Be a Professional

On February 4th this year, I made a promise to myself that Iā€™d write an article every week.

Whether I was tired, uninspired or on-call at the hospital, I still had to ship my newsletter. Every. Single. Week.

I never thought to myself ā€œHey Faisal, do you feel like writing this week?ā€ because Iā€™d already made that decision; I didnā€™t have to make it again.

It didnā€™t matter how I felt. It didnā€™t matter what I was doing that weekend. I said that I was going to do something, and when that time had come; it was time to write.

Being a Professional

 ā€œA little imprisonmentā€”if itā€™s of your own makingā€”can set you free.ā€ - Austin Kleon, Keep Going.

I used to imagine artists as people whoā€™d create with their backs to the world, presenting us with their work whenever they chose to do so, sometimes weeks or even years later.

But Iā€™ve recently been introduced to an interesting argument; Seth Godin describes a ā€˜professionalā€™ to be someone who promises to ā€˜show upā€™ and then does.

Someone who doesnā€™t miss a deadline or come up with excuses.

Someone who creates even when they donā€™t feel like it, because they said they would.

And I think this is something we can apply to our daily lives:

When youā€™re expected to be somewhere, be there.

When youā€™ve promised something to someone, keep your word.

Even when no-oneā€™s looking, do the right thing, because thatā€™s what a professional would do.

I almost decided to skip this weekā€™s newsletter.

I was drained from having spent my week working 4 consecutive night shifts, one day converting back to a day routine, and the remainder finishing off a big personal project - my new website.

Still, I choose to write, because thatā€™s what I said I would do.

Thatā€™s the decision Iā€™d made, and Iā€™m sticking with it.

Because thatā€™s what a professional would do.

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Links to things Iā€™ve enjoyed this week and think you might enjoy too:

  1. I redesigned my whole personal website using webflow. Iā€™d love it if you could take a minute to let me know what you think of it - Iā€™ve been working on it for over a month!

  2. Iā€™m thinking to send a short email on Wednesdays summarising my latest Youtube videos (given that theyā€™re similar in content to this newsletter). If youā€™re strongly against the idea, please let me know why!

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