Time to Turn Pro?

I have every reason not to write this blog.

I’m in the midst of the 5am Club Morning Routine Challenge, whilst getting ready to launch?my next group coaching program.

It’s a packed week.

And I have been staring at the screen blankly for about 30 minutes now… the words feel sticky. Very sticky.

They often do.

Writing, English, language, literacy has never come easy to me.

But writing is a craft I am aiming to master. It’s something I have committed to Turning Pro in.

A concept taken from Steven Pressfield’s book?Turning Pro .

Who says,

“Turning pro is free, but it’s not easy. You don’t need to take a course or buy a product. All you have to do is change your mind.

Turning pro is free, but not without cost. When we turn pro, we give up a life with which we may have become extremely comfortable. We give up a self that we have come to identify with and to call our own…

Turning pro is not for everyone. We have to be a little crazy to do it, or even to want to. In many ways the passage chooses us; we don’t choose it. We simply have no alternative.

What we get when we turn pro is, we find our power. We find our will and our voice and we find our self-respect. We become who we always were but had, until then, been afraid to embrace and to live out.”

So what does Turning Pro mean…

To me, Turning Pro is forged in your daily routines, rituals, and habits.

Turning Pro is about turning up consistently in the face of fear, resistance, self doubt, and distraction. It’s about passionately pursuing a vision others can’t see.

Turning Pro is about going all in. Fully committing.

Amateurs on the other hand only show up in fair weather conditions. When the wind is on their side, they feel inspired and motivated.

The difference between an Amateur and a Professional is in their mindset, systems, and habits.

An amateur has an amateur mindset, few routines, systems, and amateur habits.

A professional has forged the mindset of a professional, professional routines, systems, and habits.

A professional focuses on the process.?They love the process.?They choose to focus on the controllable and let go of everything else. Life as a professional is hard… But simple.

Professionals plan their day, routine and activities to accomplish a goal. And let go of everything else.

They remain focused. Indistractable.

I think back to when I started university with ambitions to play professional rugby… something I never achieved. Because I had the mindset, routines, and systems of an amateur.

I hadn’t made the choice to turn pro before making it as a pro.

I wasn’t willing to make any sacrifices. I wasn’t willing to pay the price. I wasn’t willing to say no and was easily distracted by partying and booze.

Fast forward to now… I have chosen to turn pro as a high-performance coach, public speaker, and writer.

And it has changed everything.

I have reordered my week and designed my day to overcome the fears and resistance that have paralysed me in the past.

I woke earlier. I go to bed earlier.

I read when I used to watch TV.

I exercise daily… regardless of how I feel.

I sit at my desk to write every Thursday morning, however hard it feels at that moment. I avoid tempting distractions like social media, emails, and other things that can allure me into feeling productive. I do what a professional writer would do… and write! Even if I am not being paid to write.

If writing was a hobby, I certainly wouldn’t have gotten this far with writing this. I would have given into the resistance I felt at the start. I would have listened to the voice that said,

“Skip this week Joel, no one will know. No one reads it anyway. It’s just one week — take it off”

All very believable… Yes, this is just one week. I’m sure no one would notice. But writing this is about the process. It’s one small step in me pursuing my vision. It’s become part of me.

Now I won’t lie… the life of a professional is hard. It requires struggle. Fight. Facing your fears. Sacrifice.

But life feels somewhat simpler, more fulfilling, and fun.

Personally… I would always choose a life of passionately pursuing my best self, over the frustration of allowing that potential to remain stagnant inside; despite the required struggle, sacrifice and fight.

Steven Pressfield says,

“In the hero’s journey, the wanderer returns home after years of exile, struggle, and suffering. He brings a gift for the people. That gift arises from what the hero has seen, what he has endured, and what he has learned. But the gift is not that raw material alone. It is the ore refined into gold by the hero/wanderer/artist’s skilled and loving hands.

You are that artist.”

So my question to you is,

What are you hiding behind that’s keeping you from pursuing your full potential?

What distractions are keeping you safe?

What life would you love to pursue?

Are you ready to turn pro?

Turning pro is not for everyone. You have to be a little crazy to do it, or even to want to.

But I believe an extraordinary life comes from being a little crazy, rather than settling…

Choose extraordinary!

Big love,

Joel

P.S. I won’t lie, writing that felt good… I started with lots of self-doubt… the inner critic was loud! I now feel confident, unwavering, relentless.

And it’s just another reminder that we can’t wait to feel a certain way. We have to act our way into how we want to feel.

Confidence… personal power… are forged in doing hard things. In getting clear about what you want, building a plan, passionately pursuing the plan, whilst letting go of any attachment to the outcome.?Which is at the heart of 63 Days to Personal Power.