The War of Art
Someone once asked Somerset Maugham if he wrote on a schedule or only when struck by inspiration. “I write only when inspiration strikes,” he replied. “Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”
That’s a pro.
Welcome to the 10th edition of the Flyby Book Club. The current pick is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, and is a fiery five-minute read.
Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two lies Resistance.
In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all entrepreneurs, artists, and anyone working in a creative field. Any time I’ve lost momentum in the past, this is the book I’ve picked up, and it’s always sent me soaring in the direction I’ve needed to go— Laser focus on the work that matters.
This book is about the fundamental forces that take shape when we go about pursuing any calling and also the one which holds us back— Resistance.
Resistance, shortly put, is anything that keeps us from doing our work and can take any number of forms— obvious ones like procrastination, video games, social media or subtle ones like too many side projects, always fighting fires or doing work that doesn’t really move the needle much but is considered “urgent.”
Here’s a sample of the list of activities that attract Resistance according to the book:
1) The pursuit of any calling in writing, painting, music, film, dance, or any creative art, however marginal or unconventional.
2) The launching of any entrepreneurial venture or enterprise, for profit or otherwise.
3) Any diet or health regimen.
…
Anything that needs to be done that leads to us evolving to our higher self will naturally evoke Resistance. It’s an invisible force that tries to hold us back and keeps us at the same level that we are currently on.
Throughout the book, we come to see Resistance for what it really is — Fear. Whether it’s fear of failure, fear of what others will think, fear of rejection, or the biggest one of them all — fear of success, they are all just traps that keep us from reaching our highest potential and doing what we need to get done most.
The way out of this trap is to follow the fear and flip it upside down, right into the ground. By tackling the very thing we are most afraid of getting done.
Rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.
The antidote to this Resistance is what Pressfield calls— Turning Pro. When we turn Pro, we get to work and stop Resistance in its tracks.
Turning Pro is a state of mind. One where we get down to business and focus on putting in the work, the process, the inputs, taking it one day at a time, and giving it our best.
It’s about putting yourself in the mindset of a professional, or how we think a professional, as an ideal, would operate and bringing that mindset into our own day-to-day attitude. A simple way to do that is to just use any notable experience from your day job and put that same fiery work ethic to use for your passion, art, venture, calling, and smash Resistance down into the ground.
To be clear, when I say professional, I don’t mean doctors and lawyers, those of “the professions.” I mean the Professional as an ideal. The Professional is in contrast to the amateur. Consider the differences.
The amateur plays for fun. The professional plays for keeps.
To the amateur, the game is his avocation. To the Pro, it’s his vocation.
The amateur plays part-time, the professional full-time.
The amateur is a weekend warrior. The Professional is there seven days a week.
The word amateur comes from the Latin root meaning “to love.” 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.
The professional loves it so much he dedicates his life to it.
He commits full-time.
That’s what I mean when I say turning Pro.
Resistance hates it when we turn Pro.
In short. Commitment.
But this also doesn’t mean getting attached to the outcomes and trapping yourself in a perfectionism loop. The emphasis is on the inputs, on craft and mastery, on moving in the direction of progress and taking action.
It’s about putting in the work consistently, without overthinking things or taking things personally, and trusting that the magic will come.
To do this, we also need to take a step back and view our work separately from US.
The professional loves her work. She is invested in it wholeheartedly. But she does not forget that the work is not her. Her artistic self contains many works and many performances. Already the next is percolating inside her. The next will be better, and the one after that better still.
Check out the chapter You, Inc., in the book for a valuable framework on how to think about this. It’s especially valuable for anything that requires “sales.” I often refer back to it when I find myself getting over-identified with my work.
As we’ve seen many times in this newsletter, it’s about focusing on the process with discipline and an eye toward continuously improving. The results will eventually arrive. And in style.
Overcoming fear is the key to turning Pro and defeating Resistance.
There’s no mystery to turning Pro. It’s a decision brought about by an act of will. We make up our mind to view ourselves as pros and we do it. Simple as that.
Once Resistance is defeated, we get a glimpse of the higher realms of our truest potential. A sample of the life we are capable of living, and much much more. I’ll let you read the book to find out what this is. It goes deep, and I mean deep.
Check out the book. It’s a short one that packs a powerful punch. The real benefits come from applying it to the work that matters most to you immediately, by simply, turning Pro.
I’ve read it several times and will be re-reading it again, no doubt.
If you need to get your personal flywheel of progress spinning again or just in the right direction, get to work.👊
Please help me improve! How did you like this post?
With your feedback, I can improve the newsletter.
The professional cannot take rejection personally because to do so reinforces Resistance. 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 it’s true, fortify our internal foe. That foe is strong enough already.