The amateur tweets. The pro works.
That pretty much sums up Steven Pressfield’s “Turning Pro” for me.
In the face of uncertainty and doubt, the amateur chooses distraction, while the pro chooses to do the work instead. The pro knows: doubt won’t go away by itself, one has to push it, shove it, kick it. By doing the work.
What is distraction, if not self-sabotage, sabotage of one’s future self? As Pressfield puts it, “lives go down the tubes one hundred and forty characters at a time.” It’s not only Twitter, but any distraction or self-delusion that prevents us from doing the work of our life.
Mindset makes all the difference. Approach the work like a pro, and you win. Come at it like an amateur, you give up and in the end it kicks your butt.
The amateur and the pro are Pressfield’s metaphors for people who either run from their fears or face them. It’s a choice that one has to make every day.
What’s your choice?
Ignore this book at your own peril! Short and intense, it will challenge your attitude to work and life - for your own good.