The professional tackles the project that will make him stretch. He takes on the assignment that will bear him into uncharted waters, compel him to explore unconscious parts of himself. Is he scared? Hell, yes. He’s petrified.
STEVEN PRESSFIELDDon’t prepare, do. Don’t let Resistance sucker you into wasting months on background, foundation, planning. All that can come later.
More Steven Pressfield Quotes
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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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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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There’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.
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We fear discovering that we are more than we think we are… That we actually have the guts, the perserverance, the capacity… because, if it’s true, then we become estranged from all we know.
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It’s one thing to lie to ourselves. It’s another thing to believe it.
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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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The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.
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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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Be too dumb to quit and too stubborn to back off.
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Stay stupid. Follow your unconventional crazy heart.
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Resistance by definition is self-sabotage.
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Our greatest battle is to become ourselves, in the face of adversity.
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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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It’s better to be in the arena, getting stomped by the bull, than to be up in the stands or out in the parking lot.
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The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD