I’ll be the first to admit that life as a professional telemark skier is awesome. I mean really top-notch. There’s a lot to be said for getting free gear from great companies and traveling around the world pushing the limits while film crews and photographers document the adventure. I get to meet great folks from many of Earth’s corners, share lots of laughs and even partake in the occasional libation. I often think to myself that I might, indeed, be having too much fun.

But a lot goes on behind the scenes. As is the case with being a pro athlete in any discipline, you’re essentially turning your passion into your job. While I’m a huge proponent of doing what you love and loving what you do, one word has a tendency to get overlooked whenever I hear someone expressing their professional telemark aspirations: work. It takes a lot of work, and that work is rewarded with modest pay — if you’re lucky. Even a sponsored athlete that doesn’t make any money does a lot more than just get free gear and go shred. Keeping all your sponsors up to date with photos, video edits and competition results is work in and of itself. To do so, you have to get out and shoot with photographers, get filmed so you have video to edit and travel to and from competitions.

Now I’m not purporting that all of this “work” falls into the same category as a 9-5 or that a lot of it doesn’t feel like play. But with the sheer quantity of youngsters out there packing mad skills and wanting to “Live the Dream” of being pro-skiers, it’s more important than ever to have a skill set that sets you apart from the pack. That said, I’ve put together a little list of the best — and worst — things you can do to help you negotiate the less-than-straightforward road to relative glory and stardom:

Learn How to Write Good!   I know that ‘well’ would have been the more appropriate word choice here. I was being ironic — to prove a point. But seriously, if you can’t express yourself via the written word, then your chances of excelling in any discipline are greatly diminished. Sure, you may have a sweet bag of tricks and serious big-mountain prowess, but that’s not enough. If you can’t keep track of the variations of ‘your’ and ‘there’ or you aren’t familiar with the differences between plurals and possessives, then you’ll be hard-pressed to wow your way into a contract.

Be Hungry!   There are a lot of really talented humans out there. Some of them could likely out-ski me. Being a professional telemark skier means a lot more than being the nastiest dog in the nasty-dog park. You have to really want to do more in the industry than just get out everyday and play charge-face. There will always be a business side to the pursuit, and it’s not for everyone. You will need an earnest desire to build a ski career, and that entails more than just skiing. Keep in mind, a lot of the behind the scenes stuff is really fun to be a part of; for instance, the tradeshows, promotional events and demo days are a blast. You’ll also get to meet some really fantastic, passionate folks since the telemark industry attracts some darn cool people.

Take Care of Your Body!   Sure, switch double-misty twelves are inherently nasty, and they will likely attract the attention of some darling young damsels. But if you’re trying to progress faster than your body is capable of, then the likelihood of a real-deal crash and burn is greatly increased. If you’re going to be serious about pushing your skiing to the professional level, you have to be just as serious about maintaining your body — all year. I, personally, think Yoga is one of the best things you can do to keep your body strong and loose. It’s one of the best things I’ve found to prevent injuries, and I fall a lot. No joke. Check out my segment in Loyalty if you need a little establishment of my credibility.

-Alex Paul