Do you really want to...

Be a ballerina like Natalie Portman in Black Swan? (Well, minus the crazy)

Be some other sort of performer?

Be an entrepreneur? One of my favorite VC bloggers, Mark Suster recently wrote a great post, Should You Really Be a Startup Entrepreneur? that was featured in the virtual tech bible, Tech Crunch. It really painted an accurate picture of what being an entrepreneur is all about. It's ALOT of hard work. It isn't always gratifying--especially in the short term.  Passion is likely a prerequisite for most. You're going to have to develop a thick skin to fend off all those no's until you get a yes. It reminds me of other similar posts written about other fields. There's this one, So You Wanna Be a Writer? which given the subject, is naturally written in the form of a poem--by Charles Bukowski.

The road to being successful professionally has a few things common. Here's how I see it:

- It's something you MUST do. Get ready to ride the up and downs.

- Practice. Practice. Practice.  Learn your craft. Well. Develop mastery. 10,000 hours according to this man.

- Two words: Dedication & Perseverance. Be willing forgo immediate rewards for longer term satisfaction or success.

The key to success begins with doing what you love and then a whole lot o' work. It's not all that glamorous. I know it's true. I've done it. I've watched , this entrepreneur, and this one among many others do it. If you want a life that is more remarkable than just punching the ole' time clock for 40 years while waiting for retirement it's something you MUST do. You want something better than mediocre right? It's not about being an entrepreneur. You can be a musician like Christine Bougie who follows these "rules." You can be anyone, doing anything. No matter your passion, you must be who YOU are. Follow what you naturally love to do (whatever that is) and become masterful at it.

Now get to work.