The cover of The War of Art has a quote by Esquire Magazine. It reads, “A vital gem… a kick in the ass.” Flip the book open and the reader will see the book is published by a firm called Black Irish Entertainment. It’s logo is a single boxing glove. While reading this book, I couldn’t help but constantly think back to this quote and image. Each chapter felt like a punch to the gut, a wake up call, a kick in the ass. Steven Pressfield titled his book The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles and he presents his readers with just that. A manual on fighting and defeating the opponent of life and resistance. I strongly recommend this book to anyone looking for the tools necessary to overcome life’s greatest obstacles, develop yourself into an accomplished professional, and become the ultimate versions of yourself. Here's why:

The book was first published in 2002 and written by Steven Pressfield. Pressfield is most known for his historical fiction but has also produced many award winning non-fiction works and screenplays. His first book, The Legend of Bagger Vance, was made into a reputable film in 1995. His writing often draws parallels between historical classics, religious archetypes, and motivational revelations about his struggles and others’. His tales have motivated multitudes of individuals to conquer their fears, reach their potential, and accomplish their dreams.

The War of Art is split into three books. The first book is called Resistance: Defining the Enemy. He uses this chapter to call out what he believes as the root to most of our problems. He defines Resistance as “The enemy within” and a “Force of nature”. It’s a “repelling force. It’s negative”, “Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work”, and “Resistance aims to kill.” He says everyone has had a battle with Resistance and it’s the root to many of the issues we face and develop in our lives. Substance dependence, unhappiness, and anger are just some of the effects caused from our internal battle with this self-sabotage energy. Each chapter is poetically written to describe the way resistance can infiltrate our lives and destroy us from within. The goal of this chapter is to identify to readers Resistance’s characteristics so they can recognize and fight it when face to face with this malevolence.

The second book is called Combating Resistance: Turning Pro. Pressfield uses the terms professional and amateur to describe the battle with Resistance. He explains that those defeated by Resistance think like amateurs, and professionals are equipped with the tools to overpower their Resistance and reach their potential. Some of these chapters describe a professional's attributes. They’re titled: A Professional is Patient, A Professional Acts in the Face of Fear, A Professional Reinvents Himself, etc. He uses stories and accounts of his own life and others, such as golfer Tiger Woods, to paint the picture of perseverance, focus, and strength. My favorite quote from this book comes from his chapter How to be Miserable. A marine himself, he briefly talks about how Marines are trained to love being miserable, to embrace the struggle, and fight to the death. The last line reads: “Because this is war, baby. And War is hell.”

Book Three is called Beyond Resistance: The Higher Realm. This chapter aims to harness the psychic powers needed to fight the Resistance he described earlier. He uses terms such as angels, demons, and muses, but offers his more secular audience the option to think of these forces as abstract and impersonal, such as gravity, instincts, or universal forces. He claims we need these allies if we are ever to defeat the enemy of Resistance. He mentions the Athenian Xenophon who would make sacrifices to the gods and call for their aid before any expedition. His own version of this he calls invoking the Muse, a Greek mythology term used to describe the nine Goddesses, or even a person or personified force used as a source of inspiration to artists. Additionally, Pressfield goes on to describe the difference between the Ego and Self. With quotes from famous psychologists such as Freud and Jung, he believes the Ego is where Resistance lies, while the Self is where the angles, or good forces, live. He describes the characteristics of the ego and how it is the “part of the psyche that believes in material existence” and nothing more. While the Self is our deepest being, united to God, and is ever-growing and ever-evolving. The Ego hates the Self, Pressfield writes, and is the perpetrator for growth, progression, and success. He goes on to describe what the Authentic self looks like, how to defeat the hierarchical orientation, and how to unleash the artist within us.

As a young aspiring professional on the cusp of a career and “the rest of my life”, this book struck the deepest cord in me and immediately earned its place in my list of books to re-read every year. It’s an easy read and I read it cover to cover in about three hours. It’s organized like a manual, with short chapters, and important titles and messages that will resonate with you at different points in your life. While reading its entirety is do-able, one can just as easily flip through the chapters and meditate on the headline and chapter that speaks to you most. It makes for the ultimate bed-side book for any artists looking for daily motivation to break through their creative struggles. Pressfield also seemed to speak to me specifically. I have long been a lover of Greek mythology and culture, Xenophon, and the Bhagavad-Gita, all which he mentions and parallels in his chapters. I was also a fan of the spiritual take-aways in his third book. The War of Art is a self-help book, but differs to many I have read. It is straight to the point, raw, and hard-hitting. While many self-help books rely on abstract and vague themes, Pressfield tells his readers his truth with his own words, as blunt as possible. It’s entertaining, easy to read, and powerful to anyone seeking help.

Typically, I try to stay away from definitive statements, such as “Everyone would enjoy or resonate with this book.” We are all individuals that react differently to everything. But I do firmly believe this book would provide everyone of it’s readers a piece of something they have been looking for. We are all artists, and without unlocking the creative power within us, we find ourselves riddled with dilemmas and obstacles that are far from conquerable. For all willing, this book will help you identify the enemy, equip you with the tools to fight, and unlock the mystical powers that will help you live a fulfilling life.

Warning: Very long review. This book has helped me multiple times. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu coined the famous phrase ‘know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.’

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield launches into a similar discussion. In the first section we will discover our enemy: Resistance. The second section discusses our means for combat: Turning Pro. In the third and final section we will see that the battle is between our Self and our Ego.

Resistance – Defining the Enemy. This is the first of 3 sections Pressfield shares with us on what he considers to be the enemy of the creator. Resistance is an internal force, the ‘enemy within.’ Defined as self-sabotage, resistance usually manifests as avoidance, procrastination, or inaction caused by fear which creates paralysis. Resistance, according to Pressfield, is invisible, insidious, implacable, internal, impersonal and universal. He elaborates on each of these adjectives (and more), unafraid to use a clever metaphor or simile to illustrate a point. For example, in the section ‘Resistance is infallible, Pressfield writes:

“Like a magnetized needle floating on a surface of oil, Resistance will unfailingly point to true North-meaning that calling or action it most wants to stop us from doing.”

Pressfield goes on to point out Resistance in its many guises: the way peers may be recruited as allies of Resistance when an artist starts to conquer Resistance; the people around her “begin acting strange…they are trying to sabotage her” because they are experiencing Resistance of their own. They may begin to feel guilty for not trying to reach their own potential To make themselves feel better, they pressure her either directly or indirectly to backslide. In my case, I have a couple of people who point out how hard I work, don’t I need to take some me time? That sort of thing….

Resistance also encourages the artist’s tendency to quit at 99%, procrastinating work in order to not face completion of their work. Completion opens our work up to our peers for review and examination of others. He states that Resistance has no power of its own, only power it receives from our fear.

Any one reading it will be able to identify where Resistance has dug it’s claws in at one time or another with many of his examples and definitions. I want to point out that nowhere in his book does Pressfield address the Resistance we also face via the internet, email, Facebook, etc. In one section he mentions completely missing Watergate because he was too busy writing. Apparently he is able to focus on his work so strongly these things that distract many of us have no appeal to him.

The second section covers: Combating Resistance – Turning Pro. According to Pressfield, there’s no mystery about turning pro. You just make the decision and by an act of your will it is so. By turning pro, Pressfield is talking about the ideal of becoming a professional, a mindset. You make a decision to sit down and do your craft, or exercise, or whatever, NO MATTER WHAT. No matter what tries to distract you and stop you, you keep going until the day is done. You are professional in your dedication and behavior. “An amateur plays for fun, a professional for keeps.” The amateur lets a cold or minor distractions stop him. The professional knows he needs to do the work, and then get better. The amateur thinks he can quit anytime it gets tough and go back to something else. The professional doesn’t want to quit every time he hits a problem, he has discipline and determination to steady him.

Turning pro means basically to prepare a work discipline and follow it. To paraphrase Pressfield’s definition: A pro shows up every day no matter what, stays on the job all day, and is in it for the long haul. For the pro, the stakes are high. Pros accept payment for their work (even if they don’t always make an income). Pros also master the technique of their work, have a sense of humor about their jobs, and receive real-world praise or blame. He explains the hangovers and colds and other things as excuses we use to deflect ourselves from our purpose and from fulfilling our call. An added benefit, if you really love what you do, you will be like a child who looks up from their activities to be surprised to find that it’s time for supper.

Also, Pressfield makes a point that we are not to get our identity from the thing we are trying to create. You are still you. Your work should be work, not you. Aside from your calling, your life’s work, you should have an identity that stands alone. If you only have an identity in whatever you are trying to create, you leave yourself vulnerable to the attacks that will come. You will take it all personally and it should never be that way. Your work is what is being attacked, and you should be able to stand back and defend it objectively. Do not over invest your emotional well being in your success or failure. I think this is a common mistake made.

You, Inc. – Pressman also brings up the benefits of making yourself a corporation. Even if you only think of yourself in this way it can reinforce the idea of professionalism in your work because it separates the artist-doing-the-work from the consciousness-running-the-show. I love his idea of having status meetings with himself. In corporate America, we have a status meeting every Monday morning, decide on a plan of action and who will take care of what part of that plan, then divvy out the assignments, type it up and distribute it to the various participants. He has one of those meetings with himself every Monday. He sits down and goes over his assignments, decides when to be responsible for what, and types it up and distributes it to himself. Sometimes as Joe-blow he is too intimidated to go out and pimp himself, but as Joe-blow Inc, he enjoys the pimping. He’s not him anymore. He’s Me, Inc.

This third and final section talks about the muses and identifies the cause of Resistance through the Self and the Ego. Muses, angels, demons, geniuses, an input from the collective unconsciousness, all these Pressfield calls our allies, “equal and opposite powers…counterpoised against [Resistance].” These allies join us when we make the shift from being an amateur to a professional.

In the second section, he heavily stresses professionalism. He states the most important thing about art is work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.

“When we sit down day after day and keep grinding…The muse takes note of our dedication. She approves…we becomes like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come.”

Following this simple but powerful truth, Pressfield talks about the day he finished his first book. He finally wrote, The End. He received this sage advice from his friend Paul: “Good for you. Start the next one today.” In my words: don’t stop now, you finally have a work ethic that is producing your art.

Now: Ego and Self, and the battle between the two. Resistance has its seat in Ego. The Ego is that part of the psyche that believes in material existence, is concerned with its own preservation and comfort, with stasis and the physical, material world. The Ego likes things the way they are. It likes to be in control.

The Self, according to Pressfield, is where we grow from. This is where our dreams and ideas come from. When we meditate or pray, this is the part of ourselves we are seeking. Self is our deepest being.

Why does the Ego hate the self? According to Pressfield, its …”…because when we seat our consciousness in the Self, we put the ego out of business.” The Ego hates it when the creator sits down to create, whether it’s a book, a painting or an exercise routine. Ego hates to lose control, and tries to cripple Self. It hates creators because they are pathfinders to the future.

Pressfield ends the book with a simple call to action: listen to your Self and take action in order to find out what you were meant to do. Once you figure it out, do it like a professional. If you don’t explore and utilize your gifts, you hurt yourself and everyone around you. If you do, great; you’re sharing your gifts with the world.

Pressfield uses humor and a confident, competent demeanor in what he shares. He’s been there and done this, and wants to share the rewarding fruit he has to show for it, to encourage us to seek that fruit for ourselves. He wants us to be able to overcome our enemy, Resistance, and flourish with our own muses.

We all encounter Resistance in one form or another (fear of failure, fear of success, procrastination, avoidance, distraction, etc.). This book is an extremely easy read, and was very encouraging to me personally. I would highly recommend it for anyone facing any new project in their life. You will be surprised by the things this book reveals to you, and you will also see yourself represented in more than one situation Pressfield shares. Steven Pressfield defines the enemy, offers a strategy for overcoming it and shows us the beautiful fruit we can have as a result of our labor: A completed work, a job well done. Eventually success. It all started for him when he was finally able to write: The End.

I feel like I just wasted $10 on this. I was looking forward to reading it, because the book has so many great reviews in the press.

But, the Kindle formatting is so pathetic that I don't know if I'll ever read it or not. Words are broken without hyphenation. Example 1: not appears as no at the end of a line followed by a t at the start of the next. Stands is broken at the end of the n. There are too many examples to give. Just about every line has a broken word.

And, probably for the same reason (the poor formatting), it's difficult if not impossible to select the text one wants to. For example, I wanted to highlight this:

"Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and t

he unlived life within us. Between the two stan

ds Resistance."

But all I can seem to capture is the "ds Resistance."

I have bought a lot from Amazon, and I expected better.

Updated Review:

I originally assigned 1 star to this review, because of the incredibly poor formatting of the text. I ultimately purchased the book from Apple via iBooks, and after getting Tom's comment below, I decided to modify my review.

Pressfield provides great insights. Really profound. When I first read through the book, I was a bit put off by the way he talked about Resistance, as if it were an external demon, and how he talked about getting help from his "muses." After reading it, my initial impression was that it was hard to take seriously, although it had some good points.

After reading Tom's comment below, I went back and read the bookmarks and highlights I had made in the iBooks version of the book. Turns out that I had made about 25 bookmarks and that all of them offered really profound insights and advice. One can apply the advice whether one believes that resistance is an external beast or one's own subconscious (or reptile brain).

Also, after looking through the bookmarks, it occurred to me how good Amazon usually is with its Kindle products. Anything that I highlight in a Kindle book, I can later access through my browser or via the My Clippings.txt file, and I can highlight as much text as I want to. I can even copy this into my own little motivation system for even easier access later. I can't do this with iBooks, and likely will never be able to. (Nor is it possible with Google's new ebook setup.) That sort of makes up for this one bad experience with a Kindle ebook.

Having said all that, the Author gets 5 stars, Amazon gets 3 stars (a big negative offset on the specific ebook, partially offset by a good system overall), averaging out to 4 stars.

The premise is simple. We are all called to do something with our lives, something important. But each of us fights an enemy that Pressfield calls Resistance. Resistance, like a force of nature attacks us all. Its primary purpose is to keep us from our work. Resistance is the greatest evil of all, because it keeps us from being productive, doing what we are meant to do, and from making the world a better place. It keeps us from our potential, from our mission in life.

Resistance is both personal and impersonal. It never quits. Never. And its purpose is to destroy us.

Resistance manifests itself in an infinite number of ways through internal and external forces, but, make no mistake, its main source of power is from within. It is fueled by our own fear. We fuel it. We strengthen our own worst enemy.

To defeat Resistance, one must become a professional. This is described in the second section, Combating Resistance – Turning Pro. The term “Pro” is not literal (though it could be). The professional is one who does his or her work every day, no matter what. Because he is a writer, Pressfield describes his daily routine as a writer in both literal and figurative terms. The key is that the professional does his work every day. Doing the work is a battle, which he eventually overcomes each day. After the work is done for the day, or when his time is up, he can rest and enjoy leisure time. But it’s not long before he’s thinking of the next day’s battle with Resistance.

The professional understands that this battle will be and must be fought daily. It is a battle fought by anyone pursuing his or her purpose, doing his or her work. Becoming a professional is the surest way to beat Resistance. It’s not easy, but we must approach our work as if were being paid for it.

The third section, The Higher Realm, discusses angel and the muses. These are our allies in the war against Resistance, in the war to do our work. It is doing our work and being a professional, that calls down the forces of Heaven, of Creation, to assist us. This section is mystical, but also practical. It is also inspirational.

Not that I would ever want to make this choice, but if I could only have ten books, The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield, would be one of them. Except for the Bible and The Power of Now, no other book has affected me as much as this one. I listen to or read this book at least three times a year. My debt to Mr. Pressfield for this book can never be repaid, except by doing my work.

The War of Art helped me realize that I allowed fear to keep me from doing what was most important to me. I spent years knowing what I wanted, but being afraid to move forward. This book helped me see what I was fighting. I was fighting laziness and fear, but most of all, I was fighting the calling to do my work and to live my life fully, as it was meant to be lived.

If you’re feeling unfulfilled or frustrated with your life, it may be because you are not doing the work you were put on this planet to do. The War of Art may help you see that and it may also help you to make some decisions to move forward. You may see what has been holding you back for so long, how to change your habits, and how to enter into a new life, a far more meaningful one. You may realize that you aren’t alone in your struggle, and that millions are going through the same struggle. But you will also see that you have to face your own resistance alone. Best of all, you will see that, though the battle is a daily one, it can be won. You can beat Resistance.

Quotes from the Book

“This is the other secret that real artists know and wannabe writers don’t. When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us. The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. We have earned favor in her sight. When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete.”

“The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down

every day and trying.”

“Of any activity you do, ask yourself: If I were the last person on earth, would I still do it?”

“We feed it [Resistance] with power by our fear of it. Master that fear and we conquer Resistance.”

http://www.stevenpressfield.com

Go to his blog for more encouragement.

http://thepurposeofreading.blogspot.com/

Go to my blog for more book discussions.

Published in 2002, The War of Art is about breaking through blocks that hold you back and disciplining yourself to do important work and pursue your calling. This book is aimed at creative artists, especially writers. But it contains lessons for anyone pursuing growth in any area who feels blocked by self-sabotaging behavior or failure to act.

The premise is that there are hidden forces working against us, leading to inaction, distraction, procrastination, complacency, fear and self-destructive behavior. The author calls these forces "resistance." They exist within us as negative tendencies or programming in our subconscious. The resistance may also be outside us, as in associations with the wrong people, or addiction to distractions (which today includes social media).

Resistance doesn’t only affect writers. It hits in endeavors such as business, education, breaking bad habits and even, wrote Pressfield, "Any diet or health regimen.” The back cover blurb says, “Dream about writing the great American novel? Regret not finishing your paintings? Wish you could start dieting or exercising today? Hope to run a marathon some day?” Resistance is what holds us back from these undertakings.

The War of Art is divided into three parts. In part one, Defining The Enemy, Pressfield describes the insidious nature of resistance. He explains it from his perspective as a writer, but lists many activities that elicit resistance. This includes any pursuit that calls for rejecting instant gratification in favor of long-term growth, health or integrity. He also warns of the cost of giving in to resistance.

In part two, Combatting Resistance, you’re encouraged that resistance can be beaten. The way is by turning pro and ceasing to act like an amateur. You learn that this is not an easy task. You only turn pro by practicing self-discipline and pursuing self-mastery.

Here’s a partial list of what Pressfield says turning pro looks like: 1. The pro shows up every day no matter what. 2. The pro is committed for the long haul. 3. The pro knows the stakes are high and real. 4. The pro masters the technique of their craft. 5. The pro doesn’t accept excuses. 6. The pro keeps working with the cards he is dealt. 7. The pro is a student of the game for life and open to coaching. 8. The pro reinvents himself. 9. The pro endures adversity. 10. The pro is patient.

The third part of The War of Art is called, Beyond Resistance: Higher Realm. Some readers might find this part strange or even off-putting as it touches on spiritual topics. The author uses the term “muses” or even “angels” to describe the invisible source of inspiration that spurs us on to do our work. However, depending on your belief system, you could conceptualize this two ways:

One, this is the subconscious. This powerful part of our mind stores everything we’ve ever seen, read and experienced and can call it up into conscious awareness. It can also assemble old ideas and knowledge into new combinations. It is the wellspring of our creativity. Two, there’s a universal consciousness. This is a higher power, creative in nature, and possessing all knowledge. We are connected to it, or one with it in individualized form. We can call on it. But we can also cut ourselves off from this inspiration if we identify only with the ego and physical self.

The second interpretation appears more powerful, infinitely so. In either case, the author does not suggest just sitting around to pray or meditate. The key is setting an intention and then starting the work. You commit to show up and simply begin no matter what. As you begin, you ask for guidance (“invoke the muse”), and the beneficent unseen forces show up. You’re inspired to keep taking action. You’re infused with energy. Ideas keep popping into your head.

A core message is that we are creative and growth-oriented beings by nature and we have a channel to a creative source. Failure to act on our higher urges, do our work and create something or grow as a person means a life unlived, and cheating others out of our potential contributions.

Pressfield has a unique, impactful style. There are a couple F bombs, but colorful language is not gratuitous. At 165 pages, you can zip through the book quickly, especially because some pages contain only one paragraph. I can understand how this book might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it resonated with me. On the cover, a blurb from Esquire says, “… a kick in the ass.” That’s exactly how I’d describe it too.

I can see why this is a love it/hate it book. I LOVED it through and through and through. I bet my brothers would toss it aside. We are all in business for ourselves. But how we see business is vastly different. They come at it from the logical, analytical, structured approach. I come at it from a more romantic, poetic, and soulful approach. Now, I'll add this. All three of us siblings are ridiculously successful and financially comfortable and in what the outside world would consider "serious professions" for ourselves. Yet my approach works as well as theirs.

What does this have to do with the War of Art? You will ONLY get this book if you are in touch with the inner struggle, if you are aware enough to know that such a thing as Resistance, the evil that Pressfield talks about, is in all of us if we are aiming to elevate our lives, and then this book will be the symphony you've waited to hear all your creative life.

The War of Art is divided into three Books. Book 1 - Resistance, Defining the Enemy, followed by Book 2 -Combating Resistance, Turning Pro, followed by Book 3 - Beyond Resistance, The Higher Realm (my absolute favorite of all three Books). In these short, punchy chapters, and in succinct powerful phrases, Pressfield gives us the real story that goes on inside each of us creative types: We wake up every day, dreaming of our dream, and battling resistance to do the work to get to our dream. What do we need to do to overcome Resistance one more day, and what exactly happens when we go into that zone - the creative genius zone, the zone where we are free to create, time dissolves, the linear dimension gives way to a higher plane of existence even if for 10 minutes, and we find our purpose, we hear and follow our calling, we give all that we've got, unattached to the fruits of our labors but committed as hell to the work in the process.

A freaking symphony, I tell you. Pick up this book. Read it, and then read it again. If you can beat resistance, you can do anything. And you CAN beat resistance. Just do what Pressfield tells you, and what he tells you, you already know. You may be hearing it for the first time but you know it. We all know what we need to do to fulfill the vision and live the dream. It's Resistance we have to beat to get to work.

Some of my favorite quotes:

It's not the writing that's hard. What's hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.

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.

There is no mystery to turning pro. It's a decision brought about by an act of will. We make up our mind to view ourselves as pros and we do it. Simple as that.

The Knights of the Round Table were chase and self-effacing. Yet they dueled dragons. We're facing dragons too. Fire-breathing griffins of the soul, whom we must outfight and outwit to reach the treasure of our self-in-potential and to release the maiden who is God's plan and destiny for ourselves and the answer to why we were put on this planet.

In a previous Artist Strong post I discussed how I inadvertently cultivated fear as part of my creative practice. It reminded me of how it is oh so easy to return to a fearful or blocked state. It was a good reminder, because when you constantly write about breaking blocks and haven’t remembered that experience, well, how authentic is that? I am, however, thankful that a dear friend recommended a book to me. He suggested it several years ago but I kept putting it aside. Well, this past month was the perfect time. And I’m ever so grateful for his recommendation. And I love Kindle and Amazon for helping me stay connected to things I want to read even when I’m traveling and living all over the world! (I promise, this comes from me, no paid for advertising here! Hehe.)

Initial Impressions

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up this book. I knew it was about returning to your creative practice and dealing with the fears associated with it. (I’m pretty sure you all can figure that out from the title alone, but just in case, there is a very clear subtitle). The War of Art is definitely a book of the self-help genre. Pressfield speaks directly to the reader as a member of a team, all of whom are struggling to do the same thing: make art.

Take the time to read the foreword by Robert McKee, who gives you an engaging personal story about his own creativity and block and how Pressfield has helped him. His straight forward, no BS talk is refreshing and humorous. It lays out the entire book while also injecting humor and some of Pressfield’s language into your vocabulary before you start page one.

How the Book connects with Artist Strong Goals

Pressfield opens his book with a call that completely resonates with me and my goals for Artist Strong. I believe every person on this planet has some kind of creativity they should be sharing with the world. Some manage to find it and do it as a hobby, some teach, some become professionals that allow them to practice this creativity every day… but there are many who claim to be without a creative bone in their body. If that’s the case, then let me never meet them, because they are a person who can’t dream! The War of Art posits that everyone dreams of the idealized person they can be, who runs those marathons, or who cooks wonderful meals, or who finally learns how to sing. But often we are stymied from realizing these goals because of blocks we create for ourselves. As Pressfield found his way out of a block, these were the strategies and ideas that came to him to help him prevent future creative block and encourage him to make his art.

Screen Shot of Book from Amazon (AL)

Screen Shot of Book from Amazon (AL)

The nature of Pressfield's writing

The author makes this an easy read. It is divided into four books rather than chapters. Within each book there are subheadings for everything you read by topic that build into his larger ideas, which ultimately come down to: “shut up and do the work.” He gives our common obstacles and paths to creativity capitalized names, as if each word embodies a living thing that works for or against us. Pressfield shares anecdotes from creatives and characters within literature to help guide his claims. For him, it is a war and these terms, such as Resistance, helped him navigate how to win this war and make his art.

I felt like Pressfield was speaking to me directly when I read this book. I love how he has a clear, direct voice; it enhances his authority and thus reinforces his message. I agree with him that when you are blocked, it can definitely feel like a battle to start making art. And yet, I wonder how much we elevate the power of something like creative block when we suggest it is a huge battle. How hard is a battle to overcome? We create clear associations with such language, which might make it more difficult for some creatives to embrace their work. Despite this, I finished the book feeling completely empowered and ready to make some attitude and behavioral changes to better my artist practice. He navigates the war analogy well, using it as a thread within each book without overdoing it.

Will everyone like the book?

There is one constituency I think that may find trouble relating to the book. Atheists or agnostics may feel there is a lot of talk about a greater power or God being a reason for our creativity. Some may object to the power being taken from humanity while others who feel blocked and don’t believe in a higher power may continue to feel disenfranchised from their artwork. As someone who believes in free will, I worry that giving it up to some greater power removes my own authority and responsibility for the act of creation. People with an external locus of control feel the world happens to them and they have no control over the life happening to them. If you are blocked, this kind of attitude will be extremely harmful. My take on Pressfield is that he uses this interpretation much as Elizabeth Gilbert mentions in her TED Talk, as a means to push himself towards action, and more that he sometimes feels like his body is a vehicle for ideas. People who are completely against notions of spirituality and faith may find this hard to digest.

[ted id=453]

I am so very grateful to my friend HL for suggesting this text. I keep it on my phone now so that where ever I go I can have a quick fix of whichever section of his Book resonates or applies to me while I’m on the go. If you are a creative looking to better your practice I highly recommend reading this book.

Read the whole review here:[...]

Know the enemy, know yourself, wrote Sun Tzu in his classic The Art of War, and your victory will be certain. For anyone who is stuck at a level below their God-given potential, who can't seem to get on track to do the things they need to do in order to achieve their most authentic goals, knowing the enemy and knowing yourself are one and the same.

Steve Pressfield's magnificent little book The War of Art is about being more creative - but more important, it's also about fulfilling your potential as a human being. To do this, he says, you must overcome Resistance (the "R" is capitalized be Pressfield to represent the fact that it is a very real entity - as real to your authentic Self as Charles Manson or Genghis Khan were to their victims).

The whole aim of Resistance, says Pressfield (who is the bestselling author of The Legend of Bagger Vance and Gates of Fire), is to prevent you from doing the work you are called to do. Resistance wants you to take it easy, to be ordinary and mediocre, to take the low road. Resistance is the reason so many people place a basket over the brilliant candle that shines within them. The fight against Resistance is, Pressfield says, a war to the death.

Pressfield disputes the standard motivational cliché that you can have, do, or be anything if you follow the right formula and just work hard enough. Rather, he says: "We are not born with unlimited choices... Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal that we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it."

There are two occasions when Resistance will be the most relentless, and they are related. The first is when something really matters to you. "Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it." If your lifelong goal is to be a writer, a rejection letter from a publisher will hurt a whole lot more than if you submitted your manuscript on a dare.

The second occasion that Resistance is most dangerous is related to what Pressfield calls "the mother of all fears," namely the fear that you will actually succeed. Resistance builds as you get closer to the finish line. "At this point, Resistance knows we're about to beat it. It hits the panic button. It marshals one last assault and slams us with everything it's got." There is a real paradox here: the closer you get to reaching that proverbial tipping point, where things are really starting to click, the more likely you are to engage in the self-sabotaging behavior that is the calling card of Resistance.

Pressfield offers a prescription for defeating Resistance. You must, he says, become "a pro." But he does not mean that in the sense of earning a living at the work, in the sense of being a member of a certain profession, or in the sense of being looked up to by your peers. Rather, he simply means showing up every day with your lunch pail and getting to work. Much of the book has to do with how you make this transformation so that you can do the work that you are called to do.

I have made a small poster with this quote from Steve's book and placed it prominently above my computer: "There never was a moment, and never will be, when we are without the power to alter our destiny. This second, we can turn the tables on Resistance. This second, we can sit down and do our work." My own next book has been on the back-burner for far too long, victim to Resistance. But now I have a weapon: Every time Resistance stands between me and doing my work, I pull Steve's book from out of my bookshelf and beat Resistance over the head. Then in that very second, I sit down and do my work. And it's working.

First, my criticism: the author claims indeed that some mental disorders are a product of marketeers; and that looking for support is an excuse to procrastinate. This is complete nonsense. That opinion may reflect a view which used to be more common when the book was written. But here he abuses his poetic license, in my opinion, especially considering that this book will be read by people who are struggling with DDA, depression and other conditions. If that’s your case, I really recommend that you seek treatment first and, when your symptoms are under control, then you take the advice in this book. Otherwise, I believe its suggestions won't feel very doable to you.

That being said, I think there are some very good points in this book.

I’ve been reading self-help books on procrastination for some time. Most of them written by PhDs, containing science-based information (which I find good), but also with that irritating inclination to repeat themselves to exhaustion and to fill several pages with vaguely related trivia, apparently as a mere attempt to make the book longer. Then I heard about The War of Art and it immediately caught my attention.

The book is short and I read it in three or four hours. And it exerted a very positive impact on me. Time will tell whether such impact will last long enough or if I’m just benefiting from the effects of novelty and recency. But I think there’s something powerful about mentalizing your own procrastination as an external entity (the Resistance) and personalizing it. By thinking of it as a bully who annoys you and celebrates your failures, it gets more approachable. It gets easier to get away from it the same simple way you do about annoying people. It turns into an external thing you will wrestle with, instead of a part of you which you will resent.

The commenters claiming that he’s trying to push a religious view about the world are mistaken: right at the very beginning of the third part (the most criticized for its religious tone), the author states very clearly that, if you don’t feel comfortable thinking of Muses and Angels, think of them in more abstract terms instead, or as products of the unconsciousness, or whatever that works for you. I invite the commenters who said otherwise to actually read and reassess it.

Granted, the author is a religious person – and he points that explicitly. But it doesn’t take more than a very little effort to realize that there are some basic underlying aspects in his rituals: it’s all about habits to put oneself in a favorable disposition for the work. The book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, by Mason Currey, is full of other famous examples along those same lines.

I suspect that some of the commenters who didn’t like his allegories would have embraced them enthusiastically if it were a monk using concepts from an eastern religion. The use of a christian religion might have led readers educated under a christian system to take it overly literally.

Was uns C.G. Jung über den Schattenarchetypen erzählen konnte, kann uns Pressfield über die Tiefen des kreativen Daseins berichten. Dieses Buch ist nicht nur spezifisch auf den blockierten Künstler ausgerichtet.

Es werden auch Menschen, die ihre Lebensträume vor sich herschieben, was daraus gewinnen können.

Kenne deinen inneren Feind, denn gegen das eigene Ego kann man sehr gut vorgehen.

Das macht ungefähr 2 / 3 des Buches aus.

Dann gibt es aber noch den 3. Abschnitt; da kommen dann das höhere Selbst und Lösungsstrategien ins Spiel und überhaupt hilft einem ja (wie immer) das gesamte Universum, wenn man es nur lässt - das hat die vorangehende Rezensentin, die diesem Buch nichts abgewinnen konnte, wohl nicht mehr an sich ran gelassen.

Wer "Der Weg des Künstlers" von Julia Cameron mochte, aber keine Lust auf die darin enthaltenen Aufgaben hat und sich lieber in englischsprachigen, verbalen Ergüssen ob Tragik und Komödie des (Künstler-)daseins suhlt, als tiefgehend an sich zu arbeiten, der ist mit diesem Buch bestens bedient.

Ich war es - und werde bei Bedarf mal wieder drin blättern, denn Selbsterkenntnis hilft.

(Ich glaube, "Der Weg des Künstlers" hat mir noch mehr geholfen; das nur so am Rande und für die, die an sich arbeiten wollen.) Dieses Büchlein tuts auch.

Kleine Happen (oder Bisse) - große Wirkung.

Die Botschaft "lass das Große Ganze durch dich hindurch arbeiten" à la Cameron steckt hier auch drin, allerdings in einer ruppigeren, abgespeckteren, "in your face" Version, da einem an den meisten Stellen des Buches der Spiegel vorgehalten wird.

- Und diese Art der Selbsterkenntnis kann sehr effizient sein!

Fazit: Man blockiert sich stets selbst, ist immer selbst schuld, und man könnte diese ganze negative Energie genauso gut konstruktiv nutzen.

Alles bestens.

Ok. I read or heard about this book enough times to be intrigued and I went and read it. And yeah, I get it. It's not what I'd usually consider would appeal to me, but it did. A great deal actually. Just a few underlines, but very powerful ones. I'm not too keen on the machoesque undertones, but nothing to really trip over. Just a stylistic choice. The message comes through loud and clear. And it's one worth hearing.

It's a powerful and punchy guide for anyone striving to create whether that’s writing a book, building a business, or pursuing a personal dream.

The author introduces the concept of Resistance, the inner force that keeps us from doing the work that truly matters. It shows up as procrastination, fear, doubt, perfectionism anything that stops us from taking action.

Pressfield writes in short, impactful chapters that feel like motivational punches. He encourages us to shift from being amateurs to professionals; people who show up every day, regardless of excuses or fears. The tone is direct, honest, and often confrontational in the best way. It reminds us that creativity isn’t just inspiration rather it’s discipline, courage, and persistence.

Whether you are an artist, entrepreneur, or someone who knows they are capable of more, this book acts as a wake-up call. This book is not just about creativity, it’s a manifesto for overcoming the battles within and finally unleashing your true potential.

The package arrived with no problem, the book is full with reflections on how to turn pro as an artist or creative and get working on your craft.