On Moving from Amateurism to Professionalism
It seems to difficult to navigate how to spend ones time. With so many interesting and vital areas to explore how does a young and aspiring entrepenuer/artist localize his attentions to just one specific discipline. It must be produced by way of totally focused concentration coupled with a resolute decisiveness as to what one will aim at. As the late, great and industrious Andrew Carnegie instructs, "The way to become rich is to put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket." To devise and commit one's life to a singular aim, this seems to be the way of crossing the mighty river from the lands of no influence to the territories of fame and sway. Yet what if one imitates the Great Oak and stretches theirs limbs into all those arena's and portals that would give access to this elusive Olympus, the land of the movers and influencers? However, man at his most natural state only has two limbs usually only succesful when working in tandem toward the same cause. So, again we arrive lazily at the same problem, how does a man or woman decide as to what tool they will build their empire with? Of course it is obvious that a certain measure of soul-searching is important so as to discover what interests and stokes an individual's spirtual, physical and mental faculties so I propose that it could be said that a person after a relative amount of "soul-searching" should inately, intuitively know what it is that they shall commit their lives to pursuing, but when faced with a such a bountiful field of possible fields and also, at the same time, met with an insatiable curiosity founded on the annoying, albeit strong, proclivity to romantacize any and all fauna of the professional landscape an individual is effectively rendered paralyzed by the overwhelming anxiety produced by the amount of choices one has. So it is fair to say that one should take measures as to narrow down their list, to reduce it simply to what one cannot live without. The next issue occurs when one, observing these "professional bubble's", is unsure about how to enter into the fray of these fields. How does one substantiate their claim to the cutting edge of whatever field they venture to become prevalent and respected in? More simply put I suppose; how does one move from unheard amateur to impactful professional? The answer can be found in the question, for the amateur is focused soley on the arrival whereas the professional is focused on getting better through process. The amateur sees the rise to acclaim as a sprint where the pro sees it as a daily progression of betterment. When one becomes engrossed, and perhaps obsessed, with being the best one can be in a particular field they lose consciousness of all the superfluous "noise" external to their process. As another great success, Will Smith, states, "You don't set out to build a wall. You lay a brick a day and you lay that brick as perfectly as you can lay a brick and before you know it you have a wall." As the amateur sets to his process his or her skill and impact in and on the relative field begins to increase and before his or her own eyes they reach the esteemed professionalism. Here, my grandmother's frequently used adage seems fitting, "the cream rises to the top". So as the amatuer progresses; his fascination and focus redoubles constantly and with this redoubling it can be assumed that the amatuer commits to the relavant literature and communities that will prove conducive to his success, all the amateur must do is decide what they shall pursue and then pursue it without tire.