What does it take to "turn pro"?
The example is easier for sports (e.g. more physical training).
But what about creative professions, like programmer, illustrator, writer?
Well, it may be even harder 👇
Priorities
You (like everyone) start at 0. And you want to become a professional.
Being a "pro" is not about your current skills, but your routine ⏱️
Turning pro, even if you start from nothing, is a deliberate decision of making practice your first priority.
This is the same for every skill, sport, art. Anything. If you want to "turn pro", you can do it right now, right here, by changing how you allocate your time.
Rules of the game
When you start from 0, keep in mind a few hard realities.
Be specific: you cannot become "great" at everything, so start with a specific skill and aim to master that.
If you aim to be good at "everything", you cannot beat someone with 10 years of experience more than you. But you can certainly beat him at something narrow and specific.
You cannot become the best "web developer" in 1 year. But you certainly become one of the best as "TypeScript developer focused on accessible components implemented with React and Tailwind for the Safari browser".
Be humble (aka steal): everyone knows something that you don't, so don't dismiss or envy people, but learn from them.
There is no external competition, only guidance. Your enemy is you, you win if you keep showing up.
Be prepared: it will take a long time, and the intensity all throughout will be brutal.
Progress is counted in intervals of 100 hours. Anything shorter is noise, your daily experience will be full of ups and downs.
Practice, always
Imagine you know nothing about coding. And you want to become a paid professional.
The gap between these two states is time. Active, intentional, and focused time.
If you decide to "turn pro", really turn pro, your time is all about practice.
What does this mean?
You are either practicing, or maintenance.
Maintenance (4 pillars):
- Sleep: sleep 8 hours, it's foundational, it takes priority over everything
- Eat: sustain yourself with healthy food, energy required for practice
- Water: drink enough water
- Exercise: creativity and cognition won't work if you don't move
"Relax" must be earned and justified. Keep it for the end of the day after you completed all your practice work.
Beside the 4 points above, "pros" practice. Nothing else.
Caveat: Leave time for relationships, ideally as part of the maintenance time (e.g. eat/exercise with other people).
But for how long?
There is no end, really.
You "turning pro" changes your routine. You are "pro" now. How long you "stay" pro depends on your goal:
Clearly define your "final" goal! 🫵
"If you don't know where you are going, any path (no path) will take you there."
Give a measurable value to your milestones:
- Get 100 users on an app you created
- Get your first commission client
- Win an award with your essay/illustration
With experience (and work), leverage increases.
More leverage "allows" for less intensity and similar results.
In practice this means that after a few year (yeah, years) you may decrease the amount of practice while also gaining the same or more rewards.
Caveat: Experience also brings diminishing returns. It will take more and more time to master advanced skills. You won't see daily improvements anymore.
Inversion
A great exercise is to ask yourself (or to AI) this question:
What would guarantee that I fail at reaching my goal?
This process is called inversion. You get all the criteria for failure, and you avoid them at all costs.
Most times it comes down to a variation of the following:
- You stop practicing with consistency (no matter the reason)
- You keep repeating the same mistakes without reflection
- You blindly assume you are "good enough" and stop practicing the fundamentals
Avoid the above, and let time do the rest.
"Turning pro" is harsh. And intense. And practical.
Try turning pro for 1 month, and see how it goes.
Worst case you don't like the practice, and now you know it.
Best case you find a passion that will lighten up your days for a long time.
See you next 👋