Do The Work - Book Review - THE WEALTHY IRONWORKER

The Book Review Series

The first time I read Steven Pressfield’s name was in Mad Genius by Randy Gage. In it, he mentioned a few of Pressfield’s books that he found inspiration from, and Do The Work was one. I enjoyed Mad Genius, so I made a mental note to get it.

I’m glad I did.

Related: Read Mad Genius – Book Review

The way this book is laid out is very similar to Mad Genius – short chapters, if you can even call them that. He writes probably the most free-form books I’ve ever seen, pages merely containing ideas that really jump off the page due to the structure. Because of this, the book review format – typically chapter-oriented – is different. This 98-page book packs a lot of get-up-and-go.

One of the best things Steven Pressfield does in this and other books like The War of Art is give the enemy a name – Resistance. By giving it a name, he enables the reader to identify it, watch out for the many ways it can hold you down, and how you can overcome it.

Contained below, then, are some of my favorite quotable sections along with my thoughts in Do The Work – Book Review.

“We’ll hit every predictable Resistance Point along the way – those junctures where fear, self-sabotage, procrastination, self-doubt, and all those other demons we’re all so familiar with can be counted upon to strike.” – Page 1

“The problem with friends and family is that they know us as we are. They are invested in maintaining us as we are. The last thing we want is to remain as we are.” – Page 11

Read that again. Write it down where you can recall it frequently because Pressfield hits a grand slam with this point. IF we were spiraling down, playing with fire, doing something dangerous, experimenting with drugs, etc. THOSE are the things we want our friends and family to help keep us from.

But when you are growing, changing, discovering – or, Do the Work (pun intended) – THAT is the time they are often the most vocal. Why is that?

For my part, I believe most people, including our friends and family, don’t exercise tenacity and intentionality to achieve – and they don’t want to see anyone else achieve it (whatever “it” happens to be) either. Comparison is the thief of joy, after all.

“You may think that you’ve lost your passions, or that you can’t identify it, or that you have so much of it, it threatens to overwhelm you. None of these is true. Fear saps passion. When we conquer our fears, we discover a boundless, bottomless, inexhaustible well of passion.” – Page 15

I love this: conquer your fear, and you see it once more: your reservoir of passion. This is a fantastic observation.

“The enemy is Resistance. The enemy is our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justifications, and a million reasons why we can’t/shouldn’t/won’t do what we know we need to do. Start before you’re ready.” – Page 18

Start. Before. You’re. Ready. BOOM.

“Do research early or late. Don’t stop working. Never do research in prime working time. Research can be fun. It can be seductive. That’s its danger. We need it, we love it. But we must never forget that research can become Resistance. Soak up what you need to fill in the gaps. Keep working” – Page 35 (Emphasis mine).

Millions around the world fall victim to “paralysis by analysis,” and here Pressfield is offering the reader keys to the mint. Written gold.

Pressfield gives us the key, opens the door, and invites us to follow him in

“Ideas come according to their own logic. That logic is not rational. It’s not linear. We may get the middle before we get the end. We may get the end before we get the beginning. Be ready for this. Don’t resist it.” – Page 40

As a writer, I know all too well what it’s like to have a story, article, series, etc. out of order. This is a common occurrence, actually. I’ll write what I know/have, build upon it, and not get hung up on linear order – not yet, anyway.

It isn’t restricted to writing, though. Take, for example, Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why. The ENTIRE premise of that book is starting at the end – or the why. Matt Wallaert, author of Start At the End, follows this same theme with products. Elsewhere, Pressfield specifically focuses on the end and working backwards. Talk about out of order.

His advice is sound, avoids unnecessary hangups, helps us to overcome stumbling blocks, and should add fuel to our creative fire.

“Crashes are good. Crashes are hell, but in the end they’re good for us. A crash means we have failed. We gave it everything we had and we came up short. A crash does not mean we are losers. A crash means we have to grow. A crash means we’re at the threshold of learning something, which means we’re getting better, we’re acquiring the wisdom of our craft. A crash compels us to figure out what works and what doesn’t work – and to understand the difference.” – Pages 75, 76

“A professional does not take success or failure personally. That’s Priority Number One for us now.” – Page 78

Pressfield reminds us that once you think you’re done, it doesn’t mean that you are – or that Resistance is finished with you, either. We have an unnatural fear of failure, but as he rightly points out, we are growing much more than we would via success.

Success is good for us – failure is even better.

“This is a topic for another book: the level of maturity, professionalism, and personal involvement demanded by the tectonic overthrows happening today in positioning, branding, marketing – not to mention pure art and soul-authenticity. But that’s for the future.” – Page 95

There is so much wisdom packed in this little 98-page volume, and suffice it to say, it comes highly recommended. What’s more, you don’t need to read the two books that come before this, but they are valuable additions to your library. The first is The War of Art, and the second is Turning Pro.

Pressfield gets the last word – both in his little powerhouse and this book review:

“Start before you’re ready.” – Page 98