“Someone once asked Somerset Maughham if he wrote on a schedule or only when struck by inspiration. 'I write only when inspiration strikes,' he replied. 'Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o'clock sharp.'”
— Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
— Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
The War of Art is one of the most impactful books I've ever read. And it doesn't read like most books. It's a battlecry and battle plan against that ever-present, invisible obstacle that creative types face daily. Pressfield gives it a name: Resistance. And a face.
"Resistance is self-sabotage...Resistance is not a peripheral opponent. Resistance arises from within. It is self-generated and self-perpetuated. Resistance is the enemy within."
"Resistance," Pressfield writes, "is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That's why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there'd be no Resistance.”
So, how can we kill it? How can we win the war of art? How can we finish that which we wish to create?
By doing the work. By choosing to get up early—to prioritize one's calling as the most urgent part of your day. By feeling Resistance and pushing back. Every day. By being a professional who gets up and puts on the work boots Monday through Friday. Plus some weekends. Rain or shine. Even when sick. Even when tired or frustrated or disheartened. By mastering oneself, by quitting the lethal habit of procrastination in its many forms—eating sweet food, drinking alcohol, sex and masturbation, social media, chronic talking or reading)—by waging war against Resistance every day, we strengthen our creative muscles and or output. Win enough daily battles and you will inevitably win the war of art.
Pressfield's exploration of the creative process cuts through and captures the essence of artistic blocks with epic brevity and pace. The audiobook is 6 hours, 4 if you crank the playback speed to 1.25. It's the perfect hiking companion. I revisit The War of Art monthly. But don't just take my word for it.
Tim Ferriss, John Mayer, Ryan Holiday, Marie Forlio, Aubrey Marcus, Joe Rogan, and many other top performers cite Pressfield's body of work regularly, The War of Art especially. [JG]
"Resistance is self-sabotage...Resistance is not a peripheral opponent. Resistance arises from within. It is self-generated and self-perpetuated. Resistance is the enemy within."
"Resistance," Pressfield writes, "is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That's why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there'd be no Resistance.”
So, how can we kill it? How can we win the war of art? How can we finish that which we wish to create?
By doing the work. By choosing to get up early—to prioritize one's calling as the most urgent part of your day. By feeling Resistance and pushing back. Every day. By being a professional who gets up and puts on the work boots Monday through Friday. Plus some weekends. Rain or shine. Even when sick. Even when tired or frustrated or disheartened. By mastering oneself, by quitting the lethal habit of procrastination in its many forms—eating sweet food, drinking alcohol, sex and masturbation, social media, chronic talking or reading)—by waging war against Resistance every day, we strengthen our creative muscles and or output. Win enough daily battles and you will inevitably win the war of art.
Pressfield's exploration of the creative process cuts through and captures the essence of artistic blocks with epic brevity and pace. The audiobook is 6 hours, 4 if you crank the playback speed to 1.25. It's the perfect hiking companion. I revisit The War of Art monthly. But don't just take my word for it.
Tim Ferriss, John Mayer, Ryan Holiday, Marie Forlio, Aubrey Marcus, Joe Rogan, and many other top performers cite Pressfield's body of work regularly, The War of Art especially. [JG]
WHO IS STEVEN PRESSFIELD
Steven Pressfield is the author of Gates of Fire, Tides of War, Last of the Amazons, Virtues of War, The Afghan Campaign, Killing Rommel, The Profession, The Lion's Gate, The War of Art, Turning Pro, Do the Work, The Warrior Ethos, The Authentic Swing, An American Jew, Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t, The Knowledge, and The Artist's Journey.
It took Pressfield 17 years of writing to earn the first paycheck from his writing. It took another ten to publish his first novel, The Legend of Bagger Vance. That same year it was adapted for the screen and stared Matt Damon, Will Smith, and Charlize Theron. Robert Redford directed it. His Wednesday's column on stevenpressfield.com is among one of the most popular writing blogs on the web to this day.
It took Pressfield 17 years of writing to earn the first paycheck from his writing. It took another ten to publish his first novel, The Legend of Bagger Vance. That same year it was adapted for the screen and stared Matt Damon, Will Smith, and Charlize Theron. Robert Redford directed it. His Wednesday's column on stevenpressfield.com is among one of the most popular writing blogs on the web to this day.
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