Slightly Smarter
Posts
🛡️ Win Your Creative Battles

🛡️ Win Your Creative Battles

Learn how to fight the enemy within and defeat resistance to create freely. Insights from The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

June 27, 2024

Oh hey, Thursday! Let’s get right into a book that might just be the kick in the pants you need to unleash your inner artist, entrepreneur, or innovator.

Get ready to conquer your creative battles with Steven Pressfield's The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles.

📕 In this no-nonsense guide, Pressfield identifies the enemy of creativity—Resistance—and provides a battle plan to overcome it. Whether you're an aspiring novelist, a budding entrepreneur, or anyone with a dream, this book offers a roadmap to victory over self-doubt and procrastination.

The War of Art isn't your typical fluffy self-help book. It's a wake-up call, a tough-love pep talk, and a practical guide all rolled into one. That’s why the book has not only been read, but re-read, by many of Pressfield’s peers:

Tim Ferriss said, “I re-read The War of Art fairly regularly before starting a new creative project or when I feel like I'm wandering from my path.”
Ryan Holiday said, “Before I start any book project, I take a few hours and re-read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, maybe the greatest book ever written on the creative process.”

SMARTEST TAKEAWAY
Defeat Resistance to Start Creating

Resistance is the universal force that holds us back from doing our work. Recognize it, name it, and fight it daily.

➡️ Professionalism: Treat your craft like a job, not a hobby.

➡️ Persistence: Show up every day, regardless of mood or inspiration.

➡️ Purpose: Connect your work to something greater than yourself.

steven_pressfield
View more on Instagram

GET SLIGHTLY SMARTER
Weapons Against Resistance

Pressfield offers several strategies to combat Resistance:

1. Turn Pro - Approach your craft with the dedication of a professional, not an amateur.

2. Create Daily - Establish a consistent routine. Inspiration follows action, not vice versa.

3. Face Your Fears - Acknowledge your anxieties, then do the work anyway.

4. Start Before You’re Ready - Don't wait for perfect conditions. Begin now, improve as you go.

5. Invoke the Muse - Cultivate a mindset that invites inspiration and creativity.

INSIGHTFUL EXAMPLE
Pressfield’s Own Struggle

Steven Pressfield shares his own struggle with Resistance while writing his first novel. He recounts how he spent years procrastinating and battling self-doubt, living in a van and working odd jobs, including driving trucks and picking fruit.

Despite these challenges, he eventually committed to a disciplined routine, setting aside regular hours each day to write, no matter how he felt. This dedication eventually led to the completion of his manuscript and the beginning of his successful writing career.

Was this email forwarded to you?
SUBSCRIBE now for free

DID YOU KNOW?
Decades in the Making

Steven Pressfield’s first book was published when he was 52 years old.

As a former Marine and graduate of Duke University, Pressfield became an overnight success as a writer after 30 years of abject failure.

The War of Art details his struggles to make a living as an author, including the period when he was homeless and living out of the back of his car.

Since then, Pressfield has written 20 books, including historical fiction such as The Legend of Bagger Vance (which was adapted into a film starring Will Smith) and Gates of Fire (which is used in military academies to portray ancient warfare tactics).

A QUOTE TO REMEMBER
Real vs. Counterfeit Innovators

❝

If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), 'Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?' chances are you are.

The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.

^{Steven Pressfield,}^{The War of Art}

Amazon.com

A succinct, engaging, and practical guide for succeeding in any creative sphere, The War of Art is nothing less than Sun-Tzu for the soul. What keeps so many of us from doing what we long to do? Why is there a naysayer within? How can we avoid the roadblocks of any creative endeavor—be it starting up a dream business venture, writing a novel, or painting a masterpiece? Bestselling novelist Steven Pressfield identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success.