1. It's not for most people like you. Photographer Joe McNally describes what it's like to be me. If you can deal with it, read on. 2. Read books like these to get you started off.
3. Make friends who are older and much more experienced than you.
4. Hang out with people outside of the photography industry. Don't be an artist hippie.
5. Hang with the passionate businessmen who know how to hustle.
6. Invest in tools/people that will benefit you in the long run. Enough with the cheap free stuff. Serious people put down money to get serious results.
7. Say goodbye to your 9-5, lunch breaks and your weekends.
8. Stay away from people who only think about having a good time.
9. Make lots of mistakes, apologize and learn from them quickly.
10. Take risks.
11. Fail more than you can imagine.