Up to 30 years old, I was carried by natural talent, combined with a good level of professionalism. But since turning 30, I've gained a desire to sweat in the real sense of the word, to understand where I need to improve. Competitiveness, now, is essential.
That professionalism comes from what I've watched people do on the set. I'm just trying to be as respectful to the environment, as they have been. I think I still act like a kid. I just try to be as professional as I can.
I probably complicate things unnecessarily now just to give the illusion of professionalism.
What worries me is the professionalism of everything.
For directors and producers, you're not going to get competent performers on your set if they didn't start at a young age and understand professionalism.
When I started blogging in 2004, I responded to every comment no matter how nasty the reader was. I was generally polite, believing that these critics would be so charmed by my professionalism that they would see the error of their misogynist ways and swiftly run out to read a bell hooks book. Ha!
I was most impressed with the professionalism of our soldiers stationed there, and I am now more confident than ever that that the operations at Guantanamo are being conducted in a humane and necessary manner.
Given the professionalism of Michigan teachers, I think they're not teaching because of the financial rewards.
Professionalism in art has this difficulty: To be professional is to be dependable, to be dependable is to be predictable, and predictability is esthetically boring - an anti-virtue in a field where we hope to be astonished and startled and at some deep level refreshed.
The true mark of professionalism is the ability to respect everyone else for their styles and always find something positive in every dining experience and highlight it in your thoughts and words.
