Every year, we watch the Super Bowl, and every year, after the Super Bowl, we see players, amidst confetti streaming down like a spring rain shower, holding the Lombardi Trophy high above their heads, gazing into the crowd with pride and joy, as if to say, "I did it! I am at the top!" And every year, many of us wonder what it must be like to be at the top of our own game, profession, business, or other endeavor or project. We see those athletes, and for a few dreamy moments, we wonder if we could ever be like them. Can we be big winners? CAN WE?
Well, you can...if you're a "professional". But, I will tell you, being a professional is a helluva lot easier said than done. What, you think you're a pro because you get paid for doing something? Well, on my bus, getting paid for doing something is no more an indication of your professionalism than using profanity is an indication that you are a heathen. One is simply not a complete indication of the other. Getting paid means just that - you're getting paid. Period. Being a professional means much, much more.
Allow me to me expound.
First, I want to tell you what I term to be the five dimensions of professionalism. You won't find this is any book. This concept is my own, and to the best of my knowledge, "professionalism" has never been expressed like this.
Here are El Entrenador's five factors of professionalism:
Patience: Patience is the fine line between being aggressive and letting good things come to you. You can't force good things to happen. You can only put yourself in position to take advantage of certain situations. Forcing things to happen is being impatient and results in losses and wasted time. There is a bit of a fine line between aggression and patience, but in your own field of expertise, to be a true professional, you have to know the difference. True professionals are aggressive, but patient. Learn the difference.
Discipline: Discipline is ability to resist doing something even though you want to do it, because you know doing it is the wrong thing to do. Feeding your face before bed when you know you should not do so is the quintessential lack of discipline Americans face today. Ho-hos and Twinkies before bed? Please. But, extend this to any endeavor and you will see what I mean. Pretend you are a supposed professional football player - a wide receiver. You are quick, fast, strong, and you can catch anything thrown your way. But you lack the discipline to run precise routes, thus confusing your quarterback and resulting in interceptions. Your lack of discipline is detrimental to the team and you are not a professional football player. You are just a paid football player.
Focus: Clearly, if you are attempting to do something, you need to be able to focus. Let's say you are a college student. You are going to go college to learn something that will give you the knowledge to have success in your chosen field. You should focus on your studies. If you are continually answering emails and text messages in the middle of your designated study time, you are not focusing, and therefore, you are not a professional. You lack focus and you lack discipline! You are just another college student. You will not learn your chosen field as well as you should. You are not a professional in any sense of the word.
Consistency: To be a professional, it is not is enough to be good once in a while. You must be good consistently. Yes, we all make mistakes, but if you are blundering more than you should, you lack consistency, probably because you lack patience, discipline, and focus. You must attain a standard of consistency to be considered a professional by El Entrenador. Work on your game! Practice. Learn. Have patience. Have discipline. Consistency is what wins in the long run, not sporadic runs of good work or good fortune.
Continuous Improvement: Lastly, to be a true professional, you must alway strive to improve. What made Michael Jordan so special? He was never satisfied with his game. He was continually studying opponents, continually learning new moves, continually working on his shot. He adjusted to his opponents before they adjusted to him. To be the best you can be - to be a pro - you need to continuously improve. For example, let's imagine you are an electrician. Do you think you can be called a professional if you are not continually learning the new concepts and technologies of electrical circuits, wiring, and teaching young electricians? Of course not! You need to continuously improve. You need to study your game, learn, and most of all THINK. Winners continuously improve.
And now for the most important part. Each of these dimensions (factors) is multiplied to create your "El Entrenador Professionalism Rating (EEPR)". Multiply patience times discipline times focus times consistency times continuous improvement. P x D x F x C x CI = Professionalism. Let's say you rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 in each factor. Your maximum score is 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 100,000. But, if you have no discipline, you are a zero in this factor.Your overall score is now a zero! To be a true professional, you have to score high in all five dimensions.
If you follow and live the five dimensions of professionalism, you will be highly successful in anything to which you apply yourself. Think about it! If you are patient, disciplined, focused, consistent, and you continuously improve, how can you not be successful? It's almost impossible not to succeed.
Write it down and rate yourself: EEPR = P x D x F x C x CI. Be honest. See where you need improvement. Then, work on your game! Raise your EEPR! This is the formula for success. Indeed, this is the formula for winning your Lombardi Trophy. Hut Hut!
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