Steven Pressfield's Blog, page 118

War Stories Become Prologue

It was 1961 and Dwight Eisenhower was still going back to that game in 1912—West Point v. Carlisle.
West Point and Carlisle were winning teams. One featured two future generals—Eisenhower and Omar Bradley—and the other featured all-around athlete and gold-medal-winning Olympian Jim Thorpe and the now-legendary Coach Pop Warner.
Eisenhower and a team mate strategized and hit
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The Difference Between Pain and Injury

So I'm at the health club the other day. And like most health clubs, there is a ceaseless barrage of aural and visual input.
Grunts reminiscent of a maternity ward come from a beer bellied guy who wants everyone to know that he's just bench pressed 112.5 pounds. A personal trainer checking his cell phone, halfheartedly
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Saying No

Ask me what I envy most about people who have lots of money. My answer: "I'm jealous that they have secretaries to say no for them."
Saying no is hard for me. Always has been. It's hard for a lot of people. Maybe we want to be thought of as nice guys. Maybe we remember people
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What Editors Do

A month ago, just before the Christmas break, I ran into a friend and former colleague. Obviously late for an appointment, she had that thousand yard stare of the warrior just back from the front.
We gave each other a hug and asked about each other's spouses and kids. Neither one of us threw out publishing's
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What I Learned in the Ad Biz, Part Three

Here's a concept from the world of Mad Men that has served me (and saved me) many times over the years:
The idea of "new business."
When I worked in the ad biz in New York many moons ago, we had to account for our hours every week on a time sheet. The creative department was divided
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Today's Boys: Tomorrow's Warriors

They were "just boys" or "babies" or "young." Often in war stories, it is the men who are at battle, but the boys who go to war. Those deciding and those fighting are men and boys, as are those leaving and those returning home.
Lieutenant General Samuel Vaughan Wilson, retelling a Civil War story told to
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Quotidian Setbacks

There are days when Steve and I feel as if we've entered the real life publishing version of Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci's movie Big Night.  Have you seen this movie?  It's the story of two brothers from Abruzzo, Italy, who've come to America in the 1950s to open their dream restaurant.  They call it
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What I Learned in the Ad Biz, Part Two

Advertising is a much-reviled industry (selling us junk we don't need, etc.) Let me not be last in line to heap my own scorn and derision upon this hell-spawned profession.
That being said, my own time as a copywriter (I worked for Grey, Benton & Bowles and Ted Bates in NYC) was more valuable than a
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War Is ?

Wars—and the ways they are remembered and shared—are unique. There is no one experience—from the child watching it on the news to the service member fighting within it.
"The war is what A.D. is elsewhere: they date from it."
Mark Twain's Civil War by Mark Twain
The war is the great chief topic of conversation. The interest in
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Why is "The War of Art" $60.00 on Amazon?

My wife and I need a new car. The one we have now has served our family well, but it's starting to have quirky issues and occasional breakdowns.
It's in that prime moment when the warranty has run out and we just have that sinking sensation that it's only a matter of time before we get
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