Advice to someone who whats to be a professional athlete

My advice is aimed at the person who is interested in pursuing a career in athletics or at least getting sponsored. My background is founded from 37 years in the actions sports industry assisting young riders get sponsorship in snowboarding, surfing, windsurfing, skating, bmx bicycling and sailing. The lessons for these young atheletes may well be applicable to your general situation.

It's a business because you want to be a Pro
If you wanted to start a restaurant or become a doctor the choices below might be the same. You need to approach the whole subject as a professional and prepare to work hard, educate yourself and stick to it. No one will ever get anywhere by dabbling. You will be surprised by how many people, your competitors, will simply give up and move onto something else or perhaps give up by simply treading water.

Think about what you are giving up
Young people often under-estimate the importance of decisions that they make. Each one is a fork in teh road and each one precludes other opportunities. This is known as opportunity cost. For example if you decide to eat at McDonalds today for lunch that means you can't go to Wendy's. That is a lost opportunity. A more critical decision is if you decide to take a year or two off from school to pursue a pro career in sports you are going to be giving up completing your eduction is a timely manner. You will be 24 when you are applying for a job and you will be competing with 22 year olds. You will also be sending the message that you are "settling" for a job now that your dreams of a pro career have been dashed. So the main lesson here is if you decide to be a pro athlete it is not a trivial decision. If you are going to do it you must commit.

Commit yourself unmercifully
You are not going to do it. You need a goal. Whether it is winning a World Championship or the Olympics you have to have that ultimate goal in mind. If this is what you want to do then make sure it is attainable (you have the basic skills, ram material and resources) and therefore realistic. Sheer willpower could overcome some disadvantages but there is no sense trying to be an NBA forward if you are 5'6" or no sense trying to be a pro surfer if you are 250 pounds.

Make a plan

• What is your training regime and how hard will you go after it.
• Hire a coach or convince people of your seriousness and ask them to help you. In the competitive world of pro sports you have to have help from nutritionists, strength trainers, agility trainers and the like. One guy or gal can do all of this or can help coordinate your training so that you build yourself up quickly without training injuries.
• What events will you enter and which will you use for training and which will you try to win. An overall strategy is not to win everything but to pick your battles and peak at the important events.

 Become marketable and valuable

• Develop a marketable presence and story. You need to attract sponsors who will want you associated with their products.
• Find your hook. What is it about you that is unique and different? Do you give back to the sport and your community
• Give back to your sponsors. If you are lucky enough to get one then you will need to maintain the relationship. Provide them photos, progress reports, evaluation reports on the products of their you are using. Ask them well in advance which events they want you to do and plan them around events you need to do and of course your training. Many athletes hate personal appearances. You will stand out if you embrace these enthusiastically.

Plan for Success

• Not to put the cart in front of the horse but what if you succeed in your plan. What next? There can be a let down after the accomplishment that many athletes are not prepared for. You can soften that blow by realizing that your real fulfillment comes from pursuing the goal. Once there you may need another goal.
• If you become successful what kind of person will you be? Can you handle sitting on an interview couch with Jay Leno asking you what it's like to be you. Visualizing proper responses will help ground your efforts from now up until that moment. You would want to be cool and open and gracious and humble. Not arrogant, egotistic, immature or shallow. Plan that response early and be that person from the start because you will not be able to handle it if you aren't cool and open and gracious and humble.
• Give back and then give back some more.
• Trust your finances to real blue ribbon specialists. Hire a well known nationally recognized investment bank to manage your investments and money. Don't let your cousin Vinny or any other family member  anywhere near it.
• Hire only the very best personal representation, lawyers and accountants. They will cost more but they will be worth it and you will be confident that they aren't up to any mischief. Did you know that there are schools specializing in Sports Management. Just Google "sports management" and see what I mean.
• Finally live within your means and as if tomorrow you will be injured and have to retire. The world is littered with people that made tons of money young, spent tons of money young and now are now living in an apartment on the wrong side of town. Conserve and be frugal with yourself and be generous with others.

Have an exit strategy

• Finally plan for your exit from the sport. Sports can be brutal on people and they can pay the price later in life. Football is an extreme example where the heavier athletes often die before 50.
• Do you want to be racing in the masters division in your 60s or do you want to possibly enter the industry and become a rep or work for one of your sponsors. 
• Do you want to return to school and if so when and in what field. Consider sports rehabilitation and physical therapy. Consult with a career guidance professional at the start and maintain that relationship throughout your effort to become a professional.
• What will you do if you get injured? Remember it is easy to get into something but remember how to get out of it as well.

Advice to someone wanting to leave a job

Remember that your employer only wants you for your ability to provide profits to the company. Any emotion you may or may not feel about a work environment is beside the point. The cynical truth is that all businesses recognize that the more "loved" an employee feels the less they are generally willing to work for.

If you are unhappy at work I would use your current feelings to argue for a promotion or change in work schedule. You will be able to negotiate from strength if you really don't care if you continue to work there or not. You may well be a very hard working employee that could get a raise but are to nice to ask for it. In my line of work I had employees that were like that. The tougher employees often got more pay, better hours and more perks because they asked for them. The others got less pay, worse hours and did more hard work which I of course appreciated.

The worst thing you can do is surprise your employer with a letter of resignation without going through the process of seeing if they can meet your needs so you need to open an honest with yourself first.

If you do leave your job you may find that you do have enough to retire now or pursue another direction that is more fun and fulfilling for less pay. That is something I am trying to figure out for myself now. I am trying to organize a budget for myself but it is getting put behind other priorities hopefully I will have more on that in the future.