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Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
113 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 21, 2021
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35 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 27, 2023
This book was just so odd and weird. Weird style of writing, talking about weird stuff, kind of some mumbo jumbo but it was a short read so I finished it.
"Start before you're ready. Don't prepare. Begin. Remember, our enemy is not lack of preparation; it's not the difficulty of the project or the state of the marketplace or the emptiness of our bank account. The enemy is our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justifications, and a million reasons why we can't/shouldn't/won't do what we know we need to do. Start before you're ready." (pg. 18)
"Figure out where you want to go; then work backwards from there." (pg. 26)
"Unless you're building a sailboat or the Taj Mahal, I give you a free pass to screw up as much as you like. The inner critic? His ass is not permitted in the building. Set forth without fear and without self-censorship. When you hear that voice in your head, blow it off. This draft is not being graded. There will be no pop quiz. Only one thing matters in this initial draft: get SOMETHING done, however flawed or imperfect. You are not allowed to judge yourself." (pg. 38)
"In our feel-good, social-safety-net, high-self-esteem world, you and I have been brainwashed to believe that there is no such thing as evil, that human nature is perfectible, that everyone and everything can be made nice. We have been conditioned to imagine that the darkness that we see in the world and feel in our own hearts is only an illusion, which can be dispelled by the proper care, the proper love, the proper education, and the proper finding. It can't. There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is enormously powerful." (pg. 59)
"You have done what only mothers and gods do; you have created new life." (pg. 97)
Books recommended:
- The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle
- Improv Wisdom by Patricia Ryan Madson
Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up
"Start before you're ready. Don't prepare. Begin. Remember, our enemy is not lack of preparation; it's not the difficulty of the project or the state of the marketplace or the emptiness of our bank account. The enemy is our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justifications, and a million reasons why we can't/shouldn't/won't do what we know we need to do. Start before you're ready." (pg. 18)
"Figure out where you want to go; then work backwards from there." (pg. 26)
"Unless you're building a sailboat or the Taj Mahal, I give you a free pass to screw up as much as you like. The inner critic? His ass is not permitted in the building. Set forth without fear and without self-censorship. When you hear that voice in your head, blow it off. This draft is not being graded. There will be no pop quiz. Only one thing matters in this initial draft: get SOMETHING done, however flawed or imperfect. You are not allowed to judge yourself." (pg. 38)
"In our feel-good, social-safety-net, high-self-esteem world, you and I have been brainwashed to believe that there is no such thing as evil, that human nature is perfectible, that everyone and everything can be made nice. We have been conditioned to imagine that the darkness that we see in the world and feel in our own hearts is only an illusion, which can be dispelled by the proper care, the proper love, the proper education, and the proper finding. It can't. There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is enormously powerful." (pg. 59)
"You have done what only mothers and gods do; you have created new life." (pg. 97)
Books recommended:
- The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle
- Improv Wisdom by Patricia Ryan Madson
Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up
August 30, 2022
Amazing short read, very well structured! Self help at it's finnest :-)
February 7, 2026
first read-through. quick, concise and to the point. already breaking the resistance.
The goal of the book was accomplished.
The goal of the book was accomplished.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews