Steven Pressfield's Blog, page 103

Don’t Talk About It

Are you writing a novel?
Don’t talk about it.
Are you recording a new album, planning a new product launch, gestating a new philanthropic venture?
Keep your mouth shut.
Talking too soon is bad luck. It’s bad karma. I go even farther. Here’s a short quote from an upcoming book called The Authentic Swing:
I’m superstitious. I have habits.
I always
More >>

My Way

I love the Frank Sinatra standard My Way (written by Paul Anka). It gives me goosebumps every time I hear it . . .
And now, the end is here
And so I face the final curtain
My Friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I traveled each and
More >>

Resistance Comes Second

A thought to remember when we wake up each morning and confront anew that dastardly dragon:
Resistance comes second.
The Dream comes first. The dream of whatever work or enterprise or endeavor you and I are called to.
Resistance is the shadow cast by that dream.
Resistance is the equal-and-opposite-reaction of nature to the New Thing that you and
More >>

Specificity

If I were only allowed to give one piece of advice about line-by-line writing (constructing sentences one after the other), it would be this:  Be specific.
To write well is to be clear, to choose language that best suits your message. To accomplish both of these tasks (clarity of word choice to beget laser focus on
More >>

Put Ass Where Heart Wants 2 B, Part 2

I was reading an article about Twlya Tharp, the renowned dancer and choreographer of Push Comes to Shove and many more—and the author of The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life.
The article said that every morning Twyla emerges at six A.M. from her New York apartment building (my apologies to Ms. Tharp
More >>

Who Owns—And How Are Artists Paid For—Art?

Who Owns the Art?

If ideas arrive on the wings of Muses, God, or whatever divine creator you believe in, does the final art belong to the artist or to that divine creator?
I believe in the Muse. I believe that she arrives, laden with ideas, upon that “thunderous train of air” Elizabeth Gilbert described when
More >>

The Free Agent Mindset, Part Two

The artist’s mindset has always been that of the free agent. The painter, writer or filmmaker by definition can only follow her own vision. She has to know (or teach herself) how to be self-defining, self-motivating, self-reinforcing, self-validating.

And yet artists have always run in schools. Paris in the 20s, Rome in the late 50s and
More >>

The Courage to do Nothing

If you‘re like me, you want to clear your desk every night before you head home. You want to make sure that anything that might impair you that evening at home is off the to-do list and out of your mind. Then you’ll be able to relax without having unresolved work issues hanging over your
More >>

The Free-Agent Mindset

What is the Macro Change that’s going on in the world today? As fish never realize they’re swimming in water, is there something happening all around us that’s so apparent that we can’t see it?
I think there is, and here’s how I’d define it:
We—meaning anybody now living in the globalized/digital/satellite-linked/worldwide-web world—are faced with the challenge
More >>

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Lose and Sometimes it Rains

The story of David and Goliath is one of history’s greatest reruns—played out on repeat in books and boardrooms and battlefields.
Big Guy goes after Little Guy.
Little Guy finds inner strength.
Little Guy taps into inner strength.
Little Guy fights Big Guy.
Big Guy falters.
Little Guy knocks Big Guy’s lights out.
The David and Goliath story is the story of
More >>