Some of you have heard me sing the praises of The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles.

Have you read it?

My pilates instructor referred this book after she got sick of asking, “How is your real book coming along?”

I love this book for a million reasons. Here are a few things I learned about being an artist.

  1. If you want to be a writer, this book addresses the reasons why you don’t write. Procrastination? Inertia? Lack of creative ideas? It’s less complicated than you think.
  2. If you wonder about the difference between amateur and pro — whether you are Tiger Woods or a chick who works in human resources — Steven Pressfield lays it out in very clear language. Amateurs are in love with the brand, the lifestyle and the identity of a career instead of being consumed with doing the work itself.
  3. The universe encourages you to half-ass your life and your work. The only way to overcome resistance is to build healthy and repeatable processes. Healthy habits enable a creative environment that will produce art.

If you are stuck and want more out of life, give this short book a go. I think you’ll find it helpful and enlightening.

Category: Work1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Hi Laurie – I love that you’ve read this book. I just read it this summer and it came at a time when I was finally willing and ready to accept the challenges of writing a book. Right now, I’ve got almost 50,000 words down on paper (halfway to my goal of 100,000). Every day that comes as a challenge I think to myself, “That means I’m getting closer. The resistance is getting stronger and it’s becoming harder to push through…but that means I’m closer and it’s even more important to press on.”

    Anyway, I wish everyone aspiring to do more with their life could read this book. Where they now see road blocks, they might just view it as resistance that truly NEEDS to be overcome in order to pursue their dreams.

    Thanks again for the inspiring post.

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