How to Look Like a Professional—Even When You’re Just Starting Out

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Fake it till you make it.

That’s what they all tell you, those who made it before you. The successful; the experts. The professionals.

But there are a lot of people out there. And don’t kid yourself—there are a lot of people trying to do the exact same thing you’re trying to do.

Bloggers, writers, designers, entrepreneurs, all trying to do something great. Something worth remembering. Something that will give them guru (i.e. professional) status.

So how do you separate yourself from the pack? Show that you’re a professional—not an amateur—even when you feel far from it?

Here are a few tips on how to appear professional, even if you’re just starting out:

A professional shows up.

Rain or shine, hungover, bad mood, writer’s block, it doesn’t matter. A professional shows up.

No excuses.

Work when you feel like crap, when you think you should be doing something else, when your work is the last thing in the world you want to be doing.

Professional athletes practice even when they’re injured. Novelist Steven King writes every day—even on his birthday.

So show up.

The consistency will pay off and immediately set you apart from the rest.

A professional doesn’t treat work like a hobby.

Sure, you may have a 9 to 5 job and a family to feed, but if you’re serious about being a [insert-dream-job-here], you can’t treat it like it’s a hobby (i.e. an option).

Have to leave for work at 8? Get up before everyone else and put in an hour or two of work. Shut the door and tell your housemates not to bother you unless it’s a true emergency (broken limbs, a fire, etc.). Or work after your family goes to bed. Even an hour a day keeps you moving forward. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Habits, Work, Writing

Networking for Introverts: How Not to Hate it

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Some of you are naturals at it.

You go to an event and you’re the life of the party.

Talking comes easily to you, and you have no problem promoting your business to the strangers in the room.

By the end of the party you not only have half the room following you around with puppy dog eyes, you actually enjoyed yourself.

Good for you. You’ve mastered the art of networking.

For the rest of us, networking is not something to look forward to; it’s something to dread.

It makes us feel like a fish out of water. We don’t even want to meet these strangers, let alone talk about ourselves to them.

Yes, most of us are introverts. And we hate to network.

But we have to do it, especially if we’re a freelancer, an entrepreneur, or anyone trying to promote our business and let the world know we exist.

So here are a few tips on how to make networking fun a little less painful and a lot more effective.

Go to a structured event

I don’t know about you, but whenever I go to a seminar, speaking event or class where I’m actually interested in the material, talking to the people around me (i.e. networking) comes easily.

Because when there’s something to talk about, it means you don’t have to do all that small talk stuff that is the bane of an introvert’s existence. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal growth, Work

Become as Good as You Want to Be in 5 Simple Steps

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It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be.

This is the title of a powerful little book by Paul Arden, and it couldn’t be more true.

Because while you’re out there wishing you were doing something else, wanting the life of someone else, other people are out there getting what they want.

They set their mind to do something and do it.

Of course, it’s not easy to do. Nothing worth doing ever is.

But it doesn’t matter, because it’s what they want and they wouldn’t settle for anything less.

Here are five ways you can get what you want…

1. Be persistent

There’s nothing more important than persistence. If you don’t keep trying, you’ll never accomplish anything.

Received a rejection slip from every publisher you’ve ever sent your book to?

Don’t give up. Rewrite your book if you have to. Then try again.

Get turned down for your perfect job?

Get a new skill. Do something that will blow them away and convince them they can’t possibly continue their running their company without you. Then apply again.

Can’t seem to finish a 5k? Unable to convince the pretty girl down the street you’re the one for her? Can’t seem to master that skill so important to your future (or current) career?

Keep trying.

Only through persistance will we try enough times to achieve our dreams.

2. Seek out criticism, not support

We all love to hear that others love our work.

Praise for what we do reassures us that all our efforts paid off. That we’re as wonderful and talented as we’d always hoped we’d be.

But think twice before you go asking your Aunt Elma whether she likes your newest e-book (you know she’ll say yes).

Because while approval may be comforting, it doesn’t teach us anything. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Habits, Work

7 Steps to Finishing What You Start

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Do you ever wonder why it’s so much easier to start a new project than to finish one?

Finishing is the key to creating meaningful stuff. It’s the only way to create anything lasting and important.

But whether you’re a crazed perfectionist, dislike subjecting yourself to criticism, or are unable to maintain enthusiasm over the long haul, most people who have no problem in the beginning of a new venture will end up fizzling halfway through.

I’m speaking from experience here — I’ve watched friends and family members sprout brilliant ideas but never just quite get past those first few steps to actually make their idea happen. And I’ve done it myself too many times to count.

Here’s a guide to what I’ve found to be the most useful ways to get stuff done:

1. Make an outline

Whether you’re writing an article, creating a new product or starting a business, writing an outline at the beginning of the project can be the most important step you take.

This is because when you have steps already laid out, you’re much less likely to experience a creator’s block of some sort since with an outline you’re essentially filling in the blanks and working step by step to get things done.

Of course, the key is to use it as a guide, not to let it limit you — you’re likely to need to adapt as you go, so don’t be afraid to change things as needed.

2. Tell others about your goals

Think back to a time when you had a great idea but didn’t tell anybody about it. Now think to a time when you told an idea to your boss… your best friend… the guy or girl you wanted to impress. You were much more likely to follow through with your idea in the second set of circumstances, right?

Telling others about what you want to accomplish holds you accountable.

If you’re partnering with someone else on a project (something that can be incredibly helpful for procrastinators and people who tend to avoid finishing things), it means someone else has a stake in the completion of your project.

If you’re going it alone, it means you’ll have someone who has an interest in you checking in every once awhile about the status of your project — and that can make all the difference in finishing it. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creativity, Resistance, Work

The World is Changing… Are You?

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It’s a changing world out there.

You feel it. I feel it. And today’s generation of 20 somethings — a generation I’m included in — feels it more than ever.

Much of this change has happened under our watch. We were the generation that grew up thinking we could do whatever we wanted, but at the same time were told that if we followed the rules we would be successful in life.

Yet we’ve also watched jobs that we may have aspired to as kids disappear.

Jobs like travel agents…

Typists…

Factory workers…

And many more non-tradable jobs — gone. Or at least going quickly, soon to be gone. Replaced by computers and cheap labor.

(Heck, we can’t even be astronauts anymore. And who didn’t want to be an astronaut as a kid?)

These jobs and others like them are no longer an option for us.

Seth Godin has been talking about this change — what he calls the post-industrial revolution — for years. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Twenty somethings, Work
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