How to be a Professional
The 15th book of the year was short in size but not inspiration. Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield is a guidebook for focusing on your craft so you can transition from an amateur into a professional.
Re-reading the full title makes me realize it sounds like your run of the mill self-help book, but it’s actually a follow up to his previous work, The War of Art (which I read earlier this year but did not give it the justification it deserved with a full post).
These books are not normal self help books, each page is a building block that creates a very well thought out framework for unblocking your creativity and becoming a professional in your craft.
These books are nothing short of amazing and I’d like to go through the key “characters” in the books.
Resistance
The best definition I could find is that it’s the force inside of us that prevents the life we lead from being the life we want to lead.
The War of Art focuses on defining resistance all of the ways it manifests itself through our thinking and actions.
The Amateur
One who has not yet learned to overcome the forces of Resistance. The Amateur does not love their craft enough to dedicate their life to it.
The Professional
One who loves their craft so much they have succeeded in dedicating their life to it. Resistance hates it when we turn pro because it means we have learned the skills to overcome it’s forces.
“Just as Resistance has its seat in hell, so Creation has its home in heaven.”
Excerpts
Some of my favorite quickies:
Each book is about 150 pages of bite-sized brilliance.
Why it matters
Being in touch with creativity is not just for traditional artists. It seems to be consensus amongst thinkers that creativity, or the ability to create, is what makes us human.
If you would like to have a better understanding of the creative forces inside of you and how to unlock your inner professional. These are must reads.
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This is the 15th book I read of 2018.
Book #14 was Animal Farm
Book #16 was Creativity: The Psychology of discovery and invention