The War of Art – Book Review

 

 

The Book Review Series

 

 

I purchased The War of Art, written by Steven Pressfield, from Half Price Books. I enjoy used bookstores and have been able to find some real gems at discounted prices – which enables me to take a chance on a book I don’t know much about. But that wasn’t the case here.

I knew about this book because Randy Gage recommended it in Mad Genius. It’s probably where he got the idea for short chapters, like one or two pages.

And I’ve become a fan of those short chapters.

There is so much to like about this 165-page manifesto – let’s take a look at this short but impactful book in The War of Art – Book Review. My favorite excerpts and comments can be found below.

 

Related: Read Mad Genius – Book Review

 

Introduction

There is no formal introduction per se; instead, there are several pages of writing before we get to Book One: Resistance Defining the Enemy.

In those several pages, he details what he does (what his day consists of) and this nugget of truth:

“There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is this: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.”

 

When you ask Google how many people want to write a book, you get answers like 81%, 82%, or even 90%; it depends on who you are asking. This seems strange to me since 33% of high school graduates never read another book after they graduate.

In any case, we try to encourage those who say they want to write by saying, “If you write one page a day…” But real writers agree with Steven Pressfield: When we sit down to write, we WRITE. To me, a lot of people like the idea of writing and whatever benefits they perceive (fame and fortune), not writing itself. Alas, I digress.

 

There’s one more noteworthy portion in this de facto introduction I wanted to highlight:

“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance…Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It is the root of more unhappiness than poverty, disease, and erectile dysfunction. To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be. If you believe in God (and I do) you must declare Resistance evil, for it prevents us from achieving the life God intended when He endowed each of us with our own unique genius.”

I love not only how he defines resistance but also how he Defines Resistance. Let’s put a face to a name and identify our enemy.

 

BOOK ONE: RESISTANCE Defining the Enemy

 

Contained in this “book” are short, often one-page chapters. While not the norm, I have become a fan of these short chapters. Mad Genius by Randy Gage and Platform by Michael Hyatt are two other books formatted similarly.

Most of this “book” is written about Resistance. There’s so much to appreciate.

Why?

Because he Defines THE enemy most never take the time to understand they have. Below are some of my favorite quotes worth highlighting in this book review.

 

Rapid fire about Resistance

“Resistance is not a peripheral opponent. Resistance arises from within. It is self-generated and self-perpetuated. Resistance is the enemy from within.” – Page 8

“Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; seduce, bully, cajole.” – Page 9

“Resistance is not out to get you personally. It doesn’t know who you are and doesn’t care. Resistance is a force of nature. It acts objectively.” – Page 11

“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.” – Page 12

“Its target [Resistance] is the epicenter of our being: our genius, our soul, the unique and priceless gift we were put on earth to give and that no one else has but us. Resistance means business. When we fight it, we are in a war to the death.” – Page 15

“Resistance obstructs movement only from a lower sphere to a higher. It kicks in when we seek to pursue a calling in the arts, launch an innovative enterprise, or evolve to a higher station morally, ethically, or spiritually.” – Page 17

Do you know why the above is true? It’s because moving from something lower to higher requires struggle, growth, and more effort. Shifting to something lower is one of the default things millions do today.

 

“The danger is greatest when the finish line is in sight. 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.” – Page 18

“The most pernicious aspect of procrastination is that it can become a habit. We don’t just put off our lives today; we put them off till our deathbed.” – Page 22

That hit hard because it’s absolutely true. Pressfield has his finger on the pulse of humanity, here.

 

“Individuals who are realized in their own lives almost never criticize others. If they speak at all, it is to offer encouragement.” – Page 38

“Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign.” – Page 40

“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 to come, whatever they like.” – Page 43

“Rationalization is Resistance’s right-hand man. Its job is to keep us from feeling the shame we would feel if we truly faced what cowards we are for not doing our work…It’s one thing to lie to ourselves. It’s another thing to believe it.” – Pages 53, 54

“What’s particularly insidious about the rationalizations that Resistance presents to us is that a lot of them are true. They’re legitimate.” – Page 55

This chapter has so much more than what I’ve highlighted – be sure to read it, then read it again.

 

BOOK TWO: COMBATING RESISTANCE Turning Pro

Exploring Beyond The Veil of Composure

 

After defining Resistance, Pressfield now aims to combat it. It’s worth noting how next-level genius it is to give the enemy a name, clarifying who it is that constantly seeks to prevent any good endeavor. These are some of my favorite things he said:

 

“The conventional interpretation is that the amateur pursues his calling out of love, while the pro does it for money. Not the way I see it. In my view, the amateur does not love the game enough. If he did, he would not pursue it as a sideline, distinct from his ‘real’ vocation.” – Pages 62, 63

“We do not overidentify with our jobs. We may take pride in our work, we may stay late and come in on weekends, but we recognize that we are not our job descriptions. The amateur, on the other hand, overidentifies with his avocation, his artistic aspiration. He defines himself by it. He is a musician, a painter, a playwright. Resistance loves this. Resistance knows that the amateur composer will never write his symphony because he is overly invested in its success and overterrified of its failure. The amateur takes it so seriously it paralyzes him.” – Page 70

“The sign of the amateur is overglorification of and preoccupation with the mystery. The professional shuts up. She doesn’t talk about it. She does her work.” – Page 78

“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.” – Page 79

I really appreciate Pressfield’s numerous distinctions between amateur and professional here. If you are trying to move past amateur, knowing the difference between the two is absolutely vital.

 

“Resistance knows this and uses it against us. It uses fear of rejection to paralyze us and prevent us, if not from doing our work, then from exposing it to public evaluation…Editors are not the enemy; critics are not the enemy. Resistance is the enemy. The battle is inside our own heads. We cannot let external criticism, even if its true, fortify our internal foe. That foe is strong enough already.” – Pages 87, 88

“The professional learns to recognize envy-driven criticism and to take it for what it is: the supreme compliment. The critic hates most that which he would have done himself if he had the guts.” – Page 93

THAT. IS. PROFOUND. Easily one of my favorite truths he points out.

 

BOOK THREE: BEYOND RESISTANCE The Higher Realm

Moving to a higher realm

 

This part of the book is a bit more mystical and, therefore, is likely to be the least understood. What’s more, there’s nothing wrong with preferring one part of a book over another. Through this section, though, there were parts I found intriguing.

“But that moment when I first hit the keys to spell out THE END was epochal. I remember rolling the last page out and adding it to the stack that was the finished manuscript. Nobody knew I was done. Nobody cared. But I knew. I felt like a dragon I’d been fighting all my life had just dropped dead at my feet and gasped out its last breath.” – Page 112

 

Speaking on what we fear, he writes:

“Fear of the consequences of following our heart. Fear of bankruptcy, fear of poverty, fear of insolvency. Fear of groveling when we try to make it our own, and of groveling when we give up and come crawling back to where we started. Fear of being selfish, of being rotten wives or disloyal husbands; fear of failing to support our families, of sacrificing their dreams for ours. Fear of betraying our race, our ‘hood, our homies. Fear of failure. Fear of being ridiculous. Fear of throwing away the education, the training, the preparation that those we love have sacrificed so much for, that we ourselves have worked our butts off for. Fear of launching into the void, of hurtling too far out there; fear of passing some point of no return, beyond which we cannot recant, cannot reverse, cannot rescind, but must live with this cocked-up choice for the rest of our lives. Fear of madness. Fear of insanity. Fear of death.” – Page 142

They aren’t the true fear, however. What is?

“Fear That We Will Succeed.” – Page 143

Why? I’ll take a crack at it: Because we are creatures of comfort, we may not like change, but we REALLY do not like being uncomfortable. And if you are successful? That catapults you into the realm of unknown – and that can be uncomfortable.

 

“Another way of thinking of it is this: We’re not born with unlimited choices. We can’t be anything we want to be. We come into this world with a specific, personal destiny. We have a job to do, a calling to enact, a self to become. We are who we are from the cradle, and we’re stuck with it. Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.” – Page 146

This is one of the lies we tell millions of young people – they can become whatever they want to be. It isn’t true, though, and most adults, however well intentioned or not, deep down understand it isn’t true, either. The author has the courage to call this out, though. Don’t tell them they can be anything – tell them they need to find out their calling.

Well said, Mr. Pressfield, I heartily agree.

 

“But the artist cannot look to others to validate his efforts or his calling…The artist must operate territorially. He must do his work for its own sake. To labor in the arts for any reason other than love is prostitution.” – Pages 150, 151

Pages 154 and 155 are from a chapter, “The Territorial Orientation,” and, for my part, are important for everyone – they require self-reflection that only you, the reader, can do.

 

“Here’s another test. Of any activity you do, ask yourself: If I were the last person on earth, would I still do it? If you are alone on the planet, a hierarchical orientation makes no sense. There’s no one to impress. So, if you’d still pursue that activity, congratulations. You’re doing it territorially.” – Page 158

“Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.” – Page 165

 

Conclusion

 

What a way to end this all too important book. Make no mistake, here: Steven Pressfield has written a masterpiece. I encourage everyone – and I mean EVERYONE – to purchase this book. Admittedly, this is written from a writer’s perspective, but its influence and power can extend to anything worth doing. Starting a business? Creating a product? Moving into a new personal/professional territory?

Read this book.

Then read it again.

Whatever creative endeavor you have, whatever project you’re about to begin, and even if you are in the middle of something and losing steam, allow Pressfield to give you fuel to rise up once more – and defeat Resistance.

Give us what you’ve got.