--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A professional is a person who can do his…" description: "\"A professional is a person who can do his best at a time when he doesn't particularly feel like it\" — Alistair Cooke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/alistair-cooke-9876_amateur_a-professional-is-a-person-who-can-do-hi_435309.jpg" --- # A professional is a person who can do his best at a time… ![“A professional is a person who can do his best at a time when he doesn't particularly feel like it” quote by Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/alistair-cooke-9876_amateur_a-professional-is-a-person-who-can-do-hi_435309.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/alistair-cooke-9876_amateur_a-professional-is-a-person-who-can-do-hi_435309.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/alistair-cooke-9876_amateur_a-professional-is-a-person-who-can-do-hi_435309.jpg) > “A professional is a person who can do his best at a time when he doesn't particularly feel like it” [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Professionalism means delivering quality work even when unmotivated. **In simple terms:** Do your best despite low motivation. Key Takeaway Commit to quality regardless of mood. Themes work ethic professionalism discipline Mood pragmatic inspirational Type advice motivational When to use this quote - deadlines - team projects - personal goals Key Concepts motivation performance responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain standards when uninspired? - What habits support consistent performance? A Different Perspective Motivation fluctuates; reliance on willpower can be unreliable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Profession and professionals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession-and-professionals/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The most important thing is how you are as a person, and then like a professional person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simona-halep/the-most-important-thing-is-how-you-are-as-a-person-and-then-like-a/) [Simona Halep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simona-halep/) > [For the camera, particularly, I feel like - I think that, as human faces become older, they become more interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigourney-weaver/for-the-camera-particularly-i-feel-like-i-think-that-as-human-faces/) [Sigourney Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigourney-weaver/) > [Paul is with me all of the time. I really do feel that, I particularly feel that every time I go to the ocean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-walker/paul-is-with-me-all-of-the-time-i-really-do-feel-that-i-particularly/) [Cody Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-walker/) > [When you are in a trouble, just be a professional person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-are-in-a-trouble-just-be-a-professional-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The big problem in making the hard decisions has much to do with the personal and professional well-being of the person making the call.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-martin/the-big-problem-in-making-the-hard-decisions-has-much-to-do-with-the/) [Chuck Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-martin/) > [Happiness is knowin' you've done a good job, whether it's professional or for another person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/happiness-is-knowin-you-ve-done-a-good-job-whether-it-s-professional/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [Either you like a person or you don't like a person. I don't have to love somebody to work with them. I'm a professional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/either-you-like-a-person-or-you-don-t-like-a-person-i-don-t-have-to/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Doctors have a really big fear of looking unprofessional. I've always said that if you're a professional person, you'll never come off looking unprofessional,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-varshavski/doctors-have-a-really-big-fear-of-looking-unprofessional-i-ve-always/) [Mikhail Varshavski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-varshavski/) > [Even if a farmer intends to loaf, he gets up in time to have an early start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-watson-howe/even-if-a-farmer-intends-to-loaf-he-gets-up-in-time-to-have-an-early/) [Edgar Watson Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-watson-howe/) > [Being a professional is doing the things you love to do even on the days you dont feel like doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-a-professional-is-doing-the-things-you-love-to-do-even-on-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being professional has nothing to do with how you handle things. A degree is nothing compared to attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-professional-has-nothing-to-do-with-how-you-handle-things-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our social and professional demands keep our mind highly active, absorbing most of our attention. Cluttering of mind obscures the higher Self. Our mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhruva-bhargava/our-social-and-professional-demands-keep-our-mind-highly-active/) Dhruva Bhargava > [When you need professional advice, get it from professionals, not from your friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-simard/when-you-need-professional-advice-get-it-from-professionals-not-from/) Ray Simard > [The true artist doesn't substitute immorality for morality. On the contrary, he always substitutes a finer morality for a grosser. And as soon as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dh-lawrence/the-true-artist-doesn-t-substitute-immorality-for-morality-on-the/) [DH Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dh-lawrence/) > [Remember three E s. Experience, Experiment, Expectations. Use your Experience towards your Experiment inorder to achieve your Expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/habe/remember-three-e-s-experience-experiment-expectations-use-your/) Habe ## More by Alistair Cooke > [It has always been cited as an irrepressible symptom of America's vitality that her people, in fair times and foul, believe in themselves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/it-has-always-been-cited-as-an-irrepressible-symptom-of-america-s/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [No myth dies harder, and none is more regularly debunked by the facts, than the one about international sports contributing to international friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/no-myth-dies-harder-and-none-is-more-regularly-debunked-by-the-facts/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [The emblem on the necktie reserved for the members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews - The Vatican of golf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/the-emblem-on-the-necktie-reserved-for-the-members-of-the-royal-and/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [If computers take over, it will serve us right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/if-computers-take-over-it-will-serve-us-right/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [ \[In 1889\] the last big tract of Indian land was declared open for settlement, in Oklahoma. The claimants and the speculators mounted their horses… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/in-1889-the-last-big-tract-of-indian-land-was-declared-open-for/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [“Every sport pretends to be literature. . .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/every-sport-pretends-to-be-literature/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [To watch an American on a beach, or crowding into a subway, or buying a theatre ticket, or sitting at home with his radio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/to-watch-an-american-on-a-beach-or-crowding-into-a-subway-or-buying-a/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [To the goggling unbeliever Texans say, as people always say about their mangier dishes, 'But it's just like chicken, only tenderer.' Rattlesnake is, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/to-the-goggling-unbeliever-texans-say-as-people-always-say-about/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [I talk to my typewriter and that is what I've been working on for 40 years-how to write for talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/i-talk-to-my-typewriter-and-that-is-what-i-ve-been-working-on-for-40/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [I hasten to say to snobs from the Surrey pine-and-sand country that no invention since the corn plaster or the electric toothbrush has brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/i-hasten-to-say-to-snobs-from-the-surrey-pine-and-sand-country-that/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [Liberty is the luxury of self-discipline, that those nations historically who have failed to discipline themselves have had discipline imposed by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/liberty-is-the-luxury-of-self-discipline-that-those-nations/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [The best thing about Eisenhower's Presidency was his Jeffersonian conviction that there should be as little government and as much golf as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/the-best-thing-about-eisenhower-s-presidency-was-his-jeffersonian/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [There is even - as with no other game - a fascinating detective literature, a wry commentary on the human comedy, implicit in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/there-is-even-as-with-no-other-game-a-fascinating-detective/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [It's an acting job - acting natural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/it-s-an-acting-job-acting-natural/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [In the best of times, our days are numbered anyway. So it would be a crime against nature for any generation to take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/in-the-best-of-times-our-days-are-numbered-anyway-so-it-would-be-a/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) [Explore all 68 Alistair Cooke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) ## More Amateur quotes > [“The amateur doesn't appreciate the need for experimentation. He wants his experts to know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner-2/the-amateur-doesn-t-appreciate-the-need-for-experimentation-he-wants/) [B.F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner-2/) > [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/a-professional-is-a-man-who-can-do-his-job-when-he-doesn-t-feel-like/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [My father was a GP; my mother was a teacher and amateur actress. My father was a bit of a storyteller, but the acting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciaran-hinds/my-father-was-a-gp-my-mother-was-a-teacher-and-amateur-actress-my/) [Ciaran Hinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciaran-hinds/) > [I did a musical when I was 17, an amateur show, and I loved it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taron-egerton/i-did-a-musical-when-i-was-17-an-amateur-show-and-i-loved-it/) [Taron Egerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taron-egerton/) > [Every artist was first an amateur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-artist-was-first-an-amateur/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The definition of a professional is one who does a job well even when they don't like it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sheinwald/the-definition-of-a-professional-is-one-who-does-a-job-well-even-when/) Alan Sheinwald > [I think most amateurs dread playing a 180-plus-yard par 3 even more than a hard par 4. Part of it is psychological: You think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-els/i-think-most-amateurs-dread-playing-a-180-plus-yard-par-3-even-more/) [Ernie Els](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-els/) > [I read a lot of 'Nancy Drew' books as a kid and considered myself a bit of an amateur detective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-cain/i-read-a-lot-of-nancy-drew-books-as-a-kid-and-considered-myself-a-bit/) [Chelsea Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-cain/) > [Professionalism is environmental. Amateurism is anti-environmental. Professionalism merges the individual into patterns of total environment. Amateurism seeks the development of the total awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/professionalism-is-environmental-amateurism-is-anti-environmental/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [You count a man's U.S. Amateur titles after he starts winning professional majors. That's something any intelligent golf writer with a sense of history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-jenkins/you-count-a-man-s-u-s-amateur-titles-after-he-starts-winning/) [Dan Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-jenkins/) > [Most amateurs are so worried about mis-hitting the shot or hitting it off line, they don't make an aggressive move. You'd be surprised how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keegan-bradley/most-amateurs-are-so-worried-about-mis-hitting-the-shot-or-hitting-it/) [Keegan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keegan-bradley/) > [Amateur boxing is one of the safest sports around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-calzaghe/amateur-boxing-is-one-of-the-safest-sports-around/) [Joe Calzaghe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-calzaghe/) > [“Amateur: One reckless enough to risk being interesting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barringer/amateur-one-reckless-enough-to-risk-being-interesting/) David Barringer > [Time management is probably the biggest thing I've had to learn to deal with being on the PGA Tour, whether it be media or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rickie-fowler/time-management-is-probably-the-biggest-thing-i-ve-had-to-learn-to/) [Rickie Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rickie-fowler/) > [When people buy, rescue, or otherwise acquire a dog from unscrupulous breeders or amateur rescue groups, they are making a decision with ethical consequences.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-katz/when-people-buy-rescue-or-otherwise-acquire-a-dog-from-unscrupulous/) [Jon Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-katz/) Browse all 352 Amateur quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A professional is a person who can do his best at a time when he doesn't particularly feel like it", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alistair Cooke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/a-professional-is-a-person-who-can-do-his-best-at-a-time-when-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Amateur" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/a-professional-is-a-person-who-can-do-his-best-at-a-time-when-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/alistair-cooke-9876_amateur_a-professional-is-a-person-who-can-do-hi_435309.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/alistair-cooke-9876_amateur_a-professional-is-a-person-who-can-do-hi_435309.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/alistair-cooke-9876_amateur_a-professional-is-a-person-who-can-do-hi_435309.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A professional is a person who can do his best at a time when he doesn't particularly feel like it” — Alistair Cooke", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alistair Cooke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A professional is a person who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/a-professional-is-a-person-who-can-do-his-best-at-a-time-when-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/a-professional-is-a-person-who-can-do-his-best-at-a-time-when-he/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```