Steven Pressfield Identifies the Enemy in War of Art 

Resistance can be used as a compass to help us navigate.

“The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.”

“Henry Fonda was still throwing up before each stage performance, even when he was seventy-five.”

Strongest right before finish line

Misery loves company.  “The best and only thing that one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.”

Procrastination -> habit.  you can tell by the measure of hollowness you feel afterward.  Troubles -> need for attention.  Soap opera.  Nobody gets a damn thing done. Victimhood, the myrtyr.  “Casting yourself as a victim is the antithesis of doing your work. “  Resistance is rational — it makes sense.

“Truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery. While those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern over them.”

Criticism is one symptom of resistance that not only harms yourself but others as well.  “When we see others beginning to live their authentic selves, it drives us crazy if we have not lived our own”

Self-doubt serves as an indicator of aspiration.  If you find that you’re asking yourself “am I a writer?  an artist?” then chances are you are.  “The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident.  The real one is scared to death.”

“If it means nothing to us, there’d be no Resistance. “  “So if you are paralyzed with fear, it’s a good sign. It shows you what you have to do.”  “The more Resistance you experience, the more important your unmanifested art/proect/enterprise is to you — and the more gratification you will feel when you finally do it.”

“Grandiose fantasies are a symptom of Resistance.”  Ouch.   “The Professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work.”

Don’t think that you have to heal yourself before you begin your work.  That’s Resistance speaking.  Do not seek support, either.  Saying that you don’t have enough support to do what you need to do is pure BS.  You do it, and then people will gather around rooting for you.

Rationalization is Resistance.  It is its mask.  Its big gun — making sense.

“Defeating Resistance is like giving birth.  It seems absolutely impossible until you remember that women have been pulling it off successfully, with support and without, for fifty million years.”  It can be beaten.

“The Professional loves it so much he dedicates his life to it.  He commits full-time.”  (even if he’s not doing it full-time)

I’m not sure if I call the life of Professionally pursuing our callings “miserable.”  Challenging, for sure. Scary, hell yes.  Uncomfortable, beyond belief.  But being miserable to me, is feeling defeated.  That isn’t part of the picture.

The amateur overidentifies with his avocation.   He takes is so seriously it paralyzes them.  — ouch, ouch, ouch!

Pro plays it like as if it’s a job.  Accepts money, too.  Though he does it out of love.  But overidentifying is for amateurs, as the failure means too much and the fear of it can be exploited by Resistance.

Pro does not tolerate chaos.  His tools and environment are streamlined so it doesn’t get in the way of his work.

“The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear.”  The pro acts while feeling the fear.

A pro’s goal “is not victory but to handle himself, his insides, as sturdily and steadily as he can.”

A professional does not show off.  He won’t draw attention, won’t try to justify his distinction by overephasizing his style or his skill.

A pro maintains a healthy distance from his self, and his instruments.  He just employs them to do the work.