan our activities in order to accomplish an aim.

When we turn pro, we stop running from our fears. We turn around and face them.

When we truly understand that the tribe doesn't give a damn, we're free. There is no tribe, and there never was.

The sure sign of an amateur is he has a million plans and they all start tomorrow.

Resistance wants to keep us shallow and unfocused. So it makes the superficial and the vain intoxicating.

when we work with focus and we work deep, we succeed.

When you turn pro, your life gets very simple. The Zen monk, the artist, the entrepreneur often lead lives so plain they're practically invisible.