#beingprofessional — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #beingprofessional, aggregated by home.social.
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Professional
He smiled a little. He looked forward, thinking, perhaps about the movie, as if it hadn’t crossed his mind for a long time. Then he grinned and said: “Money job.”
It’s not clear, of course, exactly how Hackman meant for Stiller to take his simply reply. But, having seen The Poseidon Adventure, I’m taking it this way: Hackman is a consummate professional, able to deliver. “You need what done? I can do that.” That’s a professional.
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Consider: How do you handle the tension between quality and consistency?
We’re told to “just ship it,” but also to “make it great.” Where do you draw the line? When do you prioritize polish, and when do you hit publish?
I had to learn—the way you learn to ride a bicycle: do it over and over, the “principle” of the thing doesn’t help you do the thing—that the tension is a good sign. Now when I feel the tension between quality and consistency I know I’m in the correct place.
This morning, I’m thinking about a rowing metaphor: One oar is quality and the other is consistency. Pull evenly and the boat goes straight-ish. Also, if you try to row too hard, you get exhausted. The best way to make long-term progress is to row these two things, in balance, at a sustainable pace.
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Not fun, but still pleasurable
Fun is not the right word. It is demanding, but somehow I also find pleasure in that.
slip:4uteie32.
While rock climbing (outdoors, on real rocks, at real heights) I was once told that there are three types of fun: Type-1 fun is when something is fun, right now. Type-2 fun is when it’s not fun now, but is nonetheless great because of the experience, stories and learning being gained. …and then there’s Type-3 fun when nope, this is bad, mistakes have been made, and I want out of here.
I wonder if a big part of what draws me to be professional about what I do is that it’s really just Type-2 fun?
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Demonstrate
The final challenge isn’t just to do the work but to exceed expectations. My approach at Borland and whenever a helpful someone gives me constructive feedback is to hear it, address it, and act on it in a fashion that demonstrates that I am the expert.
~ Michael Lopp, from Ok. So, You’re Failing
slip:4uraai14.
Exceeding expectations is a slippery slope. By definition, that’s moving beyond the point of success. (Assuming those expectations are reasonably set.) A little bit of better, is better. But how much of myself do I want to sacrifice as I push farther? A key part of the dance of being professional is learning how to set my own goals and expectations which are beyond those of others and still reasonable.
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Not passion
[Don’t you need a certain kind of passion during those dry spells, to keep going?] Not at all. What keeps you going is stubbornness, economic necessity, or simply endurance. Passion will, at most, lead to frustration, but not to perseverance. For that, you don’t need passion, you need persistence.
~ Christoph Waltz, from Christoph Waltz – The Talksslip:4uteie27.
It’s an interesting interview just for his views on passion. I agree with him: Passion will get you out the door on days 1 and 2. But by day 3 you need a routine, an understanding of the effort you’re undertaking, a clear perspective on what it’s going to be in the long haul, and more. But if you really want to get wowed by Waltz, go find Quentin Tarantino’s conversation on The Moment podcast with Brian Koppelman… the part where Tarantino talks about bringing Waltz onto the project…
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#7ForSunday #BeingProfessional #ChristophWaltz #Perseverance -
Professionalism
The essence of professionalism is the focus upon the work and its demands, while we are doing it, to the exclusion of all else. The ancient Spartans schooled themselves to regard the enemy, any enemy, as nameless and faceless. In other words, they believed that if they did their work, no force on Earth could stand against them.
slip:4a1517.
#BeingProfessional #InspirationalQuotesBookReviewed_ #Quotes #StevenPressfield
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Overcoming fear
The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; Then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.
slip:4a1512.
#BeingProfessional #Fear #InspirationalQuotesBookReviewed_ #Quotes #Resistance #StevenPressfield
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The professional
In my view, the amateur does not love the game enough. If he did, he would not pursue it as a sideline, distinct from his “real” vocation. The professional loves it so much he dedicates his life to it. He commits full-time. That’s what I mean when I say turning Pro. Resistance hates it when we turn Pro.
slip:4a1507.
#BeingProfessional #InspirationalQuotesBookReviewed_ #Quotes #StevenPressfield
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Grandiose fantasies
Grandiose fantasies are a symptom of Resistance. They’re the sign of an amateur. The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work. The professional concentrates on the work and allows rewards to come or not com, whatever they like.
slip:4a1502.
#BeingProfessional #InspirationalQuotesBookReviewed_ #Quotes #Resistance #StevenPressfield
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Obliged to respond
I recently heard a conversation between Brian Koppelman and Steven Pressfield (circa 2019 in Koppelman’s podcast, The Moment) where Pressfield mentioned a few great things for creatives to remember: Being a professional has nothing to do with getting paid. Resistance is real, it’s myself, and is waiting for me to invite it to stop me. The Muse is real.
The muse really does reward me for being found working. I’ve learned, no matter the work, the muse approves when finding me ready with pen and paper close. But if the muse taps me and I fail to treat the gift appropriately—if I think, “I’ll remember that. I don’t need to write that down.”—then I hear the muse scoff, “we shall see.” We shall see if I remember. And we shall see if the muse waits a bit longer before checking on me again.
That, of course, was the reason for the pen all along: it’s a physical reminder that you are not reading merely to consume the words of others passively, but that you have an obligation to respond.
~ Mandy Brown from, Ways of writing
slip:4uaowi6.
I’m realizing that books themselves also need room to sprawl. If I keep them shelved upright, or even more simply stacked flat, they still seem to be squished into submission. When I am able to lay a few of them out, with some room for them to wave their invisible tendrils, they seem to taunt me: go ahead, pick me up! If there’s a tablet or some writing scraps at hand, or garish sticky notes for flagging pages, then it begins to feel like its own room with unfolding conversations. In the end, it’s almost a composition just having the books lying about.
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I am a creative
It’s a good day, any time I can find an excuse to link to A List Apart. This piece doesn’t need an excuse to be linked. Nearly every sentence in it starts with “I am a creative…” and makes it read like some sort of manifesto… or the beginning of a communal incantation at some Creatives Anonymous meeting in a church basement.
I am still 10 times faster than people who are not creative, or people who have only been creative a short while, or people who have only been professionally creative a short while. It’s just that, before I work 10 times as fast as they do, I spend twice as long as they do putting the work off. I am that confident in my ability to do a great job when I put my mind to it. I am that addicted to the adrenaline rush of postponement. I am still that afraid of the jump.
~ Jeffrey Zeldman from, I am a creative.
slip:4uaiai5.
That quoted bit isn’t better than several other bits. Rather, I wanted to point to that “addicted to the adrenaline rush of postponement” to say that verily (be sure to read the example use of verily related to aviation) this used to be me. These days I’m addicted to the adrenaline rush of postponing… and then entirely abandoning whatever it was. Also, I am still afraid of the jump.
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