In his book The War of Art, Steven Pressfield introduces us to Resistance, the force between us and our potential. In it, he briefly described the remediation as “becoming a professional.” Turning Pro is an expansion of that idea. Pressfield outlines the artist’s life before and after turning pro and the life-changing power of it. While I did not find it as impactful as The War of Art—which I distilled—it gave me the tools to examine my mindset and initiate growth.
Turning Pro: Synopsis
All of us have a calling, a purpose. The amateur leads a life dominated by fear, a shadow life, a metaphor for his true calling. It is crammed with addiction, sensitization, and self-sabotage. The underlying motivator of the amateur is avoiding fear and preserving his status. Those cause avoiding action and seeking numbness. The remedy for the amateur ailment is turning pro.
We become professional when we accept the denigration of our past life and cultivate the humility to face fear and pain. We let go of our ego and align ourselves with our calling, willingly facing the anguish of the death of the illusion. The decision to turn pro is the changing point of our lives.
The professional aligned himself both in mindset and practice with his craft. He dedicates his life to it, not expecting anything in return. He acts out of love and gratitude.
We can all be professionals. We can all take the first step out of our cave and into the adventure. It will not be easy, and it will not be sure, but it will be sublime. Only there can we find what we are truly capable of.
The Amateur Life
An amateur is someone who has an unanswered calling. This causes him ample amounts of suffering and governs his life trajectory. Ambition is the primal driver of life, and while embodying it sprouts our soul, obscuring it results in fear and decay. Our lives become surrounded by this fear and raise symptoms that eventually lead to regret.
Shadow career. When we are too afraid of pursuing our calling, we will pursue a career that brushes with it but does not entail the risk. For example, one may get a Ph.D. in English literature because he is terrified of his wish to become a writer; the shadow career is the metaphor for our true calling.
Shadow life. Since we are frightened of looking directly at our purpose, as it has the face of fear, we lead an unauthentic life that generates anguish. Naturally, we seek to amend pain, but since we cannot cure the sickness, we aim to alleviate it. This manifests as addictions and vices: anything that will supply either distraction or pleasure.
Steven tells the story of his friend, a woman of distinctive talents whose piano and photography skills are unlike anything else. She knows it but is terrified of realizing them; instead, she leaps from one romance to another, producing consistent drama in her life. Steven knows it is Resistance, her way to avoid uncertainty.
Addictions and vices. The professional is distinctive from the amateur by his habits. While the professional habits are aligned with his calling, the amateur habits are aligned with his fear. The terror of fear and incapacity leave tranquility only in escapism. Over-indulgences suffocate the anxiety that arises when we do something meaningful. It replaces our basic needs for love and value. It becomes a habit and then an addiction. The amateur orients his soul with avoidance. This is the ultimate tragedy of the amateur: fear causes him to miss his life.
I personally have experienced this. I used food and media as a lull for feelings of anxiety and inferiority. Only when I decisively avoided those behaviors did I see the hidden anguish, feeling it was terrible but freeing—it still is.
We should not feel grim being amateurs but see it for what it is: the beginning. Being an amateur reflects our passion and love. Being an amateur is a call to cultivate the courage and wisdom necessary for becoming our epitomes.
Self-Inflicted Wounds
The payoff of the amateur’s addictions and decisions is incapacity: release from the anxiety of fear. It is like the soldier shooting himself in the foot to avoid battle. Those are self-inflicted wounds.
The amateur’s life is a metaphor for his wishes. Action leaves him paralyzed and inaction leaves him feeling worthless, so he creates an illusion of his calling. His energy goes into constructing an identity of fulfillment without action. He might dress in a certain manner, talk in a certain manner, and opine in a certain manner, but he is not taking the risk of action.
The problem stems from the amateur’s perception of the world and his place in it. It is of lack and hierarchies, where following his heart may cause him to “fall.” This perception leads to over-inflation with the ego and over-sensitization to fear, leaving us petrified.
The professional also fears, probably even more than the amateur. The difference is that the professional faces the fear and sees it as part of the process, while the amateur sees it as peril.
Turning Pro: The Epiphany
Pressfield declares turning pro was the moment his life started; from passive and delusive, he turned to action and truth; it is the moment he became a writer. Nothing grandeur happens when you turn pro. You do not reach enlightenment. You do not write like Tolstoy. You do not become perfect. A simple yet pivotal change happens: no longer is your life dominated by fear.
In a flash, you become aware of your oppression and muster the courage to resist. We are disgusted with how dead our life was in the grasp of fear. Everything changes. We let go of what no longer serves us, and life becomes more evident. We become allies of love in the war against fear.
Turning pro is not the vanishment of all evils but the moment you stand against fear’s tyranny. The professional knows the same demons will come up frequently, and he prepares himself for that. His battle is no longer against existence but against himself.
Turning pro is a decision, a monumental decision. We accept our situation and take responsibility; we humble ourselves. Thus courage is the differentiator between the amateur and the professional.
The Professional Mindset
The professional cultivate his inner garden. The following are the qualities of that:
- Courage. This is the Arkenstone of the professional, his source of power.
- Focus. The professional’s work is his prayer, which needs to be done with the utmost focus.
- Ruthlessness. The professional does not hide his flaws and sins, not from him or anyone else. He knows when he falters or could do better.
- Compassion. The professional does not tear himself apart for his mistakes. Instead, he accepts them, learns from them, and moves on.
- Presence. While the amateur lives in limbo between the past and future, the professional grounds himself in the present. Only there does he have influence.
- Consistency. The professional shows up every day. He does not wait for inspiration to strike. He does not care if he feels like working.
The Professional Practice
The professional’s daily practice is dedicated to mastery and growth. The following are core attributes of it:
- Space. The practice has a dedicated space. It is distraction-free and carefully refined for creation.
- Time. The practice has a dedicated time. Set not by the flow of inspiration but by the clock.
- Intention. The practice has a specific intention, he is mindful of what he aims at and puts all his focus on that.
- Modest. The practice has to be modest, meaning the professional lets go of his ego and status.