Have you ever been called an amateur? It stings. It shouldn’t be.

Amateurs

The label ‘amateur’ has a negative feel, it refers to unskilled workers, hobbyists, and poor results. But the word actually derives from the Latin ‘amare’, meaning to love. So an amateur is somebody who is doing it for the love of it.

They come to their work for play, for fun, and discovery. When it comes to the quality of their work, they are setting the bar for themselves only.

Professionals

A professional, on the other hand, is commonly seen as somebody who knows what they are doing. They are competent, they deliver quality, and they have a price.

Several common quotes make this point:

“You think professionals are expensive? Try working with amateurs.”

“Amateurs hope. Professionals work.”

Both quotes assume professionals deliver better results than amateurs. But where does that reputation come from?

The word professional derives from Latin ‘profiteri’, which originally meant to declare openly, acknowledge publicly. This creates an expectation of adhering to a public standard of good work. Accountability follows from that. Good historical examples are doctors, priests, and lawyers. They are held to a standard that is agreed upon by a societal group, and are often publicly sworn into that role.

True professionals are loyal to that standard, they even completely internalize it. As a result, professionals are often more loyal to their peer group than to their employer, if they even have one.

In contrast, an amateur is loyal to no one, though they may feel part of a group that has similar interests.

Nassim Taleb draws a sharp distinction in his book “Skin in the Game”: the professional is accountable, they bear consequences for failure; the amateur does not. That asymmetry, to Taleb, is the real difference — not skill.

Passion

Both amateurs and professionals often talk about being passionate. Passion is thought to mean to love, but originally it meant pain or suffering. Not just any suffering, but suffering or sacrifice for a higher goal. This is different from loving certain activities, or loving the group they are a part of.

In Christianity, the passion of Christ refers to the sacrifice of Jesus so that the world can be saved. No lack of ambition… The Easter story of his Via Dolorosa and crucifixion goes into vivid and painful details of that suffering.

You don’t have to look far. Think of caring for a family member. Is that always fun? No. Is it fulfilling? Yes.

An amateur says: I think it is important to me. A professional says: I think it is important to the profession. A passionate person says: I think it is important to others.

Synthesis

These three dimensions of meaningful activity are not separate. Professionals can have fun doing their work. Amateurs can deliver outstanding work. And both can be passionate.

The interesting question is: does your current work give you any room for all three?

I think there are opportunities everywhere, and I have turned to the Ikigai framework to help people find them. Ikigai combines what you love, what you’re good at, what you get paid for, and what the world needs.

Which of these describes you most, right now?