What makes a professional musician different from an amateur? What makes a professional nanny different from an amateur (like me)? Is it the skills? The experience? The DNA?

Joe Hisaishi (久石讓), composer of the music of movies such as “My Neighbour Totoro” and “Spirited Away,” considers a pro as …

1️⃣ Professionals learn how to produce quality work reliably, in large volume, consistently. You are not a pro if you can only produce “on a good day.”

2️⃣ Professionals learn how to manipulate their emotions in order to produce. They do not depend on their emotions for productivity and creativity.  

3️⃣ Professionals are obsessed with their environments. They are maniacally structured and systematic in their time and space in order to nurture the most unstructured and creative production.

Are you a pro?