The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
by Steven Pressfield
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Book Summary Information
Author: Steven PressfieldEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-04-01
ISBN: 0446691437
Number of pages: 165
Publisher: Warner Books
Book Reviews of The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Book Review: The War within you!
Summary: 5 Stars
After having read the book with an open mind and the hope of gaining an insight into a perspective that is unlike mine I find myself moved to action, poised to leap at the possibilities ahead. I never anticipated being inspired by an artist. It¡¯s not that I have anything against artists but to this point in my life and career I have not expressed the artist side of me very often. I have come to realize that in order to properly maximize my gifts I must tap into all aspects of who I am, those I am not aware of, as well as those of which I might even be a little afraid.
Steven Pressfield is clearly qualified to write about releasing the artist within. He has experienced the highs and most definitely the lows of being an artist. Although he speaks mostly of the art of writing, his writing style and stories he shares made it easy to relate his lessons to the artist I can be. Being a man who is rarely at a loss for words, I find it frustrating that words don¡¯t seem to express the excitement I feel about the journey ahead, and the drive for which has been invigorated by Pressfield¡¯s writing.
Pressfield, through his writing, pushes the aspiring artist to force their way through the thicket, what he calls resistance, into the clearing. He explains that he too experienced the difficulties of creating, but that persistence will win the day. Any endeavor has its obstacles, the key is to actually sit and do the work, metaphorically speaking. He explains that the hardest part of any creation is the getting started, the first moments of creation, the moment of overcoming resistance.
Of the lessons I took from the reading there are a few highlights that must be mentioned. Not the least of the lessons I discovered on page 34, where the statement is made that one must attain a certain level of affluence (not necessarily monetary) and comfort before a person is capable of true self-examination. I took this to mean that the individual must be substantially free of excessive pressure and have gotten to a level of experience and ¡°knowledge¡± to be able to look at themselves with a critically healthy eye. Premature self-appraisal is dangerous, but with a properly seasoned and positioned individual, self-appraisal can be cathartic and enlightening. Maslow¡¯s concept of self-actualization leads to several questions of when and how to attain such a level, but I am confident that because of the nature of individual learning the journey to self-actualization endures as long as the heart beat of the individual. The level necessary to self-examine is not so demanding but is considerable none the less. This concept struck home with me because during my journey to receive my Masters Degree I completed a 360¢ª evaluation of myself which required me to self-examine using the responses from others. This experience tested my humility and made me look inward at the part I play in the events of my life.
Another substantial excerpt from the text was found on page 39 where Pressfield speaks of the counterfeit innovator who is inappropriately self-confident and that the real innovator is ¡°scared to death¡±. I can think of several individuals I have met who are over the top with confidence and in the end were merely projecting a false image to avoid having to prove themselves. This lesson is yet another example to the reader to remain humble and within their real capabilities.
The next lesson from the reading is particularly vexing because I am not only happy in my career but also very secure. The statement ¡°The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.¡± rocks me to the foundation because I am filled with fear embarking on my diversity quest but I am over filled with the desire and drive to do it. I fear that the drive is irresistible and that threatens the security I hold so dear.
In the further reading I found a statement on page 68 that spoke directly to my current profession as a law enforcement officer. The statement ¡°He will be dining for the duration on a diet of isolation, rejection, self-doubt, despair, ridicule, contempt, and humiliation¡± can be directly applied to my industry because there is an unexplainable insistence on sustaining the ¡°macho¡± image and gracefully allowing diversity concepts to consume them is not in the cards. As I bring the messages and lessons of diversity to the law enforcement community I know I will face opposition, most certainly ridicule, and I¡¯m sure at times humiliation. As for the non-law enforcement audience I hope to address and educate I will likely find some who would treat me to the same reception but hopefully less straight forward tactics.
On the very next page I found an interesting position Pressfield takes on being a professional at what we do. He claims that a ¡°pro¡±, as he puts it, does not over-identify with their job. I find that a little hard to agree with because some professions are not just jobs. In order to be very good at some jobs you must live them at all times. I would even challenge that ¡°artists¡± identify greatly with being artists in that they live a certain life style, in certain geographic areas of cities and the country, and even base some of their moral positions on being ¡°artists¡±. More closely to my realm of experience as a policeman, the vigilance required of a police officer cannot be put into the officer¡¯s locker at the station and left there until the next shift. A police officer somewhere along the line becomes aware of the potential for danger every situation presents through their experiences. This is somewhat sad but a fact none the less and does not mean the individual is not a professional.
Where this also speaks to me is in the indication that the amateur is fearful of action. I am afraid to commit and take those first steps in the transition.
On page 88 Pressfield tells of the composer who even while creating one piece of music is at the very same moment composing the next. When thinking about my hopes for my diversity quest I find so many thoughts rushing through my head that I can barely contain them. I become assaulted by such a flurry of inspirations that I cannot quickly enough put them to paper; I have been force to record some digitally.
¡°It is better to be in the arena being stomped by the bull than in the stands or out in the parking lot.¡± Pressfield says it well here that there is no victory for those who never join the battle. I am by nature a cautious man who takes very few uncalculated risks. This statement urges me to push myself forward into the unknown and let whatever will happen, in fact, happen.
There is a sentence on page 92 that, in summary, says that we are only upset by the things we allow ourselves to be upset by. I once read about the technique of making ¡°I¡± statements when having an argument or telling someone else how you feel. These two statements seem to mesh well in that during an argument we are usually angered by those things another person says or does, when in fact we are really allowing ourselves to become upset at the rudeness, or insensitivity of others. If we did not take the behaviors of others to heart we would not become upset.
Before beginning this book I first thought the title was more literal. I expected to read a book about artist and their struggle to gain respect among some group that seem to discount them. After reading the book I now understand the title to more pointedly mean the war within the self to create and perform the art in its many forms.
As I first started the text I felt as though I was reading something that I would never be able to apply to myself and my goals and hopes for the future. I could not have been much more off base. The messages within can be applied to nearly any profession or calling one receives. The struggles Pressfield details are the struggles of every one who has ever chased a dream, took the leap, or dove in head first, to make their future happen.
When I first started the sections where resistance is introduced I struggled to shape my mind around what he was trying to say and the way in which he was saying it. The concept somehow eluded me but as I read further he used the term repeatedly and with varying examples. Eventually, the idea became clear and I began to be able to identify resistance in my own life.
After learning the lessons of this book I have resigned myself to the fact that I have to stop waiting for things to happen. I want good things and not only for my own sake but for the betterment of the world around and I have to stop thinking opportunity will come to me. I have to start flooding my life with knowledge and experience in the things I find empowering and take action to make my dreams come to life.
I have already provided the title of this text to several friends, one of my superiors, and others on a similar quest. I would recommend it to every aspiring entrepreneur, anyone with a dream for their life, and anyone whom I would like to see succeed in life.
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Summary of The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
The Art of War meets "The Artist's Way" in this no-nonsense, profoundly inspiring guide to overcoming creative blocks of every kind.Creativity Books
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