If you haven’t read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, go out and read it!
Yes…right now….
I’ll wait while you go to the library, or to Barnes and Noble or download it onto your Kindle. This book changed my life. If you have even an ounce of creativity or passion, this book is for you! It’s a quick read on how to battle resistance. Resistance is anything and everything that prevents you from doing what you truly love or are passionate about. Resistance is procrastination, fear, your “job” – anything.
Here are a few excerpts:
“If Resistance couldn’t be beaten, there would be no Fifth Symphony, no Romeo and Juliet, no Golden Gate Bridge. Defeating Resistance is like giving birth. It seems absolutely impossible until you remember that women have been pulling it off successfully, with support and without, for fifty million years.”
“Rationalization is Resistance’s spin doctor. It’s Resistance’s way of hiding the Big Stick behind its back. Instead of showing us our fear (which might shame us and impel us to do our work), Resistance presents us with a series of plausible, rational justifications for why we shouldn’t do our work…[but]… Tolstoy had thirteen kids and wrote War and Peace. Lance Armstrong had cancer and won the Tour de France three years and counting”
He talks a lot about being a professional in your art vs being an amateur…
“The professional knows that Resistance is like a telemarketer; if you so much as say hello, you’re finished. The pro doesn’t even pick up the phone. He stays at work.”
“The professional concentrates on the work and allows rewards to come or not come, whatever they like”
This book is so inspiring, it made me cry for joy that I am not alone… that I am doing the right thing… because it was so true and really hit home.
I hope you enjoy it! If you’ve read it, feel free to share your favorite quote below!
