--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [On writing:] \"There's a great quote by…" description: "\"“[On writing:] \"There's a great quote by Julius Irving that went, 'Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/david-halberstam-9032_baseball_on-writing-there-s-a-great-quote-by-juli_703647.jpg" --- # \[On writing:\] "There's a great quote by Julius Irving that… ![“[On writing:] "There's a great quote by Julius Irving that went, 'Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel like doing them.'" ( One On 1 , interview with Budd Mishkin; NY1 , March 25, 2007.)” quote by David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/david-halberstam-9032_baseball_on-writing-there-s-a-great-quote-by-juli_703647.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/david-halberstam-9032_baseball_on-writing-there-s-a-great-quote-by-juli_703647.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/david-halberstam-9032_baseball_on-writing-there-s-a-great-quote-by-juli_703647.jpg) > ““\[On writing:\] "There's a great quote by Julius Irving that went, 'Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel like doing them.'" ( One On 1 , interview with Budd Mishkin; NY1 , March 25, 2007.)”” [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) ## 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 doing what you love even when motivation wanes. **In simple terms:** Do your work regardless of feeling. Key Takeaway Commit despite mood. Themes work ethic passion discipline Mood inspirational pragmatic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - creative projects - career development - daily routines Key Concepts intrinsic motivation professional identity resilience Questions to Reflect On - What strategies keep you productive on low‑energy days? - How do you differentiate passion from obligation? A Different Perspective Motivation alone may not sustain long‑term effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baseball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baseball/) [Basketball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basketball/) [Great quote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-quote/) [Professionalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professionalism/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Work ethic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-ethic/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [There's a great quote by Julius Irving that went, 'Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/there-s-a-great-quote-by-julius-irving-that-went-being-a-professional/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel like doing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-erving/being-a-professional-is-doing-the-things-you-love-to-do-on-the-days/) [Julius Erving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-erving/) > [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/) > [All mothers...single or married and all Fathers this is definitely a great quote and makes you think about making sure that your child understands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-mothers-single-or-married-and-all-fathers-this-is-definitely-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think there is a great quote - and I feel horrible that I don't know who said this - but it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlize-theron/i-think-there-is-a-great-quote-and-i-feel-horrible-that-i-don-t-know/) [Charlize Theron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlize-theron/) > [What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/what-lies-behind-us-and-what-lies-before-us-are-tiny-matters-compared-3/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“We share need, not-human. Yours is straightforward.” … “Mine is less so, but you will serve it. Come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-friedman/we-share-need-not-human-yours-is-straightforward-mine-is-less-so-but/) [C.S. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-friedman/) > [I went to my son's graduation this weekend, and I heard a great quote I've never heard before from Albert Einstein. It was that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamilton-jordan/i-went-to-my-son-s-graduation-this-weekend-and-i-heard-a-great-quote/) [Hamilton Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamilton-jordan/) > [A great quote remains great when we not only read it but aslo apply it to our daily life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-great-quote-remains-great-when-we-not-only-read-it-but-aslo-apply/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Steven Spielberg has this great quote: "Moviemaking is always about noise. There's so many voices that you've gotta listen to. But you've always got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/steven-spielberg-has-this-great-quote-moviemaking-is-always-about/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [It's very corny, 'never give up' - but it's just a great quote that I always follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-schnapp/it-s-very-corny-never-give-up-but-it-s-just-a-great-quote-that-i/) [Noah Schnapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-schnapp/) > [“Ther is nothing called a great quote, rather the one which makes your heart to take a dip in river Ganges.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/srikanth-kosuru/ther-is-nothing-called-a-great-quote-rather-the-one-which-makes-your/) Srikanth Kosuru > [A great quote remains great when we not only read it but also apply it to our daily life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-great-quote-remains-great-when-we-not-only-read-it-but-also-apply/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [“Desire great things in life. Expect great things in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/desire-great-things-in-life-expect-great-things-in-life/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [People think, 'Oh my goodness! I have to do something really big.' You don't. Do what you love. There's a great quote from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/people-think-oh-my-goodness-i-have-to-do-something-really-big-you-don/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) ## More by David Halberstam > [ “Theodore Sorensen wrote for \[Robert Kennedy's 1968\] announcement speech: “At stake is not simply the leadership of our party, and even our own country,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/theodore-sorensen-wrote-for-robert-kennedy-s-1968-announcement-speech/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [“For there was no doubt in Bundy’s mind about his ability to handle... the world. The job was not just a happenstance thing; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/for-there-was-no-doubt-in-bundy-s-mind-about-his-ability-to-handle/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [Fear was the terrible secret of the battlefield and could afflict the brave as well as the timid. 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They were not just an all-star first team, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/day-after-day-we-read-about-them-each-new-man-more-brilliant-than-the/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [If there is anything that is important to America, it is that you are not a prisoner of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/if-there-is-anything-that-is-important-to-america-it-is-that-you-are/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [During their college years the oarsmen put in terrbily long hours, often showing up at the boathouse at 6:00am for preclass practices. Both physically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/during-their-college-years-the-oarsmen-put-in-terrbily-long-hours/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [“The good reporters of that era, those who were well educated and who were enlightened themselves and worked for enlightened organizations, liked the Kennedys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/the-good-reporters-of-that-era-those-who-were-well-educated-and-who/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [“true wisdom ... is the product of hard-won, often bitter experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/true-wisdom-is-the-product-of-hard-won-often-bitter-experience/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [Memory is often less about the truth than about what we want it to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/memory-is-often-less-about-the-truth-than-about-what-we-want-it-to-be/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [“There is no small irony here: An administration which flaunted its intellectual superiority and its superior academic credentials made the most critical of decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/there-is-no-small-irony-here-an-administration-which-flaunted-its/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [If youre a reporter, the easiest thing in the world is to get a story. The hardest thing is to verify. The old sins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/if-youre-a-reporter-the-easiest-thing-in-the-world-is-to-get-a-story/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) [Explore all 75 David Halberstam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) ## More Baseball quotes > [I'd always have grease in at least two places, in case the umpires would ask me to wipe one off. I never wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-perry/i-d-always-have-grease-in-at-least-two-places-in-case-the-umpires/) [Gaylord Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-perry/) > [When you're in the middle of a pennant race, you can't go up there thinking about home runs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-sosa/when-you-re-in-the-middle-of-a-pennant-race-you-can-t-go-up-there/) [Sammy Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-sosa/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism and baseball. Spring training is a time to think about being young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-banks/spring-training-means-flowers-people-coming-outdoors-sunshine/) [Ernie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-banks/) > [Pitchers pitch differently. Hitters, hardly anyone has the same stance. That's just how it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-zimmerman/pitchers-pitch-differently-hitters-hardly-anyone-has-the-same-stance/) [Ryan Zimmerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-zimmerman/) > [Five World Series rings, 3000-plus hits, the fame, the fortune and playing for the second most historic franchise in baseball... These are just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mookie-betts/five-world-series-rings-3000-plus-hits-the-fame-the-fortune-and/) [Mookie Betts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mookie-betts/) > [I don't want the electronic strike zone. I like the element of sometimes pitches don't get called. Guys don't receive it well or whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-schwarber/i-don-t-want-the-electronic-strike-zone-i-like-the-element-of/) [Kyle Schwarber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-schwarber/) > [I sang the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium - at a baseball game - which was crazy; there was, like, 60,000 people there, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/i-sang-the-national-anthem-at-dodger-stadium-at-a-baseball-game-which/) [Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/) > [If I was going to make one rule change, I would bring the DH to the National League.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brett/if-i-was-going-to-make-one-rule-change-i-would-bring-the-dh-to-the/) [George Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brett/) > [In all honesty, once you become a professional, number one, you're no longer a fan. I don't root for the Dodgers, really. 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