One of the goals the Rescue Mission, and I assume all great organizations, aspire to is to perform their service to the customer with a level of professionalism. To my understanding that means to serve with the excellence and commitment of someone who was so good that people would actually PAY them to do that service.
Professionalism=good
Profesional=bad
Let me explain. Too often someone who is a professional only does the bare minimal, the exact standard that was required in the financial arrangement that they struck. It was a transaction.
An Amateur on the other hand, does something for the love of it. Most people hear the word amateur and they think novice and beginner. Not so. The root of amateur is AMA- to love. An amateur is someone who literally does something for love.
It would be a worthy goal for each of us to do our job as if we were an amateur (for the love of it) and not just a professional (for the paycheck). As soon as you start thinking you’re a professional, you lose something. Can you be paid to do something and still do it for love? Absolutely.
No professionals nee apply, only amateurs.
David Curry
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by David Curry, Elis Taylor. Elis Taylor said: If You had to choose between a Professional or an Amateur, who would U Pick? I'd pick the Amateur. http://dld.bz/hY76 [...]
David,
I’ve been reading your tweets and different posts on your blog and it seriously makes me glad that there are people in upper management that “get it”. Your posts on being mobile and actually putting to use the new technology we have available to us is great to hear. With the internet availabe to almost anybody, at any time, there are tremendous free sources to any organization that’s basis is helping people out. Thank you for growing smarter with technology and not stubborn against technology like most people over the age of… never mind, you’re not that old
-David Anderson
aka @da5785