害怕不夠專業不敢收費？業餘愛好者的魅力與機會！Embrace your amateur spirit

社會上鼓勵的是「成為不可取代的專業者」，「專業」兩字讓人壓力如山大，路途的前方永遠有比自己更專業的人存在，永遠覺得自己專業不足沒自信，自我消耗。
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直到讀到這本《Show your work 點子就要秀出來》，裡面直接鼓勵大家「當個業餘愛好者」！
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（以下為擷取書中內容）
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業餘愛好者不計得失，所以勇於嘗試並分享結果，他們願意冒險、實驗，隨興所致而發揮，有時候在他們用不專業的方式做事的過程會有新的發現。

因為業餘愛好者不怕犯錯，不怕當眾出醜，他們宛如陷入愛河，所以即使是其他人覺得很蠢或很傻的工作，也毫不猶豫去做。

業餘愛好者可能沒受過正式訓練，但是一輩子都在學，而且他們要特別大方公開地學，這樣其他人才能從他們的失敗與成功中學到教訓。

日本禪僧鈴木俊隆(Shunryu Suzuki)說：「初學者的心，面向無限可能；老手的心則飽受羈絆」

世界瞬息萬變，我們每個人都會變成業餘愛好者，即時是專業人士，要發光發熱最好的辦法，便是保有業餘愛好者的精神。別再想當專家（或專業人士），盡情展露你的業餘愛好精神 (你的心、你的愛)，分享所愛，有志一同的人自然會找到你。

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哇～這些對業餘愛好者的敘述，讓我對業餘愛好者產生莫大的好感🤣🤣🤣 因為我發現原來業餘愛好者的世界，比專業者的世界來得大！這也太讚了吧！！不會把自己綁的礙手礙腳，我喜歡寬廣與自由感，因此非常吸引我。解開我長久內心的結，這也是為何我很喜歡這本書的原因之一！

現在的我是知道自己不足，那就去學習，但不會因知道自己不足，而感到羞愧、沒自信。
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加上後來我發現有「服務」一個有趣的地方，就是不管自己專業等級在哪裡，永遠都有對應的客戶！

例如一個東西專業等級有 0、1、2、3、4、5、6、7、8、9 級，你現在程度在 2，那其實你就可以提供服務給等級 0 跟 1 的人。若你程度在 3 就可以分享給等級 0、1、2 的人，一直都有人比你知道的少，但又需要這服務的人的存在。
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（我隨意舉例，舉芳療）
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例如我就是對芳療超級空也沒興趣學的人，我屬於等級 0，但我可能會想體驗看看芳療，那不管你在等級 2 或 3，要來服務我對我來說都很足夠了，真的！
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因為像我這種等級 0 的小白，給等級 9 我也不見得懂，更不見得願意花大錢請等級 9 的為我服務，我只需要找到比我還會的人就好。
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你付出的時間都是一去不復返的時間，你也付出了精力，時間與精力都是珍貴的，都可以開價，開多少是其次，但要開價！
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不要認為自己沒價錢，或以為免費就比較吸引人，做免費的頭 2 ~ 3 位客人也許還可以，或很清楚就是一個初期的行銷策略，但若常常因覺得自己專業不夠，沒自信而做免費服務，尤其做到覺得累但又沒有任何收入時，自我懷疑的內在耗損可能比你想像中的大
（別啊～～）
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來吧！成為業餘愛好者，讓你的世界變更大更好玩，然後提供服務請收費。
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By the way，其實業餘愛好者做久了也會變專業，只是在這過程中，業餘愛好者心態是愉悅，心理負擔小，不會一路一直被「應該要專業才對」絆倒，反正做久都會變專業，那不如選當一位開心的業餘愛好者，不錯吧？😆

一起來思考✨

1. 我在哪些地方因為覺得自己還不夠好而退縮了？

2. 如果我允許自己像個初學者那樣去學、去分享，生活會有什麼不同？

3. 即使我還不是專家，我現在已經能幫助誰了？

 

（原文寫在 2023.10.21 我個人臉書 Betty Yuchan Tseng 上，經修改後重發在網站上）


同一位作者的寫三本書，每一本的呈現都是一篇ㄧ主題，容易閱讀！內容很讚！推推！

Be an Amateur, Not an Expert—Your World Will Open Up

Society often tells us to become irreplaceable professionals. But let’s be honest—“professional” is a word that carries a ton of pressure. There’s always someone more skilled, more trained, more experienced. You end up feeling not good enough, constantly doubting yourself and running on empty.

Then I read Show Your Work by Austin Kleon—and it flipped the script. One sentence stood out:

"Be an amateur."

Here’s why:

Amateurs aren’t obsessed with outcomes. They’re driven by curiosity and joy. They try things, they share their progress, they experiment without fear. And often, it’s because they’re not trained that they stumble across something new.

Amateurs don’t fear failure or embarrassment. They’re in love with what they do. Even if others think their work is silly or naive, they keep going.

An amateur might not be formally trained—but they’re always learning. And they learn out loud, so others can learn from their wins and mistakes too.

Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki once said:

"In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few."

In a fast-changing world, we’re all amateurs at some point. Even the pros. The ones who shine the longest are often those who keep their amateur spirit alive.

So don’t aim to be the expert. Share what you love. Let your heart and passion lead the way. When you do, the right people will find you.

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I can’t tell you how much I love this perspective. It made me realize: the world of amateurs is actually bigger than the world of professionals.

There’s more freedom. Less pressure. More space to move and explore.

This mindset untied a long-standing knot in my heart—and that’s one reason I love this book so much.

Nowadays, I’m aware of what I don’t know. But instead of feeling ashamed or insecure, I let it motivate me to keep learning.

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And here’s something interesting I’ve learned from working in service:

No matter what level you’re at, there’s always someone who needs what you can offer.

Let’s say there are 10 levels of skill—from 0 to 9. If you’re at level 2, you can help those at level 0 or 1. If you’re at level 3, you can serve those at 0, 1, or 2. There will always be people who know less than you but need what you can do.

For example, I know nothing about aromatherapy. Zero interest. Total level 0. But I might want to try it one day. If someone at level 2 or 3 offers me a session, that’s more than enough! Honestly, someone at level 9 might overwhelm me—and charge way more than I’m ready to spend.

The point is: you are already valuable to someone.

Your time and energy are precious. They’re worth something. You should charge for them. How much is up to you—but the act of charging matters.

Doing something for free is okay for your first 2–3 clients, or if it’s a conscious marketing strategy. But if you constantly offer free services because you feel unqualified or unsure of yourself, that kind of quiet self-doubt can eat away at you.

Don’t do that to yourself. 😢

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Be an amateur. Let your world get bigger and more fun. And yes—charge for your work.

By the way… the funny thing is, the more you keep doing what you love, the more professional you’ll naturally become.

But the difference? When you keep the amateur mindset, you’re learning with joy—not carrying the heavy weight of “I should be better by now.”

And hey, isn’t that a better way to grow?

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✨ Reflection Questions

1. Where am I holding back just ’cause I think I’m not good enough yet?

2. What might change if I let myself learn and share like a beginner?

3. Who could I already help with what I know—even if I’m not an expert?

(Originally posted on my personal Facebook on Oct 21, 2023. Revised for the blog.)