black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

It’s one thing to lie to ourselves. It’s another thing to believe it.

Steven Pressfield

Those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern over them.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Government Master
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.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Believe Big Children Doubt Heart Hesitation Mad Man Myself Thinking Trouble
Fear doesn’t go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Artist Battle Code Day Fear Live Necessary Warrior
Don’t cheat the world of your contribution. Give it what you’ve got.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Cheating Contribute World Yourself
The critic hates most that which he would have done himself if he had had the guts.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Action Brave Criticism Hate Himself
Courage is inseparable from love and leads to what may arguably be the noblest of all warrior virtues: selflessness.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Argue Courage Separate Virtue Warrior
In my experience, depth of work consists of two components. The first is recklessness; the second is discipline.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Death Discipline Experience Work
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.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Difference Important Principle Urgent Yourself
We 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.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Destiny Personal Stuck World
When we turn pro we stop running from our fears. We turn around and face them.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Face Fears Run Stop
When we sit down day after day and keep grinding, something mysterious starts to happen… Unseen forces enlist in our cause; serendipity reinforces our purpose.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Day Force Mystery Purpose Start
We will have to choose between the life we want for our future and the life we have left behind.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Choice Future Life Ourselves
Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Life Live Resistance Stand
Don’t prepare, do. Don’t let Resistance sucker you into wasting months on background, foundation, planning. All that can come later.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Foundation Preparation Resistance Wasted Time
It’s one thing to lie to ourselves. It’s another thing to believe it.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Believe Lying Ourselves
Figure out what scares you the most and do that first.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Act Brave Fear Inspirational Scare Yourself
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.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Cure Destroy Fusion Hurt Planet Symphony Writing Yourself
The professional respects his craft. He does not consider himself superior to it. He recognizes the contributions of those who have gone before him. He apprentices himself to them.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Art Contribution Himself Professional Recognition Respect Superior
Stay stupid. Follow your unconventional crazy heart.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Crazy Heart Stay Stupidity Yourself
When we’re living as amateurs, we’re running away from our calling – meaning our work, our destiny, the obligation to become our truest and highest selves.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Amateur Call Live Meaning Run True Work
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 PRESSFIELD

Artist Believe Fear Freedom Professional Warrior Work
The sign of the amateur is overglorification of and preoccupation with the mystery. The professional shuts up. She doesn’t talk about it. She does her work.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Amateur Glory Hereslf Mystery Occupation Professional Talk Work
We feed it [Resistance] with power by our fear of it. Master that fear and we conquer Resistance.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Feed Food Resistance
The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Confidence Death Reality Scare Wild
Resistance by definition is self-sabotage.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Definition Destruction Myself Resistance
As all born teachers, he was primarily a student.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Born Himself Learning Student Teacher
Our greatest battle is to become ourselves, in the face of adversity.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Adversity Battle Face Greatness Ourselves

It’s one thing to lie to ourselves. It’s another thing to believe it.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

It’s one thing to lie to ourselves. It’s another thing to believe it.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Steven Pressfield Quotes