Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.
STEVEN PRESSFIELDThere’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is this: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.
More Steven Pressfield Quotes
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The last thing we want is to remain as we are.
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The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.
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I wrote in the War of Art that I could divide my life neatly into two parts: before turning pro and after. After is better.
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Every sun casts a shadow, and genius’s shadow is Resistance.
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What finally convinced me to go ahead was simply that I was so unhappy not going ahead.
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If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don’t do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself. You hurt your children. You hurt me. You hurt the planet.
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Seeking support from friends and and family is like having people gathered around at your deathbed. It’s nice, but when the ship sails, all they can do is stand on the dock waving goodbye.
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When we see others beginning to live their authentic selves, it drives us crazy if we have not lived out our own.
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Long-term, we must begin to build our internal strengths. It isn’t just skills like computer technology. It’s the old-fashioned basics of self-reliance, self-motivation, self-reinforcement, self-discipline, self-command.
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We feed it [Resistance] with power by our fear of it. Master that fear and we conquer Resistance.
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The artist cannot look to others to validate his efforts or his calling. If you don’t believe me, ask Van Gogh, who produced masterpiece after masterpiece and never found a buyer in his whole life.
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The Principle of Priority states (a) you must know the difference between what is urgent and what is important, and (b) you must do what’s important first.
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Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. There never was a moment, and never will be, when we are without the power to alter our destiny.
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The professional does not wait for inspiration; he acts in anticipation of it.
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The opposite of fear is love – love of the challenge, love of the work, the pure joyous passion to take a shot at our dream and see if we can pull it off.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD