Being famous is not the same as being a professional.
Fame is an image. Therefore, while extremely focused skill increases the probability of someone being famous, being famous can be unto itself completely void of skill. The unknown variables of fame (in my view) parallel with the unknowns in life as there is only one specific variable in both that no human will ever be able to understand, measure, qualify, or, in direct contrast, quantify. That variable is luck. Luck is the most interesting variable on the planet. It’s the most relevant to life while being the least used word when we speak about our success as humans. We rarely give the credit to the thing that creates the possibility for a successful experience in all ways unimaginable.
Ninety-nine percent of individuals in the most dominant industries in the world will not make it to the top. A common theme among the rare percentage at the top is the understanding that luck doesn’t just play a part but it plays the biggest part for the smallest percentage that reach their potential as well as their purpose in life. In order to qualify what we don’t know we don’t know, look to luck to represent the fact that we don’t know what we think we do when it comes to most things in this life.
Understanding this about luck at its base allows the ability to make room for learning and discovery. This process takes courage, confronting what one thinks, and being open to being open. A true professional understands the consistency of being a student before being popular, well-liked, and/or even well-known. Being a professional means going through the constant friction of going against what is thought to be known and what needs to be known to make the job complete.
All of us have the natural capability of doing anything we want. That’s why we do so many things, especially in this technology age. It takes a true professional, however, to make a job consistently complete and to prioritize that over the recognition of fame as well as understanding one’s luck for being in the right circumstance at the right time.
