Pool is not an occupation. It can be used to supplement or deplete your primary income (if you have one) - but pool is not an occupation. No matter how good you are, you need to have a back-up plan. In this day and age, education is vital in succeeding in the world - and even if you want to play pool (for big money) you need to know how to manage your money and your career.
Scuffling won't cut it.
The people that believe that scuffling from here to there will eventually lead them to a pot of gold - they are only fooling themselves.
A long time ago, I had somebody tell me that I had to chart my life out by establishing goals. It was cool to have some goals that were geared towards pool. I was able to achieve some of them, some them I didn't. However I had goals established outside the realm of of my pool life. These goals included education, career, family, etc. These "non-pool" goals were the fuel used to power my pool goals.
You also have to look at things realistically. It's cool to show up and play the pros, but your chance of winning anything of significance is very low percentage. I've seen guys win big events, or cash in big events and still end up in the red. That should tell you something - and your priorities should be based upon those realities.
It comes down to priorities. Learning how prioritize your life and your goals is essential to being successful no matter what you want to do. You won't always impress everybody - but I never really cared about that. My career as a "pro" probably didn't amount to shitt (even in my eyes), but I was able to channel my energy and passion for the game into other areas of my life. I had to learn to shut my mouth and listen to others, establish and foster good relationships, get an education, prioritize, and then work my asss off. That means getting up every day (before 2PM) and having someplace to be where you are expected to be responsible, dependable, and accountable.
In less than 10 years (1983-1993) I went from starving while living in the back seat of my Honda Accord - to purchasing and paying off a 5 bedroom home and acquiring two local pool rooms. In my spare time I earned degrees in business and psychology, and I worked in law enforcement. I continued to play at a high level, but my main gig - the gig that put food on the table and money in the bank was not dependent upon how I was pocketing balls that week.
Unless you play on the same level of Johnny Archer, Shane Van Boening, Thorsten Hohmann, Darren Appleton, Mika, etc... you might want to establish something that will take care of you once the balls start appearing fuzzy. There are some great players that I knew 25 years ago - they were rolling in the dough back then, but today they don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of. That's a bad place to be when you're 25, and an even worse place to be when you're 60.
For those that think that teaching or writing books is enough to sustain you - ROTFLMAO - for the month of May, I sold 2 books, and made a whopping $20. I think altogether, I might have made $100 teaching on the side. These days, I make more money training athletes in other sports than I ever have in pool, and that is where I concentrate 90% of my energy these days. You go with the flow.
