10. If Youre Good At Something, Never Do It For Free
The Dark Knight is chock full of memorable quotes and indeed advice from Heath Ledgers Joker. Most memorably the quote: If youre good at something, never do it for free. This is pretty straightforward advice, especially when youre proposing to kill the Batman in exchange for half of the mobs money. As you can see, it worked for the Joker quite well seeing as though he got the job. This bit of advice seems to apply to professional creatives the most (i.e. website designers, musicians, filmmakers, comedians, actors, etc). If you are indeed a professional then you should not be donating your time for free. You wouldn't call up an accountant and say "Tell you what, do this year's tax return for free and if you're any good, I'll send you them from now on" would you? Getting paid for ones work is the subtle distinction between a novice and a professional. Mark Twain said it best, "Write without pay until someone offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may look upon this as a sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for." Sure, if you're an amateur or an intern then you might find yourself working for next to nothing. If after a few years of striving and improving, you're still not getting paid, it might be time to take up other pursuits.
Jesse Gumbarge is editor and chief blogger at JarvisCity.com - He loves old-school horror films and starting pointless debates. You can reach out at: JesseGumbarge@JarvisCity.com
