Quotes About Professionalism

Why is it so hard to develop a point of view? Why do we hesitate when we say to the world, Here, I made this? And what's the alternative to hesitating? These don't sound like marketing questions, but in fact, if you let them sit unanswered, they're getting in the way of your marketing. People who aren't as gifted or generous as you are running circles around you, because they are showing up as professionals. And yet, too many people with something to offer are holding themselves back.

If you need to be authentic to do your best work, you're not a professional, you're a fortunate amateur.

Today, a hack isn't something you want to be. A hack reverse-engineers all the work, barely getting by. The hack has no point of view, no assertions to be made. It's simply "what do you need?" and "how little do I have to charge to get this gig?" (or "how much can I get away with?").

A graceful person gets things done, but does it in a way you'd be happy to have repeated.

My life has been quite interesting professionally.

That's the thing about the writer's life is that you have to have self-discipline. Otherwise you'll never get paid.

I take every role seriously. Personally, I never look at any role as Michael White. I've done that my entire life.

I personally do not think that I have ever done, in my working life, anything vulgar. I know I've done provocative things.

I would have liked to have worked with Carrie Preston. I think Carrie Preston is one of the most talented actresses I've ever met in my entire life.

I would never wanna do a show that's strictly maudlin and invaded my personal life and my home. I would never do that.

As a straight news correspondent I would never make an issue of someone's personal life unless they have put it out there for public consumption.

It's a fact of life that how you dress affects how you are perceived and whether your contribution to a meeting is registered as worth listening to.

I've worn a suit and tie for most of my life. And I believe (for me), it makes me more confident navigating the world.

The blank space can be humbling. But I've faced it my whole professional life. It's my job. It's also my calling. Bottom line: Filling this empty space constitutes my identity.

Actors have to stay ready and be ready. They need to adjust things in their life, whether it be hair, teeth, take the time to do that.

Age indomitably, in the European manner. Do not finish your labours young. Be a planet, not a meteor. Honor the working day. Sit at your desk.

I thought if I wanted people to take me seriously, I needed to act serious and not reveal too much of my private life so people could seriously accept me in different things.

You have to defend your character. That's your job, if they're hiring you. That doesn't mean you can't collaborate, but you do have to make some big, bold choices. We do that in real life, too.

I've never been fired in my life.

I think it's dangerous if your goal in life is to get the other guy, then you're not going to be doing a really quality job yourself

I have a dream: that in my job, everything goes a bit faster. Five minutes hair, make-up five minutes, ten minutes and ready for a good picture. That would make life much easier.

Journalists and the people they cover shouldn't be friends.

Gates should have exceeded Washington as a military leader. He had long experience in a professional army and was more loved by his men. But Washington's character was superior to that of his rival, and it made him a great man, whereas Gates was merely a good soldier.

I have never thought about what I was doing in terms of art, or "this is great," or "world-shaking," or anything like that. To me, it was always a job of work—which I enjoyed immensely—and that's it.