Vinny’s Top Books of 2018 — #5
This is my first published ranking series of books. To provide some context, I’ve read about 50 books in 2018, most of which were memoir-based or self-development in nature. I record the start and finish date of each book, as well as take copious notes with page markers for referencing. Every month, I post about 3–5 books that I am reading. Feel free to follow along and share your feedback. It’s always welcome.
the WAR of ART by Steven Pressfield
Categories: Procrastination, Work, Goals, Psychology, Mentality, Mindfulness
Published: 2012
I read this book to start 2018 and reread it again just yesterday to close 2018. Truthfully, I should’ve read it halfway through the year as well, but the Resistance (keep reading) prevented me from doing so. This book is really about understanding that throughout your entire life, you’re at war with the Resistance. You know it well — among other things, it’s the reason you quit that diet, stopped exercising, and bailed on that first step to starting a new venture. It’s the most toxic force on the planet.
To elaborate further, here are a few excerpts from the book:
Woman learns she has cancer, six months to live. Within days she quits her job, resumes the dream of writing Tex-Mex songs she gave up on to raise a family (or starts studying Classical Greek, or moves to the inner city and devotes herself to tending babies with AIDS). Woman’s friends think she’s crazy; she herself has never been happier. There’s a postscript. Woman’s cancer goes into remission.
If you find yourself criticizing other people, you’re probably doing it out of Resistance. When we see others beginning to live their authentic selves, it drives us crazy if we have not lived out our own. (p. 38)
Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it. (p. 40)
The artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell whether he knows it or not. He will be dining for the duration on a diet of isolation, rejection, self-doubt, despair, ridicule, contempt, and humiliation. He has to know how to be miserable. He has to love being miserable. (P. 68)
The professional self-validates. She is tough-minded. In the face of indifference or adulation, she assesses her stuff coldly and objectively. Where it fell short, she’ll improve it. Where it triumphed, she’ll make it better still. She’ll work harder. She’ll be back tomorrow. The professional gives an ear to criticism, seeking to learn and grow. (p. 88)
When we sit down day after day and keep grinding, something mysterious starts to happen. A process is set in motion by which, inevitably and infallibly, heaven comes to our aid. Unseens forces enlist in our cause; serendipity reinforces our purpose. When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us. The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. Ideas come. Insights accrete. (p. 108)
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. You shame the angels who watch over you and you spite the Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter farther along its path back to God. Don’t cheat us of our contribution. Give us what you’ve got. (p. 165)
You tend to feel the Resistance the most when you embark upon any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity. And the best part — it’s beatable. And this book shows you how. It helps you define it, combat it, and move beyond it.
This book is worth the price of admission, and with today’s distractions constantly rearing their ugly head at every turn, you’d benefit greatly from reading it. Invest in yourself! Get it here.
