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Are you an amateur or a pro?

- January 9, 2013 | by April -

When I take something on, I give it my all. Doing things halfway doesn’t work for me.

I let ideas simmer for a while, but when I decide to take action, there’s no looking back.

My husband says that I’m an “all or nothing” type of person, and he’s right.

In grad school, an A- was not acceptable.

From the moment I started blogging, I figured out how to use WordPress and purchased my own domain name {with some help from my man}. Typepad or Blogger? I don’t think so. Then, I gobbled up every piece of information I could find on how to build a successful blog.

Before we adopted our dog, I read multiple dog training books even though I’d grown up with dogs.

When we moved into our new house, I had us on a tight schedule of painting the entire inside and putting down hardwood floors in 90% of the house within the first few weeks.

This “all or nothing” attitude isn’t always a great thing—like the time I decided I HAD to make large crepe paper flowers for my wedding. They were gorgeous, but each one took hours to make. I still have about $300 worth of crepe paper and floral wire sitting in my craft studio. I’ll find a use for it someday.

But, it is a trait that I attribute to my business success. I go “pro” at the very beginning. If I fail, I fail…but, I know I gave it my best shot.

In today’s video, I want to help you get rid of your amateur blogging habits and go pro. Check it out:

Do you have any amateur habits you need to get rid of? Share in the comments below.

Want to read Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield? You can find it right here.

21 Comments · Filed Under: Creative Business Development, Success

Comments

  1. eryn hannig says

    January 9, 2013 at 12:06 pm

    oh WOW, was i meant to see this post!
    just received the book “turning pro” yesterday & read half of it last night! & then here you are today – another sign, telling me i need to GO PRO! love it, thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
    • April says

      January 10, 2013 at 9:41 am

      YAY! I love when that beautiful timing happens.

      Reply
  2. Sarah Foy says

    January 9, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    This is essential Wednesday wisdom. I often have to slow down and take a second look at what I am doing and always try to think professional or amateur. I have even started to take this approach when replying to emails and I definitely have a better respond rate .

    138 prompts into 365 Writing and Blogging prompts and loving it.

    Reply
    • April says

      January 10, 2013 at 9:41 am

      Thanks Sarah! I’m soooooooo glad you’re loving the prompts! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Sage says

    January 9, 2013 at 1:07 pm

    Awesome advice. I have an editorial calendar, and it’s made a world of difference. But I need to set aside writing time every day so that those wonderful posts I’ve planned actually get written.

    I love the books you recommend. I’m adding Turning Pro to my “to-read” list. Any chance you’ll do book review posts or a roundup of your favorites?

    Reply
    • April says

      January 10, 2013 at 9:43 am

      Turning Pro is sooooo good. I read it one day. And, then read it again. And, one more time. It’s one of those books that has so much wisdom but is easy to get through.

      I should do another roundup of favorites. I have thought about doing some book reviews, but singular book reviews don’t tend to be very popular. I’ll try some more out and see how they do.

      Reply
  4. Lisa Klow says

    January 9, 2013 at 1:15 pm

    I really needed to hear this! Thank you, April!

    Reply
    • April says

      January 10, 2013 at 9:44 am

      Awesome! You’re so welcome.

      Reply
  5. Carole Ann says

    January 9, 2013 at 1:39 pm

    Oh man, I haven’t updated my about page in a looong time! I haven’t thought about it for a while… Thanks for the suggestion to update it twice a year – that makes so much sense, given how much I’m learning, changing, and growing constantly! Thanks!

    Reply
    • April says

      January 10, 2013 at 9:44 am

      Exactly! No problem.

      Reply
  6. stephanie says

    January 9, 2013 at 1:41 pm

    You rock girl! Let’s drop the BS ! 😉

    Reply
    • April says

      January 10, 2013 at 9:44 am

      My thoughts exactly. 😉

      Reply
  7. Coral says

    January 9, 2013 at 2:47 pm

    Off to a bit of a wonky start in the New Year. I had two weeks off from my day job and I sooo needed it. I’m still getting into the swing of things in the new year. I have lots of ideas for both of my blogs, I’ve never really worried that I didn’t know what to write about. I’ve only just come to terms that it’s okay to trash some posts – you don’t have to publish every idea you have.

    Re-writing both my about pages is on my to do list. I’m coming into my voice a lot more, so I want to add that into my about pages. I’ve re-written them before, but it’s time for another update.

    All or nothing with the blog – I jumped into wordpress with both feet too. I took a blog course to show you how to set it all up from scratch including FTP, plug ins, back ups etc. Cost a small fortune, but I decided if I was doing it, I was doing it properly. You are an all or nothing kinda girl. I’m a “do it properly” and “the right way” kinda girl. Drives my poor husband nuts sometimes.

    Reply
    • April says

      January 10, 2013 at 9:47 am

      You know…sometimes a break is exactly what you need and you need to go ALL in on taking a break. I’ve been there. And, when you come back refreshed, it’s completely worth it.

      Oh yes! I’ve trashed lots of posts. I hate doing it in the moment, but then I realize it was the right decision.

      Hahahahaha…my husband is driven a little nuts, too.

      Reply
  8. Meagan says

    January 9, 2013 at 9:12 pm

    Oh my WORD… my husband tells me this all the time. “It’s all or nothing!” “It’s your way or the highway!” so on and so forth, and he’s totally right! LOL! I can definitely relate with Coral above… I’m a “do it properly”, “the right way” kinda girl too. I agree with you that it can mean big success, but it seems to slow me down more than help me.

    Your example with the blog design. I don’t really like my design too much. Have I changed it? No. So that’s amateurish, but my “the right way” gets in the way of me changing it. In order to do things “the right way” I’d end up spending a ton of cash. Plus… it takes me forever to decide on what I really want. Now there I go making excuses! At least I have an editorial calender, blog regularly, and for the most part know where I’m headed with my blog.

    Great video April!

    Reply
    • April says

      January 10, 2013 at 9:51 am

      I like things to be “right” but if I don’t have all the answers, I do it anyway and try to figure it out as I go. I used to WAIT forever like how I waited a very long time before ever starting this blog because I didn’t know anything about design and didn’t have thousands of dollars to invest. But, when I made the decision to move forward, I did my absolute best by setting it up on my own and then hiring out small pieces like the email opt-in, etc. I believe that if you’re doing your best, then that’s what counts. You keep learning, you keep moving forward, you keep making changes along the way. I never ever feel 100% ready but I jump in all the way.

      Reply
  9. Meropi says

    January 10, 2013 at 3:56 am

    Hi, April nice video as always.

    I read the book you suggest it is a really nice book, but I must confess I am still amateur in blogging. Of course I made big changes last year in a lot of fields in my little business after following your course.

    Reply
    • April says

      January 10, 2013 at 9:52 am

      You’re constantly growing and making updates and changes to your business…you’ll get there! I know you will.

      Reply
  10. Nicky says

    January 11, 2013 at 12:16 am

    Great Wednesday Wisdom! It’s hard to admit to myself that I’m not acting seriously on things I’m taking seriously (like taking action on a plan instead of just planning it more). But my boyfriend is an all-in type of person, and seeing how much he gets done just because he gets up and does it actually does wonders for me. And the amateur vs. pro talk was priceless. No sugarcoating it, just “are you doing what you need to do, or aren’t you?” Thank you!

    Reply
    • April says

      January 11, 2013 at 9:14 am

      Thanks Nicky! I’m not very good at sugarcoating things, but I think it’s good to be brutally honest with yourself even if it hurts a little. Otherwise, you probably won’t make a change, right?

      Reply
  11. Jacolien says

    January 11, 2013 at 10:33 am

    Wow, that was straight to the point!
    I’m not quite sure.
    I do want to go pro on my blogging and shop, but although I do some stuff different than you described an amateur would do, I still feel like I’m an amateur.
    Sometimes I even think: ‘why am I blogging? I can’t blog properly…’. That’s probably because my selfesteem isn’t very high and I don’t have people around me supporting me on the blog/shop thing.
    But I guess I should be more confident and just jump in, even if I feel unworthy or unprepared.
    What do you girls all think when you’re looking at my blog? Feedback is always welcome!
    Oh, and my about page? Immediately put that on my to do list, it really needs some freshing up!

    Reply

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