The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle Hardcover – June 4, 2002

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.

Steven Pressfield nails it. This book is fast paced, bulls-eye sharp, and hits resistance where it hides and lives. It's an excellent, powerful read, but more than that, Pressfield's work makes a difference. He didn't write this book to write another book. He intended to yank us out of the mire of being dominated and sunk by a force that has us all by the craw, no exceptions. I use the word "yank" because it takes a clear headed muscularity to rescue a drowning person, and that's who we are when procrastination and excuses, reasons and distractions have stolen our purposeful work from us. He doesn't mess around let alone tiptoe around the facts so his points are crystal clear and unavoidable. I'm already applying his clarity and doing well with it.

Pressfield goes beyond the human base-line of struggle and with just as much might as he uses on resistance, he unequivocally advances the Muse, The Divine Forces, the Soul and however you define God.

Though the book is only 165 pages with lots of white space, it is comprehensive, deep, compelling and elevates what's vital in life. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone no matter what they are dealing with. It is a must read for any artist, any writer, any person who is dreaming of or endeavoring to do something of value in the world. It's a book you'll want to keep close at hand at all times.

If you are able and WILLING to admit that the act of creation through writing SUCCESSFULLY comes from a greater source that is only accessible from within, then The War of Art will help. If you are someone that would like to have written in order to become an author or are a dilettante; skip it--it's not going to resonate or be of any value to you. For those WRITERS out there struggling to grasp just what IT that may be holding you back, then The War of Art may help you better understand yourself.

Some say that one key element in Truth is its universal nature. Well, the biggest thing The War of Art helped me understand is that what I'm experiencing is exactly what many other creatives experience and find hard to explain. Many times simply naming and defining something that is otherwise intangible is the biggest first step in defeating that which is holding us back. That's the biggest thing this book did for me; it gave my enemy a name and an intelligence report to go with it. Two huge factors that will help me fight my enemy better in the years to come.

If you're a true creative and have yet to find any level of success or achievement that you HONESTLY feel you're capable of achieving (note: such as receiving good, solid feedback and critique on your work yet still struggle), then I highly recommend taking a look at The War of Art. If you're a writer that has struggled and grappled with an idea and the writing process and FEEL the sands of time slipping away, I would say that not reading The War of Art is throwing away an opportunity to turn things around or gain a little edge. It's certainly worth the day or two that it will take to read through it once and assess.

Lastly, Id'd say that if you read The War of Art and have drawn a complete blank as to the merits of its contents...good luck with your writing endeavors, you're going to need it!

Wow. I love this book. I've never read a book quite like this one. I love how Steven labels fear and procrastination as "Resistance". He gave a name to a feeling we have all experienced but never knew what to call it, he put a spot light on it and showed us it's not as scary as we thought. I look at resistance aka fear differently now. I look at it as a sign to act and not as a sign to run away. The author makes you feel like you are at war with resistance and you must win for the betterment of the world, mankind, and the universe.

Definitely a must read for anyone struggling to stay motivated. Or just anyone in general.