How To Be A Pro

Have you ever wondered why you bring such discipline to your day job yet treat your deepest creative ambitions with casual inconsistency? This disconnect lies at the heart of what Steven Pressfield calls the amateur versus professional mindset—the pivotal difference between eternally dreaming and actually creating.

Drawing from Pressfield's transformative book "Turning Pro," I share the twenty qualities that separate professionals from amateurs in creative pursuits. These aren't traits reserved for the talented few but accessible habits anyone can develop: showing up every day without exception, staying committed over the long haul, acting despite fear, seeking order in your creative process, and perhaps most crucially, self-validating rather than waiting for external approval. The professional mindset demystifies creative work, removing the romantic notion that inspiration must strike before progress happens.

And, as a special bonus, I want to give you FREE access to my signature course, Slay Your Year (usually $997)! All you have to do is:

• Leave a review of this podcast.
• Email a screenshot of your review to [e-mail]

Simple as that!

If you'd love to watch the video version of our interviews, be sure to subscribe to the podcast's YouTube channel here.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Let it Be Easy with Susie Moore.
I have to tell you, my friend,that Steven Pressfield and his
collective works have absolutelychanged my life, and it took me
years, in fact, to get him onthe Let it Be Easy podcast.

(00:22):
You definitely want to checkout that interview if you
haven't already.
Steven Pressfield we're talkingabout all things to do with
creating, if you don't know him.
Steve Pressfield wrote the Warof Art, he wrote Turning Pro, he
wrote the Legend of Bag of Ants.
He's an incredible author andhe helps people overcome

(00:46):
resistance so that they cancreate.
His books are tiny, very easy toread, quick to read and they
are deep, and I actually wantedto read you an excerpt today
from his book Turning Pro Tapinto your inner power and create
your life's work.
Because in his books Stevebreaks down how often we show up

(01:12):
as a pro in our day job, butwhen it comes to our life's
dream, we act like an amateur.
We're half in, half out, halfwritten the book halfway,
thinking through the plan forour next creative act.
We let our life, our life'sdreams, our creative dreams fall
by the wayside, but we show upas a pro to our maybe our nine

(01:36):
to five, or we show up as a proraising kids at home right,
we'll be there at nine o'clock,we're there throughout the night
.
We do all the things for thestuff, that's fixed.
But when it comes to uspursuing our dreams, we can be a
little too relaxed, a littletoo delayed.
We procrastinate, we focus oncheap, quick pleasures versus

(02:01):
really pursuing what it is thatmakes the difference in our
temporary lifetime, thatcontract that we have with our
heart to fulfill something great, to make our best contribution.
So in Turning Pro, he recaps thequalities of the pro, right,
the qualities of theprofessional.
There are 20 of them.

(02:22):
I want to list them two for youright here.
Whatever it is you want tocreate, right, think about it.
Is this you, does this soundlike you?
Is there a podcast within you?
Is there a great business?
Is there a book?
Is there a piece of art?
Is there a piece of music?
These are the habits andqualities that the professional
possesses, which gets themmoving in the right direction.

(02:44):
But the amateur doesn't.
Okay, the professional shows upevery day.
Oh, yes, the professional stayson the job all day.
The professional's committedover the long haul.

(03:09):
For the professional, the stakesare high and real, hey, it's
only your life's work you wantto create right.
The professional is patient.
The professional seeks order.
The professional demystifies.
The professional acts in theface of fear.
The professional acts in theface of fear.

(03:30):
The professional accepts noexcuses.
The professional plays as itlays.
The professional is prepared.
The professional does not showoff.
The professional dedicateshimself to mastering technique.
I love this one.
I'm currently reading actuallyStephen King's book on writing
as I prepare my next book.
It's thrilling, number 14 here.

(03:52):
The professional does nothesitate to ask for help.
The professional does not takefailure or success personally.
The professional does notidentify with his or her
instrument.
The professional enduresadversity.
The professional self-validates.

(04:15):
The professional reinventsherself and the professional is
recognized by otherprofessionals.
Think about this as you seek tocreate what it is that you care
about as your contribution inyour lifetime.
Do you stay on the job?
Are you patient?

(04:35):
Do you act in the face of fear?
Do you accept no excuses?
Do you self validate?
Are you committed to masteringtechnique?
The great news is, anyone canturn pro.
It's not about talent orspecial skills or looks or
connections.
It's about commitment.

(04:56):
Until tomorrow, my friends, somuch love and ease.
Hey friend, I've got somethingreally cool for you.
I want to give you free accessto my signature course called
Slay your Year, which typicallysells for $997.

(05:16):
You can check it out all thedetails at slayyouryearcom.
All you have to do to getaccess is leave me a review.
Leave a review of this podcaston Apple Podcasts, take a
snapshot of it and send it toinfo at suzy-morecom.
That's info at suzy-morecom andwe'll get you set up with

(05:38):
access.