موضوع کتاب جالبه. حس مقاومت درونی در برابر انجام کاری که باید انجام بدیم اما دست و دلمون به سمت کار نمی‌ره. می‌دونیم که باید این کار رو انجام بدیم، کاریه که دلمون هم می‌خواد انجام بدیم اما وقتی که باید بشینیم و واقعا انجامش بدیم، می‌ریم سراغ یک چیز دیگه، یک بهونه، یک سرگرمی، یک حواس‌پرتی، یک مشکل و یا هر چیز دیگه‌ای که باعث بشه تا انجام دادن این کار رو فعلا کنار بذاریم.
برای اینکه کارمون رو انجام ندیم، برای خودمون بهونه‌های مختلف می‌تراشیم و کار رو به تاخیر می‌اندازیم. توی بعضی از موارد برای خودمون کارهای متفرقه درست می‌کنیم، حرفه‌ای رو شروع می‌کنیم که می‌دونیم فقط برای فرار از کار اصلیه و یا حتا دردسرهایی ایجاد می‌کنیم که برای انجام ندادن کارمون دلیل داشته باشیم. تنها راه چاره اینه که بشینی و کارت رو انجام بدی. راه دیگه‌ای نیست. شاید اولین بار که واقعا این موضوع رو حس می‌کردم و نسبت بهش آگاه بودم، وقتی بود که باید پایان‌نامه ارشدم رو می‌نوشتم.
موضوع کتاب جالبه. مشکل رو به خوبی شناسایی می‌کنه و نشونه‌های اون رو اعلام می‌کنه. اما این کتاب هم مثل اون کتاب‌های دیگه نویسنده، برای متقاعد کردن خواننده می‌زنه به صحرای کربلا! می‌گه شما مثل یک صفحه سفید به دنیا نیومدین که جامعه شما رو شکل بده. بلکه یک روحی دارین که از قبل برنامه و هدفش تعیین شده و کاری به دوش شما گذاشته شده که فقط شما باید اون رو انجام بدین وگرنه با هدر دادن استعدادها و مهارت‌هاتون در محضر پرودگار متعال یا هر کی، احساس شرمساری می‌کنین و ناامیدش می‌کنین. شما باید خودتون رو کشف کنین و کاری که بهتون سپرده شده رو انجام بدین و از این حرفا. پر از خدا و تقدیر و روح و فرشته و الهام و ایمان و کاری که به ما سپرده شده و ... . اینکه فقط یک بار این موضوعات رو مطرح کنه یک چیزه اما اینکه کل کتاب رو با اونها پر کنه، موضوع کاملا متفاوتیه.
یک سمینار دیدم که خوب بود و مطالب مفیدی داشت. مجری برای من شناخته شده و قابل اطمینان بود. یکی دو جا از این کتاب رفرنس آورده بود و من تصمیم گرفتم کتاب‌های این نویسنده رو ��خونم. در کل راضی‌کننده نبود. شاید فقط همون چند جایی که رفرنس شده بود، مطالب قابل قبولی بودن که همه‌اش هم توی بخش اول کتاب بود. بخش دوم حرفش این بود که حرفه‌ای عمل کنین و در هر صورت کار رو انجام بدین. بخش سوم هم که کلا با همون مزخرفات مذکور پر شده بود.

This book is both practical and spiritual in nature.



I really enjoy the first two thirds but I think that the author may lose his most conservative audience to the last third as his spiritual influence has so much imagery attached to it that is counter intuitive to western religion.



Growing up around Christian fundamentalism (which he properly criticizes), I have had to fight the inner battle myself and it takes years to get that nonsense truly out of your head so you can work. I wish that the “War of Art” had a softer approach to breaking down the Traditions that hold us back so that the larger message wouldn't be lost.



This book is a great reminder of why I work at all. I think that I get caught up in the “rewards” for my labour a little too often and lately when the argument that I should be a better capitalist are presented to me I have been getting sucked into one dimensional thinking.



There are so many reasons to do your art.



If you find that there is any resistance to you doing your life's work then read this book.

Čia viena tų knygų, kurias skaitydamas gali jaustis labai motyvuotas ir fainas, kažką darantis, kad įveiktum savo prokrastinaciją, bet realybėje, tai šūdą jinai tau padės, nes jinai neturi kiaušinių leistis gilyn į prokrastinacijos esmę, nors ir bando apsimesti, kad labai kieta ir piktutė yra. Savaitę jausiesi įkvėptas, o po savaitės gal net pamirši, kad tokią knygą apskritai skaitei.
Šita knyga bando išritulioti idėją, kad menas yra kaip karas - tarp libido ir mortido, tarp gėrio ir blogio, angelų ir demonų, sveikos psichikos ir neurozės ("rezistencijos"), beleko, ir, kad kuo kūrybingesnis ir geresnis meninykas esi, kuo arčiau didingo tikslo, tuo stipriau prieš tave, kaip šviesos karį, ima kovoti ta tamsa, kuri verčia viską mesti, kai liko vos keli procentėliai, apskritai gal net nepradėti arba, pradėjus labai entuziastingai, taip pat entuziastingai ir užraukti. Nežinau kodėl, bet atrodo, kad autorius daug kur gyvenime turėjo išradinėti dviračius, skaičiau ir galvojau - va todėl ir reikalingas išsilavinimas rašyti, tapyti etc., ne technikoms mokytis, o tokiems suvokimams, kurie ten atrodo, kaip sveikas protas, o ne Pasaulį keičiantys atradimai. Na, bent jau iš jų galima parašyti finansiškai sėkmingą (? gal) knygą. Nelabai ilgą.
Įdomu, kad autorius, laikydamasis kūrybingumo genijaus religijos ir tikėdamas į mūzas tiek kuriantį, tiek griaunantį pradą atsieja nuo asmens, per kuriuos jie veikia ir mes kiekvienas galime būti tiek geras ar blogas kūrėjas, kiek šių demonų talpiname. Jei esame gėrio ir tiesos pusėje - tampama humanistais, suvokiame, kad nors idėjos yra didingesnės už žmogų, bet menininkui pirmiausia vertybė yra kitas žmogus ir jam jis tas idėjas (bei sau) perduoda,. Jei esame blogio ir melo - tampame fundamentalistais, įsivaizduojame, kad idėja, būdama didingesne už žmogų, lemia ją perduodančio didybę ir bet kuris gali (ar net džiaugtųsi) paaukotas didžiai idėjai.
Kai kurie loginiai šuoliai knygoje gana kosminiai - pvz.: kad neprokrastinuoti tapybos ir nemesti savo kūrybos susidūrus su kliūtimis yra taip sunku, kad Hitleriui buvo lengviau sukelti Antrą Pasaulinį karą, nei išlikti ištikimam savo kūrybai.

I read this book over and over again as necessary. It is the kick in the ass every artist needs, sometimes daily. Because we all face the same enemy, fight the same battle every day: Resistance. According to Pressman, this is the whole story. Every day you either win or lose your battle with resistance. All the rest is talk. Why you lost it doesn't matter. Maybe your mother didn't love you enough. Maybe you don't believe in yourself enough. Maybe you think you're not as talented as you wish you were. Well, so what? No one's mother loved them enough, all of us suffer from self-doubt (If you don't, you're a sociopath and I don't want to know you), and even Shakespeare wrote about "Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope." If Shakespeare sometimes thought he wasn't good enough, I think that lets the rest of us off the hook. The only answer is to get up every day and do your work to the best of your ability. That's all anyone does. I just watched a snippet of a video interview with the painter Chuck Close who said you don't need most of what you learn in grad school ever again. You need only three things: to know where to find the information you need, to develop good work habits, and to acquire the thickest skin possible and be able to listen to and ignore the most painful criticism imaginable. You have to be able to defend your own position and criticize others as harshly as they criticize you. And then just go ahead and do your own work. Great book. I recommend this more than any other book I've ever read.

I couldn't get into this book. I've read and reread it several times, but it just doesn't do it for me. I gave it the second star because he does give some good advice about committing to the work, and staying in the seat. Some good bits about discipline and such.

I have about 13 years of collegiate and graduate art school under my belt, and I've worked in the fine and commercial arts. Thing is, I hate seeing the challenge of making art turn into this romanticized, epic battle between the poor put-upon artist and Mighty Resistance.

Maybe it's just that I've heard so much dreck about artists being "prophets" and such over the years that it just hits a sore spot. Plus, there's the idea he puts forward that you haven't really turned "pro" until you've dismissed all non-art related activity from your life. He's awfully judgmental against those who strive for a balanced, comprehensive life as opposed to a two-dimensional one.

A better book, more honest and less pretentious, is Art and Fear.

Fair warning - the book is written in frank soldierly language; I will critique it in kind.

At one level, this is a straight up 'fatherly' self-help book. Its message is simple. Stop procrastinating, stop making excuses, and get your sorry ass to work. No tricks; no magic; just do it. This is Pressfield channeling the DI. But beyond that, and what makes this more than just a swift kick in the pants to someone that is down, is that this is fundamentally a spiritual, theological book.

I'm just not certain what sort of theology or spirit.

A lot of the basic premise will be familiar to any Christian. This could have very easily been a little Christian enchiridion about winning the fight against Sin.

Stephen Pressfield's word for sin is Resistance. It's a good word, as it well encapsulates how one experiences the phenomenon when one becomes aware of it and starts to try to fight it. As Pressfield talks about the subject, we are reminded of St. Paul’s writings on the subject of Resistance:

"For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." - Galatians 5:17

And also:

"For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" - Romans 7: 15-25

So far so good. But while reading Pressfield is a little easier than reading St. Paul, I am also in reading it reminded of the Apology by Plato in which he has Socrates say:

"After the politicians, I went to the poets; tragic, dithyrambic, and all sorts. And there, I said to myself, you will be instantly detected; now you will find out that you are more ignorant than they are. Accordingly, I took them some of the most elaborate passages in their own writings, and asked what was the meaning of them--thinking that they would teach me something. Will you believe me? I am almost ashamed to confess the truth, but I must say that there is hardly a person present who would not have talked better about their poetry than they did themselves. Then I knew that not by wisdom do poets write poetry, but by a sort of genius and inspiration; they are like diviners or soothsayers who also say many fine things, but do not understand the meaning of them. The poets appeared to me to be much in the same case; and I further observed that upon the strength of their poetry they believed themselves to be the wisest of men in other things in which they were not wise."

At least a third of 'The War of Art' is bullshit and bloviating. It's full of little digressions, contradictions, follies, and self-validations which it would be tedious to list here. If you are looking for wisdom, don't seek it out in this manual. If you are looking for wisdom, you'll get badly led astray here. Some of his throw it all out there lines are just downright weird and I was frequently glad he didn't bother to explain himself.

If you are looking for technique, you'll be on much more solid ground. This is a practical book by a practitioner who gets up each morning and does his best to kick the Resistance in the ass before it kicks him. Refining his theology is obviously less important than walking away from the battlefield something other than a bleeding corpse. Can't fault that.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section where he defines the enemy is the best and most solid. Aside from a few weird digressions about how artists have to abandon their friends because they are allied with the Resistance, and a weird tangent on the evils of Fundamentalism which makes me think he doesn't know any actual Fundamentalists (or much about art history) and is hence just blowing smoke out of his ass, this is really good stuff.

The second section talks about combating resistance. Again, much of this is solid provided you keep your nose unplugged so you can avoid stepping in the squishy stuff. Pressfield says that the key to combating the Resistance is to adopt what he calls the professional attitude. Essentially, the Professional stays busy. He isn't idle because he doesn't let himself be idle. He works purposefully and he never stops working. As Paul would say, "He runs the good race."

But Pressfield understands something more than that, and that is that the Professional has Faith; and furthermore, that the universe is ordered such that Faith is mysteriously rewarded. The writer sets down expecting that that inspiration, that genius, will come if he begins in good faith.

The third section is about how the professional harnesses that higher aid, which he refers to as the 'mystery'. And here is where it gets really weird, because Pressfield is quite willing to grab any metaphor he can get his hands on to describe this mystery. This is artistic indifferentism. I suppose this is fitting given that every tradition produces artists, but it makes for weird reading. Pressfield is most attracted to classical Greek theology, which makes the third section read like something that is half self-help book and half neo-Pagan new age tract. For me personally, the mix of Epicureanism with Christian theology reminds me most of the equally highly personal theology of Thomas Jefferson, save for one thing. Far more so than even Jefferson, Pressfield is convinced that this 'mystery' is active in the world and boldly proclaims: "The gods do exist. They do penetrate our earthly sphere."

Which brings us back around to that earlier quote by Plato. Because, for all the minor faults in the work, Pressfield gets it. He isn't just an arrogant asshole yelling at you to get on with it. He knows he's no wiser or better off than the rest of us, save perhaps that he's really realized that he isn't wiser or better than the rest of us and so drops the pretension and just humbly and dedicatedly does what he can do.

Then he rambles one for another 30 pages on Jungian this and territoriality that sufficient to convince us of the truth that "upon the strength of their poetry they believed themselves to be the wisest of men in other things in which they were not wise." But it's ok, because none of that is necessary for the craft. You can get by just fine without any of it, naming the enemy, praying, and making a good start with the faith that the ending is there in the hands of some friendly Divine Muse.

Now, where did I put that half finished novel...?

there's some solid advice in here, but it's buried under a lot of metaphors that are predicated on aggression and rugged masculinity. i was excluded from pretty much the get go. the extreme individualism and boot-strap/boot camp mentality was off-putting. when pressfield is giving concrete information about creative work he has useful things to say. he just doesn't do much of that. unfortunately the bulk of this short book is proselytizing, guilt-inducing berating from a very privileged man. (dude, i'm sorry, but if you honestly think that ignoring your eight-month pregnant wife's needs is totally cool, then you are a jerk. "work" is not the #1 most important thing on the face of the planet.) it made me really sad because i wanted to like this book in theory. i'm sure that it's an excellent thing for its audience. but i am not this book's audience since i am neither a marine nor a greek warrior, nor do i want to approach my creativity as if i were one.

This book is first and foremost a treatise on writing as labor. Writing is work -- much like going to the gym, fighting a battle, or plowing a field. That is the philosophy of the book -- one I tend to agree with.

Haruki Murakami talked in much similar terms about writing in his book about running. He wrote a book about running and the discipline of running; but he was also talking about the virtues necessary to be a writer.

Much of the book talks about the forces of "Resistance." Think about resistance as the accumulated forces trying to get you not to write, not to finish, to say you're a writer but to really live life as a fraud. It also tells a story -- over a course of vignettes -- about how one writer deals with his personal form of resistance.

The book is about motivation and professionalism. There are parts about other things, but mostly the book is about those things. You may also like the chapters about muses. Most of the passages are written in 1-2 page vignettes. Thus, perhaps the best way to read this book is in five to ten minute sessions before you're about to write.

This book is unrateable. It’s clear the author’s audience is himself. You may rebuke, “When is writing not?” But honestly, this time it really is for himself. It is very personally written. (I've written something very similar for myself, and it reads similarly). Thus, much of it will not connect with you. When it does, though, it will likely connect deeply.

Does that make it a two-star, three-star, four-star...it doesn't matter.

If you need this book. Read this book. I didn't need to read this book, but I still benefited from it. If you really don't need this book because you never face resistance when you write, then you don't need this book at all.

Here is the strange thing, one section in particular – Resistance and Fundamentalism -- just blew me away. I’m also an International Relations scholar and it’s been a long time since I’ve read anything on Fundamentalism that rang so clear and beautiful as that. If I could take those two or three pages and make them required reading for every IR scholar, I would.

Thank you, Mr. Pressfield. Well done.

“The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.”
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles ~~  Steven Pressfield



Reading this book was like a slap in the face to me. I AM a director and a writer. I struggle often to find my identity in my written words.

We all of us artists ~~ writers, directors, painters, photographers, dancers, musicians ~~ have faced all the serious struggles that comes with being an artist. We have to face the inner terror in order to get to where we want to go in our art.  Steven Pressfield shows us we need to face our fears and not let those fears overtake us ~~ not give into the resistance. Fear infects our creativity and prevents us from extracting the creative forces we need to create. Most importantly, as artists, we must be open to rejections, judgments and failures. All artists, even those that are best known to us, have experienced rejection. Use these rejections as motivation to improve your talents and skills and inspire you to love and embrace your craft even more.

Pressfield devotes much of n   The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battlesn to God, the Universe, Consciousness, Angels and Spirit Guides. I love this approach of viewing himself as a channel for the Muse. Pressfield says a prayer to the Muse every morning before he begins his writing. You don’t have to believe this approach to get something out of his book. But what you will learn is to fight for your art -- to fight for yourself.

What a mess. This book is ridiculous. This book is angry. This book is upset that it had to be written because the author made himself think that he had to stay in a chair everyday writing regardless of however else he may have felt at the moment. This book is an awesome example of someone who apparently believes in the explicit value of free speech but denounces free will.

I finished it a few days ago and have since been seriously trying to understand how it was published.
FIrst of all, it's not a book. It's an assortment of thoughts that seem to have spewed out of the authors mind in a frenzy. Probably due to some crazy circumstance that was way more interesting than anything written on the pages of the book itself. Was there an editor? Or even someone doing page layout? Or a fact checker? Was it self published? What's up with the one sentences taking up parts of entire pages as if it they are such epic thoughts that they deserve such suspension?

I thought this book was going to provide practical advice on how to achieve a higher state of discipline.
It doesn't. It does though attempt to bully you into fulfilling your 'purpose' as a creative being. According to the author we all have a purpose to fulfill and if we ignore it he will yell at us, like he does on the last page. That page is awesome. I wonder if this person is aware that some people actually do not have purposes, they were born and there is not one thing in the world that interests them, and it is not due to procrastination or resistance. I wonder what he thinks of such people who achieve nothing, nor care to and remain healthy their entire lives. I wonder what he thinks of teenagers who have never procrastinated a day in their lives and are diagnosed with cancer or mental disorders nonetheless.

I wonder if he realizes that if someone is in tune with themselves that resistance and fear are on their side.

Wow, this book was awful. I really don't understand why so many people have recommended it. And by "people" I mean authors and podcasters who focus on the themes of productivity and leadership. At first I thought it was me, I mean, I have a 9-5 job so I was thinking maybe I'm not committed enough to creativity to wake up and go to war with the "Resistance," a force that exists in the world that the author says keeps us from creating. But then I thought, I really would rather befriend my creativity than wake up and feel like I have to go to battle every single day just to get something done. The author is talking mainly about procrastination, so maybe turning that into an external force that must be controlled is his best metaphor for dealing with this. But that's simply exhausting, plus, you'll never win.

Sometimes the author would say really smart things, like "Madonna does not identify with 'Madonna.' Madonna employs 'Madonna.'" (p.86) -- meaning Madonna the person is a professional who is removed from her instrument so to speak, and that distance allows her to assess it and use it to her advantage. But he also said very odd and over-simplifying things, like, "Doctors estimate that 70-80% of their business is non-health-related. People aren't sick, they're self-dramatizing." (p.27) which is from a chapter titled Resistance and Victimhood. And then I got to Part Three of the book in which things go off the rails and the author talks about muses and angels, the ego and the self, and about how creating art is like giving birth. Boy, I hate it when anyone compares anything to giving birth. There's really nothing at all like giving birth, except, giving birth.

While I read this book, I was reminded of Elizabeth Gilbert's awesome TED talk where she discusses muses and the need for a creative person to just show up to the job. And how just showing up, just sitting down and writing or composing or painting or choreographing is a valid and necessary use of one's time and energy, even if one never produces a masterpiece. And I also thought of Seth Godin's "Linchpin" and his Lizard Brain analogy to the tendency to not do creative work because it's, you know, hard. These two examples came after Pressfield's book, so I'm not suggesting his is derivative, just that his ideas are not unique. The first two parts of the book might be useful if you need a kick in the pants to quit procrastinating. But I do wonder if folks who tout this book never read the third part.

I don’t know what to say — there are some gems and insights in this book (mostly related to the idea of honouring your creativity though discipline, the importance of sitting down to work even if only for yourself, and even the idea of muses), but the delivery (and honestly everything else) was a BIG miss for me. All of the ill-informed and unsubstantiated claims about medical issues like mental illness and cancer, the blatant oversimplification of history, and the idea of seeking/needing support as weakness? Yeah, nooo thank you, miss me with that bullshit. One star for the few key sentences and reminders I will take away (tbh, I think he could have conveyed his core message in a few short pages), but MISS ME WITH THE REST OF IT.