The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles Paperback – January 11, 2012

 "Kabbalists believe that above every blade of grass is an angel crying "Grow! Grow!" I'll go further. I believe that above the entire human race is one superangel, crying "Evolve! Evolve!""

"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's no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist. What Henry Fonda does, after puking into the toilet in his dressing room, is to clean up and march out onstage. He's still terrified but he forces himself forward in spite of his terror. He knows that once he gets out into the action, his fear will recede and he'll be okay."

~ Steven Pressfield from The War of Art

This is the 109th review I've created. Up to this point, I've made a lot of strong recommendations on books I think you'd love but I've never said you *must* read a particular book.

I'm gonna break that streak here.

If you're a creative person, you need to read this book. It's that good. And, when I say "creative person" I mean anyone who's committed to creating an authentically awesome life. (And, given the fact that you're reading this, my hunch is that clearly means YOU!)

I'm not sure how many times I've read The War of Art over the years but it's a lot. Each time I pick it up I get a swift kick in the creative butt and my life takes a significant step forward.

As the author of The Legend of Bagger Vance and a number of great best-selling novels (my favorite beyond Bagger Vance is Gates of Fire--an incredible portrayal of the classic Spartan warriors), Steven Pressfield knows what it's like to create. He has an extraordinary way of capturing the challenges we face in the War of Art--along with the means by which we can overcome those obstacles (or, as he calls it "Resistance"). Powerful stuff.

Here's just a few of the Big Ideas:

1. Throwing Up - It happens.
2. Work & Its By-Products - Let results take care of themselves.
3. True Love - The amateur vs. the professional.
4. It's 9 O'Clock - Time for inspiration to strike.
5. Time to Turn Pro - A checklist.

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This book may not be for everyone, because not everyone will recieve the message, but it is intended for everyone, in that creativity lies in every human in some form. A lot of reviewers complain about the short chapters, the seeming lack of content, the casual flippancy Pressfield occasionally invokes when discussing the image of Hitler as a repressed, blocked artist, the third part of the book that deals with higher dimensions and serving a higher purpose. etc. No, this book may not be for everynyone. But if you are a blocked creative with an open heart and an eager mind or someone seeking to launch any kind of humanistic endeavor or starting a business, etc, you should consider giving it a try.

This is an unorthodox book. You'll finish it in a day or two. It's filled with words like "Resistance" that sound like self-help buzzwords. It isn't. It's a very apt and all-encompassing term for the forces that keep you from doing your life's work, whatever that may be. Distraction, apathy, booze, procrastination, excuses, toxic relationships, depression, and my favorite of Pressfield's: "compulsive screwing up", just to name a few. Anyone honest with himself who has ever claimed to have "writer's block" knows it's a cop-out, an excuse for not sitting down at an empty screen/page, and doing the work.

This book will kick you in the ass and show you how you've been self-sabotaging yourself. It will also fire you up and give you the strength you need to press on and do the work. Pressfield is a kindly drill-sergeant; he holds no punches but you get the feeling that he really wants you to succeed.

As I read the opening chapter on resistance I saw my guilty self on each page. Illusions were shattered. but it inspired me to sit down at the blank screen and do it. You'll read it once and then refer to it again and again as you might work with a coach on your golf swing.

It's a blue-print, not a map, and everyone's experience will be slightly different as they work through their own demons creating their blocks, so don't expect this to solve your problems. It's up to you to kill your own Minotaur. YOU have to do the work. Identifying the things in life that hold you back, the negative thought patterns, perfectionism, etc., is only the beginning.

The third part of the book, the part that addresses that thorny issue of where ideas and inspiration comes from, will be where many will fall by the wayside. Pressfield cautions you not to hold on too tightly to that precious gemstone you call your "talent", and open yourself to other possibilites, that there may be a higher dimensional energy at work here and that we, the artists, writers, dancers, whatever, are only the agents that this energy works through. Call it what you want. god, the universe, the tao, whatever. I think it was jazz great Charlie Parker that said when asked where his ideas come from, "I just try to get out of the way". He meant that he suspended all ego and allowed the work to flow through him from a higher plane. not comfortable with all this higher-dimensional nonsense? Maybe it's not for you.

But The War of Art will help you. It's helping me. Try his other one, Do The Work as well; some of it is redundant, but is still very worth it. you have nothing to lose, only your blocks, so open your mind and try it.

This book is inspiration for a lifetime for anyone with artistic aspirations. There is gold on every page, and every word struck a chord with me. It's like the greatest homily I ever heard in church about fulfilling your purpose and potential, only this book explains the scope of the battle and gives you the weapons and tools to fight it. It's not a self-help book (I hate those). But it will help you demolish excuses and procrastination and get down to business.

One of the best books on personal discipline you will ever read. The author is a genius in explaining how personal discipline, or resisting resistance, works. Personally, I found this book pretty useful. It treats inspiration as a mystery, which honestly it is. It says, you can't manufacture inspiration, so get yourself in the chair, every day, and do the work so when inspiration comes knocking, you are there to answer the door for opportunity to come in.

I'm intrigued by his idea that the difference between a professional artist and an amateur is that the professional artist loves the art enough to arrange their life to allow themselves to do it full-time. An amateur, he says, isn't someone who does it only for the love; if the amateur really loved the art they wouldn't be content with being a weekend warrior. An amateur identifies with the work, whereas a professional does the work for its own sake. He also does this Jungian analysis of where art comes from and where internal resistance comes from.