Weekly Quote: Steven Pressfield on Boldness
This week's quote comes from The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. If you're trying to accomplish anything, specifically something creative, you should read this book.
The advice to start "whatever you can do, or dream you can" now, is wise. Waiting for the perfect time to start represents your fear, a desire to manage risks and avoid failure. You cannot have any outcome until you begin, whether it is developing your workshop, writing your novel, or building your app. As Pressfield writes, you gain strength through your boldness. There will be failures, and your courage will help you continue through.
Don't wait. Start right now. Show your work, even when it is a little rough, and people will be there for it. They will forgive the inevitable mistakes because what you have to say is valuable, and your voice outweighs some minor imperfections in your video or on your blog. Remember, perfect is the enemy of the good. Get started, and be brave.
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Weekly Quote: Steven Pressfield on Starting your Symphony
This week’s quote is from Steven Pressfield’s book The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, which I’ve written about before.
I've found that procrastination is sneaky because it sometimes disguises itself as planning or ideation, two essential aspects of the creative process. It's generally easier to think about something than actually do it, and taking the time to think about something offers more time for the resistance to get stronger. So, the longer I wait, the less likely I am to succeed..
This site began publication in January 2022, although I started planning it in October. We had a newborn, and there were plenty of legitimate considerations to consider before embarking on a new project requiring time and attention. Still, I know that some of that time was the resistance manifested as procrastination and fear. I had many internal arguments about why I couldn't get this site off the ground, and the voice of resistance was cunning and powerful. Yet, despite not knowing precisely what 24 Letters would become, I knew it needed to be created, so I launched. I can thank my family and friends who cheered me on, creators who inspired me, and books like Courage is Calling, The War of Art, and Soundtracks for helping me get here.
Pressfield talks about how the resistance gets even more potent when something is important and meaningful. I didn't realize it then, but creating this site has been vital to my happiness and growth over the last eight months. It has allowed me to connect with new people, learn new skills, grow new ideas, and think in new ways. This has been transformational, so the resistance was exceptionally loud!
I recommend following @steven_pressfield on Instagram. He's creating videos about overcoming resistance and getting stuff done. I like his style and his writing. Check out some of his historical fiction, too. It's really well done.
How do you overcome resistance and get projects shipped and that symphony written? Let me know.
Conquer Resistance
I read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield about a month before I created this site. I had a lot of doubt that I’d be able to accomplish much of anything while we journeyed through life with a newborn baby who wasn’t big on sleeping. We also have a two-year-old and learning to keep everything in balance cast a shadow that I could do something that required regular creative attention.
That, my friends, was a textbook example of Resistance. As the quote suggests, fear is the fuel that feeds so much of our doubts and negative beliefs. We have the power to be our own worst enemies.
The same is true in all aspects of our lives. For example, we might tell ourselves that we shouldn’t take the risk of pushing for a new role at work. We don’t believe we’re good enough for that person who we like and have a connection. We don’t feel comfortable having that vital conversation with our children or spouse. That’s all based on fear, and it becomes a negative feedback loop that keeps you from moving ahead, from making connections, from growing.
Read The War of Art if you’re trying to do anything and feel that creeping sense of doubt about it. It’s a wonderfully written book that helped me realize that I could do this and still be a great father and husband. It helped me move past fear-based thinking, and I am better because of that.