The Difference Between Professionals and Amateurs

Professionals stick to the schedule, amateurs let life get in the way.

The ability to show up every day and to stick to the schedule, and do the work, especially when you don't feel like it, is literally all you need to become better 99% of the time.

It doesn't matter what you are trying to become better at, if you only do the work when you’re motivated, then you’ll never be consistent enough to become a professional.

Most of the time we are inconsistent. And if we do manage to start a habit and try keeping up with it, there will be days when we'll feel like quitting.

Stepping up when it's annoying or painful or draining to do so, that’s what makes the difference between a professional and an amateur.

It means making time for what matters to you and having the discipline to commit to what is important to you instead of merely saying something is important to you.

It's about starting when you feel like stopping because your goal is important enough to you that you don't simply work on it when it's convenient. 

• Decide what you want to be good at. If you know what you want, then getting it is much easier. 
• Set a schedule for actually doing it. You want to set a schedule based on actions you can do, not the results that you want.
• Stick to your schedule for one week. Stop thinking about how hard it will be to follow a schedule for a month or a year. Just follow it for this week. Setting a schedule doesn't make you a professional, following it does.