Turn Pro and Live Deep

Jan 24, 2025

Issue #206

One of the tasks in my annual review is to choose a word (or two) that will be my theme for the year, the subject I want to focus on, do more of or bring more of into my life. I add it to my daily affirmations to keep it top of mind.

The first words I chose this year were “turn pro.” They come from the book Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield, which I wrote about in Issue #23. Pressfield writes that the vast majority of people are amateurs. They just drift along in life like a leaf in a stream, ending up wherever the current takes them. To escape this thoughtless, default way of living that results in mediocrity and a nonexistent legacy, you have to make the decision to turn pro.

After thinking about it, I came up with a list of things that pros do differently from everyone else:

Pros have clarity of values, principles and purpose.

Pros are independent, critical thinkers. They have a systems mindset.

Pros can delay gratification (which, more than anything, will determine your success).

Pros take care of their body and don't allow it to be hacked by Big Food, Big Pharma, Big Tech or Big Furniture.

Pros are strategic, make plans for the future and make the best decisions for the long term.

Pros use the Eisenhower Matrix to triage tasks, spending the vast majority of their time in Quadrant 2, where they create assets (including relationships and influence) that will generate perpetual income.

Pros know what should be done at each point in time (or at least they are often thinking about it).

Pros are voracious readers and lifelong learners.

Pros don't need the affirmation of others and are happy to go their own way.

Pros are prepared for emergencies so are seldom in reactive mode.

Pros spend the time now to do a job right. Henry David Thoreau wrote, “What is once well done is done forever.” They also invest in quality products that will last for decades.

Pros are always trying to master their craft and become the best version of themselves.

The next words I chose this year were “live deep.” This phrase comes from Walden, in which Thoreau wrote, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life....I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.”

As I've gotten older, I've realized that the seemingly endless days of my youth have become more numbered, and the time I have left to fully experience life is dwindling. The times I feel the best and most fully alive are usually after: I've moved a lot outside (especially playing pickleball) in sunshine and/or nature; I've laughed a lot and had fun with friends; I've provided my body with great nutrition and hydration; I've had great sleep; I've spent time reading and learning new things that I can share with others; I've exposed my body to extremes in temperature and/or humidity, then recovered with a shower or a fireplace; I've spent quality time with my family (which includes my dog); I've been mindful and took the time to savor the moment or express gratitude.

This year I'd like to subject my body to more extremes, which will allow me to avoid the Comfort Crisis and live more deeply. I'd like to expose my body to more cold air and water, do more intermittent fasting and barefoot sprints, become a lot more flexible, and explore meditation, deep breathing, tai chi and qigong. I also plan to devour a large stack of books (which I'll write about next week). I'm sure that both Thoreau and Michel de Montaigne would appreciate this effort to live more deeply.

In closing, I leave you with a quote that's been on my business website for decades:

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a ride!’ ~ Hunter S. Thompson

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My favorite part of the inauguration: Let Freedom Ring

Turn Pro and Live Deep

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