The War of Art
By Steven Pressfield
A challenging read a times. Step into the mind of a world renowned author. Steven Pressfield maps out the difference between an amateur and a professional. He also discusses the common resistance to creative work whether it is writing, music, website code, or painting.
Below are my notes and key hi-lighted passages from The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. (Italics = quotes from the book. Bold = my personal notes)
“It’s not the writing part that is hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.”
“Rule of Thumb - the more important a call or action is to our soul, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.”
“Procrastination is the most common manifestation of Resistance because it’s the easiest to rationalize. We don’t tell ourselves, “I’m never going to write my symphony.” Instead we say, I’m going to write my symphony; I’m just going to start tomorrow.”
“If you find yourself criticizing other people, you’re probably doing it out of Resistance. When we see others beginning to live their authentic selves, it drives us crazy if we have not lived our own.”
“The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.”
“Grandiose fantasies are a symptom of Resistance. They’re the sign of an amateur. The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work. The professional concentrates on the work and allows rewards to come or not come, whatever they like.”
There is significant power in doing the work, pursuing mastery and letting the chips fall where they may. An amateur refuses to do that, and instead, daydreams about all the possibilities that MIGHT happen, if they would actually take the leap. The amateur lives in possibilities, the professional lives in the work.
“The amateur plays for fun. The professional plays for keeps. To the amateur, the game is his avocation. To the pro it’s his vocation. The amateur plays part time, the professional full-time. The amateur is a weekend warrior. The professional is there seven days a week.”
Someone once asked Somerset Maugham 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.” - That’s a Pro.”
“The amateur, over-identifies with his avocation, his artistic aspiration. He defines himself by it. Resistance knows that the amateur composer will never write his symphony because he is overly invested in its success and over-terrified of its failure. The amateur takes it so seriously it paralyzes him.”
“That’s when I realized I had become a pro. I had not yet had success. But I had had real failure.”
“The professional arms himself with patience, not only to give the stars time to align in his career, but to keep himself from flaming out in each individual work.”
The professional understands delayed gratification.”
“The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.”
“The professional knows if he caves in today, no matter how plausible the pretext, he’ll be twice as likely to cave in tomorrow.”
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.”
Someone on the pursuit of mastery must take on the perspective of a professional. The majority of us, want to pursue excellence and may even claim that we are pursuing excellence, but remain in the perspective of an “amateur” which often leads to quitting the endeavor all together."