Top 20 Characteristics of a Professional

I think this will be one of the best advices you can hear from anyone – How to be a professional.

Engineering College taught me how to be an engineer, think like an engineer. But, they never taught how to be a professional explicitly. I realized  that to be successful in life, I need an education of different kind.  Something that’s not taught in the schools, but shared by others based on their experience.   You can learn from others experience from the books they write. One such self-help book is How to Turn Pro - Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life’s Work.

Following Top 20 characteristics of a Professional is listed below from the book How to Turn Pro.

Top 20 Characteristics of a Professional

Turning Pro Book

1. The professional shows up every day
2. The professional stays on the job all day
3. The professional is committed over the long haul
4. For the professional, the stakes are high and real
5. The professional is patient
6. The professional seeks order
7. The professional demystifies
8. The professional acts in the face of fear
9. The professional accepts no excuses
10. The professional plays it as it lays
11. The professional is prepared
12. The professional does not show off
13. The professional dedicates himself to mastering technique
14. The professional does not hesitate to ask for help
15. The professional does not take failure or success personally
16. The professional does not identify with his or her instrument
17. The professional endures adversity
18. The professional self-validates
19. The professional reinvents herself
20. The professional is recognized by other professionals

Now, you read  the Top 20 Characteristics of a Professional. You may have re-read the list couple of time.

After reading the list, you will feel energized.  Few of the points in the list will be engrained in your mind for few hours or couple days. If you really want to be a professional, remembering few points for few days will not make you a  pro.

You should be able to follow all the points, apply them based on your situations in your life.

Trust me. It is not an easy task to be a professional. It’s not an easy task to remember all the characteristics listed above and follow them right after reading this.

You need to practice, have patience and practice at every possible instance.

You need to transform your thinking. Slowly you will start seeing improvement, your self-belief will go up. You will feel good about yourself.

Each and every small victories, shows you are making progress.  You must start cherishing small win’s.  Then move forward and implement them and start practicing next characteristic to be a Pro.

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