I work alone. Nobody is going to train me.

Turning Pro

It is necessary to turn pro through training. Today I read some texts from Steven Pressfield and I really like his idea that you have to become a professional in what you do.

Self‑Training

Pressfield points out a problem when we work alone. I relate to that because I work in my own home office without anyone seeing me actually working. As he says, there is no one to train you. We are alone, so we have to self‑train. He compares work to the routine of athletes: they have goals, a schedule, they train, and they have coaches. Most of us who work on our own, especially freelancers, don’t have anyone to train us. That means we need to train ourselves, using self‑motivation, self‑validation, self‑reinforcement, and self‑preparation. That isn’t easy, and it’s not something people usually tell you when you start working on your own.

Amateur vs Professional

Pressfield also notes that the boss is gone. Our clients become more like business partners, and we have to be our own boss. He writes about moving from “working for the man” to “being the man.” The difference, he says, is that amateurs have amateur habits and pros have professional habits. That caught my attention and made me reflect on how to develop professional habits through training.

Discipline

I still lack discipline. Yesterday I went to bed at 10 p.m., earlier than my usual midnight, and I planned to get up at 7 a.m. to study AI, but I didn’t. I’m being honest: I still struggle with consistency, and building habits or self‑training is hard. I want to share this because I’m working on it and I hope we can progress together.

Learning from Experience

A year ago my work as a developer wasn’t going well because I behaved like an amateur. I used to call myself a junior developer, but I stopped using that as an excuse. Instead, I started studying more and taking on projects, trying to become a better professional.

One of Pressfield’s texts mentions Rosanne Cash. I didn’t know her before, but she illustrates training to become a pro. Instead of toying with ideas, she examined them, stepped outside her comfort zone, and stayed focused on the present.

Progress

In the last month I’ve taken my work a lot more seriously. Not only am I creating content, but I also see that the AI market is full of people selling dreams, and I don’t want to be one of them. By being more professional than before, opportunities have started to appear, and friends who stopped asking for help are now relying on me again because they see I’m working for real. This is the result of practice‑based, project‑based learning, a lesson I also found in Ultralearning by Scott Young: nobody is going to train you, so you have to be your own coach.

I’m not claiming to be the best professional of all time. I’m simply on a journey to become a better professional, to turn pro, just like the texts from Steven Pressfield inspired me.

Personal Context

For those who stayed until the end, you’re real followers and subscribers. I’m still living with my parents and plan to move to my girlfriend’s city this year. The training isn’t just about improving my craft or making more money; it’s also about moving forward in my personal life. Understanding these personal details helps make my content make more sense.

That’s it for today. I’ll see you in the next video.