Do the Work

by Steven Pressfield

The universe is not indifferent. It is actively hostile.

Do research early or late. Don’t stop working. Never do research in prime working time.

Any project or enterprise can be broken down into beginning, middle, and end. Fill in the gaps; then fill in the gaps between the gaps. When we’ve got David Lean’s eight sequences, we’re home except for one thing: The actual work.

Don’t worry about quality. Act, don’t reflect. Momentum is everything.

record ideas the minute they come to me?

The universe is also actively benevolent. You should be feeling this now. You should be feeling a tailwind.

Sartre said “Hell is other people,” but in this case, hell is us.

“Then be happy,” he said. “You’re where you wanted to be, aren’t you? So you’re taking a few blows. That’s the price for being in the arena and not on the sidelines. Stop complaining and be grateful.”