“I think of myself as a humble student trying to get better and just lucky to still be getting chances to do it.”

Why it’s so great: This isn’t a particularly elegant sentence. It may even come across as disingenuous – a popular, successful Hollywood actor who, at 65, still claims to be a “humble student” of his craft. But “A Word With” interview with Jeff Goldblum showed a guy who still sweats the work, and still feels grateful to

have it. The interview – “Jeff Goldlum, Back in ‘Jurassic World,’ and Making a Small Role Big” – ran in June, on the eve of the release of the fourth, and many say last, of the Jurassic Park sci-fi adventure movies. His comment came when he was asked how it feels to “arrived” as an actor. This posed to a guy who has played in a series of blockbusters, but seldom in a lead role. It put me in mind of the journalistic workhorses who may not boast a wall of awards, but keep showing up, again and again, putting their all into the work at hand. They are the people who understand there are no small stories – only small attitudes. They play the long game, and keep learning. And they do the other thing that, along with showing up, is everything: they do it with joy. I’ll take that example, and that reminder, with gratitude.