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.
STEVEN PRESSFIELDWe come into this world with a specific, personal destiny. We have a job to do, a calling to enact, a self to become. We are who we are from the cradle, and we’re stuck with it.
More Steven Pressfield Quotes
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The best and only thing that one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.
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Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.
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The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.
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Do you love your idea? Does it feel right on instinct? Are you willing to bleed for it?
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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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Stay stupid. Follow your unconventional crazy heart.
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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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A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.
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Don’t prepare. Begin. Our enemy is not lack of preparation. The enemy is resistance, our chattering brain producing excuses. Start before you are ready.
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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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The Spartans say that any army may win while it still has legs under it; the real test comes when all strength is fled and the men must produce victory on will alone.
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The professional does not wait for inspiration; he acts in anticipation of it.
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The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.
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The professional will not tolerate disorder… He wants the carpet vacuumed and the threshold swept, so the Muse may enter and not soil her gown.
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Ignorance and arrogance are the artist’s and entrepreneur’s indispensable allies. She must be clueless enough to have no idea how difficult her enterprise is going to be and cocky enough to believe she can pull it off anyway.”
STEVEN PRESSFIELD