[B-Greek] Amateurs vs. Professionals

william zeitler william at faithfulbible.com
Thu Dec 15 15:45:35 EST 2005


I thought this passage from "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield might be of 
interest to the group. It's about how to be great at Your Art -- whatever 
that is, and that certainly includes [Greek] scholarship. Resistance, which 
he discusses earlier, is that stops us...

-----------

"Aspiring artists defeated by Resistance share one trait. They all think like 
amateurs. They have not yet turned pro.

<snip>

"To be clear: When I say professional, I don't mean doctors and lawyers, those 
of "the professions". I mean the Professional as an ideal. The professional 
in contrast to the amateur. Consider the differences.

"The amateur plays for fun. The professional plays for keeps.

"To the amateur, the game is his avocation. To the pro it's his vocation.

"The amateur plays part-time, the professional full-time.

"The amateur is a weekend warrior. The professional is there seven days a 
week.

"The word 'amateur' comes from the Latin root meaning "to love." the 
conventional interpretation is that the amateur pursues his calling out of 
love, while the pro does it for money. Not the way I see it. 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.

isbn 0-446-69143-7 pg. 62ff.



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