Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art

Thaddeus Bradley
Aug 9, 2017 · 3 min read

Recommended reading for those of us who need a kick in the pants, but would rather get that kick from a veteran Marine instead of some twenty-seven year old guy who worked at American Apparel once.

The War of Art is not a self-help manual so much as it is a thinly disguised gut punch to the reader’s tidy list of excuses for avoiding their calling, art, and dream. Pressfield is a grizzled veteran of the creative battlefield, and in The War of Art he takes us aside to impart a few words of wisdom, with the goal of whipping us into fighting shape.

Robert McKee, creator of the “Story Seminar,” and the patron saint of half-baked writers, tells us that when he finished The War of Art, “I felt a surge of positive calm. I now know I can win this war. And if I can, so can you.” Three pages in to the foreward one starts to feel similar to Walter in Secondhand Lions, stumbling into the company of two crusty, lovable life teachers. Welcome to Miyagi’s dojo; to Yoda’s cave.

Pressfield’s manifesto is broken down into three parts. First, he defines the enemy. Whether it be piano lessons or starting a plumbing company, the greatest threat to our success is Resistance, the ornery force diametrically opposed to us pursuing our dreams.

Resistance obstructs movement only from a lower sphere to a higher. It kicks in when we seek to pursue a calling in the arts, launch an innovative enterprise, or evolve to a higher station morally, ethically, or spiritually.

So if you’re in Calcutta working with the Mother Teresa Foundation and you’re thinking of bolting to launch a career in telemarketing… relax. Resistance will give you a free pass.

After diagnosing the sickness, Pressfield offers us a strategy to beat Resistance: we have to turn pro. If we’re going to win this war raging within us between Resistance and our calling, we need a game-plan. This is going to take hard work on our part, and we have to show up to fight each day’s battle.

The professional dedicates himself to mastering technique not because he believes technique is a substitute for inspiration but because he wants to be in possession of the full arsenal of skills when inspiration does come. The professional is sly. He knows that by toiling beside the front door of technique, he leaves room for genius to enter by the back.

We know our enemy, and we’ve built a game-plan for victory in our endeavor. But before we go charging off once more into the fight to live our full lives, Pressfield has words of hope for us, and a rousing call to step back into the ring, back up to the canvas.

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.

There are few books that truly deserve a place on your bedside table, and The War of Art is one of them. Don’t even try, “I’m just not a creative person.” That’s Resistance piping up, rationalizing how you insist on hitting snooze as life passes you by. In The War of Art, Pressfield packs light and wants to get all the way up to the top of the mountain before nightfall. Do yourself a favor and take the hike. Sure, the morning alarm may be a little harsh, but you’ve got places to go, and only so much daylight!

three minutes, in review

Brief Book Reviews

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade