BOOK REVIEW: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

If you’re a writer, a singer, a poet, a model, or any type of creative or visionary then you simply HAVE to read this book. I devoured it in under two days, and it has completely changed my life.  

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield, (acclaimed author of The Legend of Bagger Vance), shares his insights on overcoming what he calls “resistance”. 

What is resistance? 

It's that small little voice inside your head and that emotion in your chest that prohibits you from practicing your art. It’s what writers call “the block” and public speakers know as “stage fright”, and so it goes.   

Basically, resistance is what prohibits millions of people from following their dreams and sharing their gifts with the world, out of fear of being judged or ostracised or whatever. It is that barrage of excuses that stops millions of people from realizing their greatness for fear of failure. 

It’s that little voice in your head that convinces you to go on Instagram and YouTube “for just a few minutes” only to end up scrolling for hours, instead of working on honing your skills and pursuing your dream of becoming the best (fill in the blanks). 

It’s that little person inside you who always tries to convince you that you’ll simply drop dead and die if you do that extra 2 Kilometres at the gym.

Truth is, we all have greatness within us, but only those who overcome resistance are able to unlock it. Luckily, Pressfield’s book reveals to the reader, not only the various manifestations of resistance, so that you can identify its different permutations, but he also divulges strategies on how to overcome it.  

As Pressfield says himself, 

“If Resistance could not be beaten, there would be no Fifth Symphony, no Romeo and Juliet, not Golden Gate Bridge. Defeating resistance is like giving birth. It seems impossible until you remember that women have been pulling it off successfully, with support and without for fifty million years.” 

OVERCOMING RESISTANCE

One of the most enlightening solutions that Pressfield reveals to the reader, is to “turn pro”. Turning pro means investing in yourself and putting in the hours necessary to achieve your  goals. 

It means understanding the value of what you have to offer the world and that by sharing your unique gifts and experiences with the world, you fulfil a need that only you can supply.

The path to success, realisation, and greatness can only be understood and truly appreciated when you walk it. As Netiri in the movie Avatar says to Jake, “No one can teach you to see.” It’s up to you, not anyone else, to find the answers that you seek. 

I won’t give away too much about this book except that it’s really easy to read, and I’ll be keeping it as a handy resource to come back to time and again. I sincerely hope that whoever’s reading this will read that book, because it doesn’t matter if you’re already a pro, or a beginner wanting to start off in life, there’s something you can learn from the War of Art. 

And with that, I leave you with one of my (many) favourite quotes from the book:

“If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don’t do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself. You hurt your children. You hurt me. You hurt the planet. You shame the Angels who watch over you and spite the Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimetre farther along its path back to God. Creative work is not just a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.”

P.S. Thanks to Marie Forleo for introducing me to Steven Pressfield. Check out her YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/marieforleo