Professional Quotes

“We’re all pros already. 1) We show up every day 2) We show up no matter what 3) We stay on the job all day 4) We are committed over the long haul 5) The stakes for us are high and real 6) We accept remuneration for our labor 7) We do not overidentify with our jobs 8 ) We master the technique of our jobs 9) We have a sense of humor about our jobs 10) We receive praise or blame in the real world”
― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle

“A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear, who has you see what you don't want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be.”
― Tom Landry

“If you wrote something for which someone sent you a cheque, if you cashed the cheque and it didn't bounce, and if you then paid the light bill with the money, I consider you talented.”
― Stephen King

“In business 'professionalism' is not a tactic but a moral value.”
― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

“A movie: tells the story; of a person(s); in the pursuit of an Objective(s); in the face of Opposition(s); with someone to talk to; with an underlying theme, in a clearly defined genre; with an emotionally satisfying resolution. Does yours?”
― Dan Joseph Decker, ANATOMY OF A SCREENPLAY THIRD EDITION

“A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it; an amateur is one who can't when he does feel like it.”
― James Agate

“A professional headshot in front of a bookshelf says you're an intellectual. A professional headshot peeking though a bookshelf says you're probably under a restraining order.”
― Ryan Lilly

“Professional writers write to fit”
― Pamela Glass Kelly, From Inspiration to Publication: How to Succeed As a Children's Writer Advice from 15 Award Winning Writers

“One of the strangest experiences I had in life was watching my professional astronomy girlfriend turn into a lesbian.”
― Steven Magee

“We are all amateurs. We don't have enough time to be anything else.”
― Charlie Chaplin

“Due to my work in high altitude professional astronomy, the COVID-19 shutdown was not an issue for me as I was used to social isolation.”
― Steven Magee

“A professional scores with the decorum that he's scored before.”
― Criss Jami

“If the astronomy access road gets inundated with hot lava, that will be the end of professional astronomy on the island of Hawaii for the foreseeable future.”
― Steven Magee

“My time as a middle manager was a decade spent in high altitude professional astronomy. I found myself in a ‘Piggy In The Middle’ situation. The management team wanted a well performing telescope that was free of issues and the people I was managing appeared lethargic! I later discovered through research that the high altitude exposures drain them of energy. The high altitude workers end up in a state of mal-acclimatization, where they are never acclimatized to the mountain and they are never acclimatized to sea level. After a decade working at high altitude, I was also lethargic! It was a relief to leave the field of professional astronomy. I spent the following decades characterizing the toxicity of professional astronomy and I discovered a new sickness called ‘Altitude Hypersensitivity’.”
― Steven Magee

“Working and socializing with international people was prevalent in professional astronomy.”
― Steven Magee, Toxic Altitude

“Small airways disease was diagnosed in me after I spent a decade breathing industrial and medical gas in my professional astronomy jobs.”
― Steven Magee, Toxic Altitude

“After a decade in high altitude professional astronomy, I looked really old and obese in my forties!”
― Steven Magee, Toxic Altitude

“Some professional astronomy telescopes are associated with unusual illnesses and deaths in their workers.”
― Steven Magee, Toxic Altitude

“Social isolation was prevalent in professional astronomy.”
― Steven Magee, Toxic Altitude

“I was considering going to work at one of the highest observatories in the world before I left professional astronomy.”
― Steven Magee, Toxic Altitude

“Disaster happens when preachers cross over and think that professional advice is a lack of faith”
― Dr. Lucas D. Shallua

“It's often the way that people who take their work seriously laugh at stupid jokes; it's as if they are under-humoured and, as a consequence, suffer from premature laugh-ejaculation.”
― Nick Hornby, High Fidelity

“You know how it is when a tricky job is going well because you're doing things the way they should be done, when you're working in rhythm and feel a reassuring confidence that everything's unraveling naturally and all will be right in the end. That's about it: I know what I was doing -- it's really what being a professional means.”
― J.L. Carr, A Month in the Country

“I am a professional whistleblower!”
― Steven Magee

“When I worked in professional high and very high altitude astronomy, I was completely clueless to what the long term biological hazards of the job were!”
― Steven Magee

“The workers in professional astronomy were not informed about the extensive biological research that had been performed on high and very high altitude biological exposures.”
― Steven Magee

“As I watched my mental and physical health rapidly decline during a decade of working in high altitude professional astronomy, I became suspicious about the toxicity of the jobs and left the field to protect my long term health.”
― Steven Magee

“The oldest computer hardware I worked on was in professional astronomy.”
― Steven Magee

“It used to be that only a professional player could wear the official team uniform. Now anyone with $75 can own an authentic game jersey. Somehow that cheapens the honor and privilege that go with that jersey. In reality, only the players themselves have earned the right to wear it. But we have done the same thing with our heroes. We throw the term around and slap it on just about anyone who has attained even a modicum of celebrity status, whether it is in the world of sports, music, or entertainment. But greatness is not merely for those fortunate enough to gain public notoriety. It is not for those who seek grandeur or personal glory. Rather it should be for those who, through quiet strength, demonstrate character on and off the field or the stage.”
― Jeff Kinley

“John Michael Vanderhider, the CPA with a heart for Houston and numbers. A proud graduate of Texas A&M, his journey led him to Deloitte as an Audit Senior Manager, mastering oil and gas intricacies.”
― John Michael Vanderhider