What Is A Professional?

A professional is someone who is willing to be diligent and the best at what we do. This is someone who is willing to hold themselves to highest possible standard. It’s not about being perfect, but being competent. A professional does not cut corners, and always looks to be of maximum service.

Character

1. Don’t cut corners

A professional must not cut corners. It’s important to always look for the edge, and how to get better. It’s important to demand excellence of yourself before demanding it of others. It’s very important to practice what you preach, and be the model. This will allow you to be a better leader.

2. Have high standards

In life, we don’t get our shoulds, we get our musts. It’s important to understand this and set a high bar because were more likely to reach our expectations. We have a thermostat for life on how we operate. If we do worse, we will find a way to get back to baseline. If we do better, the same will happen, so raise the standard.

3. Be on time

It’s important to be on time to things. This will allow you to get the maximum out of the activity, and to relax. Rushing gets our mind off what needs to be done. Focusing on the task is most important. Stay prepared and ready for what needs to be accomplished.

Habits

1. Say what you mean, mean what you say

As a professional, it’s very important to keep your word. Integrity is everything. People need to know they can rely on you, more important, you need to know you can rely on yourself.

2. Look to be of service

Being service oriented is very important. Having a heart that really wants to help others and the industry will serve you well. Stay focused on the mission, and improvement.

3. Look out for others

Looking out for other peoples best interest needs to be done. Really wanting to uplift others and see people succeed is what people want to be around. The more you uplift others, the more will come back to you.

Mindsets

1. No retreat, no surrender

If you have a goal that you know in your heart is your, you must go for it. There will always be challenges that come up, but we must persevere. Obstacles are just opportunities to find out what to do differently. Failure is feedback, don’t change the goal, adjust the approach. The only time to change your goal is if it’s no longer in alignment with you, or it’s common sense to do so. In this case it is not quitting, it’s just making an intelligent decision that will set you up for future success.

2. Service orientation

Being service oriented in everything that you do is key. This means we need an altruistic mindset to approach life. Being willing to grow and change for the world. Being willing to sacrifice who we are for what we could become. Understand that we all have a purpose, and a calling. It’s our job to fulfill it.

3. Growth mindset

Having a growth mindset means that you look how to optimize all areas of life. It’s not just about being great in one area, but all areas. This is because everything is interconnected, and effects everything else. Knowing this will allow you to ask the right questions in order to take the right actions. Clarity equals power. The more you grow, the more you can give. Growth is the celebration of life.