Professional is not a label you give yourself - it's a description you hope others will apply to you.

Left untended, knowledge and skill, like all assets, depreciate in value surprisingly quickly.

What do I have to do to earn and deserve the key relationships that are going to get me where I want to go?

Don't get stampeded by what people around you value. The task is to figure out what YOU value - and value highly enough to throw yourself into with unqualified passion.

You cannot and should not try to please everyone. Make sure that the right people like you, and it will be expected that others will not. That's how the world works.

Success comes from doing what you enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, how can it be called success?

The noble path does win but only if you are prepared to make the investment over a long period of time.