The War of Art and Ten Takeaways
What keeps us from getting things done is what Steven Pressfield calls “Resistance”[1] in The War of Art.
Resistance. I know it well. I’ve dealt with this antagonist for years. Call it ADD. Call it too many things on my plate. Call it I’ll have plenty of time to do what I really want to do when I’ve done this or that. Pressfield writes, “Are you a writer who doesn’t write…, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what Resistance is…Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet.”[2] So true! Resistance has been a foe that has appeared throughout my life and career.
Something else I thought was true – this book felt a bit like Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist. Mostly because of the short, punchy segments of Pressfield’s prose, similar to Kleon’s. Additionally, Pressfield and Kleon seemed to agree: Where Pressfield says, “Grandiose fantasies are a symptom of Resistance…The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work,”[3] Kleon would agree: “You want attention only after you’re doing really good work.”[4] Do the work. Let the accolades fall (or not) where they may. I’ll say more about that in a minute. At the same time, Kleon and Pressfield did NOT agree on other things. I’ll also say something about that below, too.
However, perhaps the real reason I wanted to compare Pressfield with Kleon is because I wanted to do another “top ten” post. After reading Kleon in the spring, I wrote “10 Things.” I’ve wanted to write a post like that THIS semester, but alas, I caved in to Resistance. Yet, all is not lost. I’m going to do one after all, even though it’s the last post of the year! So, in the spirit of Pressfield’s short segments, here’s another 10 things (that stood out to me), each starting with a Pressfield statement, followed by a personal thought or reflection…
1. “Resistance aims to kill.”[5]
I wonder if Resistance has a friend. “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”[6] I’m quite sure that the adversary, like Resistance, would love to keep people created by God from doing good work.
2. “Procrastination is the most common manifestation of Resistance because it’s the easiest to rationalize.”[7]
I waited way too long to go after this doctorate. How many times did I tell myself, “One day…I’ll get it done.” With the sort of angst that Bilbo Baggins displayed at his 111th birthday party, knowing what he had to do with the ring…“I (had) put this off for far too long.”[8]
3. “Casting yourself as a victim is the antithesis of doing your work. Don’t do it. If you’re doing it, stop.”[9]
And…preach the truth to yourself, like David did in Psalm 43: “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God…”[10] Relocate your hope, THEN stop doing it.
4. “The professional concentrates on the work and allows rewards to come or not come, whatever they like.”[11]
This was like Kleon’s advice that I mentioned earlier. Do good work first. Don’t worry about the applause. That may come later.
5. “In my view, the amateur does not love the game enough. If he did, he would not pursue it as a sideline, distinct from his ‘real’ vocation.”[12]
HOWEVER, didn’t Kleon remind us that “Side Projects…Are Important?”[13] This is where Kleon and Pressfield diverge. So, maybe DON’T quit your side hustle, yet.
6. “She gets an agent, she gets a lawyer, she gets an accountant. She knows she can only be a professional at one thing. She brings in other pros and treats them with respect.”[14]
This makes me think about something Michael Lindsay wrote about leadership: “The ability to maintain a generalist orientation–one that sees beyond the narrow scope of the specialist–while increasing mastery in a specific field distinguishes platinum leaders from mere scholars.”[15] People who lead organizations may be a pro at “one thing,” but part of that “one thing” better be leading as a generalist while having the ability to bring specialists to their team.
7. “Making yourself a corporation (or just thinking of yourself in that way) reinforces the idea of professionalism because it separates the artist-doing-the-work from the will-and-consciousness-running-the-show.”[16]
And, if you are going to make yourself a corporation, then go ahead and pick up Paul Jarvis’s excellent book, Company of One. Jarvis believes that “technically, everyone should be a company of one…you’re essentially the only person who looks out for your own best interests and continued employment.”[17]
8. “I have one of those meetings (Pressfield writes, “Have you ever worked in an office? Then you know about Monday morning status meetings.”[18]) with myself every Monday. I sit down and go over my assignments. Then I type it up and distribute it to myself.”[19]
This is why I do NOT schedule any meetings on Monday morning, as my brain needs time to think and set up my week. Thank you David Rock and Your Brain at Work.
9. “We’re all creative.”[20]
Pressfield is right. In reality, we all ARE creative. This comes with the package of having been made in the image of The Creative God. See Genesis 1:26-28.
10. “Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.”[21]
Pressfield is partly right. We often imagine that our lives, our worth, our whatever…should be better, more like _____ (fill in the blank). But there is an ideal – rather, a SOMEONE – we need to consider. We are called to imitate God (see Ephesians 5:1). But we don’t do this in our own power. This is the work of God – to conform us “to the image of his Son.”[22] In Christ, image bearers can do the good work God has for us to do.[23]
[1] Pressfield, Steven. The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, New York: Rugged Land, 2002, Kindle Version, Location 92 of 1598.
[2] Ibid., 101 of 1598.
[3] Pressfield, Kindle Version, 43.
[4] Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative, (New York: Workman, 2012, 2022), 78.
[5] Pressfield, 14.
[6] See I Peter 5:8, ESV.
[7] Pressfield, 20.
[8] At his 111th birthday party, in the Shire, Bilbo Baggins stated, “I, uh, I have things to do…I’ve put this off for far too long. I regret to announce this is the end. I’m going now. I bid you all a very fond farewell.” See https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring.
[9] Pressfield, 28.
[10] See Psalm 43:5, NIV.
[11] Pressfield, 43.
[12] Pressfield, 63.
[13] Kleon, Steal Like an Artist, 62-63.
[14] Pressfield, 94.
[15] Lindsay, Michael. View from the Top. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, 2014, 30.
[16] Pressfield, 97.
[17] Jarvis, Paul. Company of One: Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Business, New York: First Mariner Books, 2020 edition, 2018, 7.
[18] Pressfield, 97.
[19] Ibid., 98.
[20] Ibid., 127.
[21] Ibid., 146.
[22] See Romans 8:29, ESV.
[23] See Ephesians 2:10.
About the Author
Travis Vaughn
14 responses to “The War of Art and Ten Takeaways”
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This was the perfect book to end the semester. I have the feeling that we all needed to hear this encouragement right about now. You quoted Pressfield saying, “Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.” and also “The professional concentrates on the work and allows rewards to come or not come, whatever they like.” This is great encouragement as we near the half-way point in our doctoral studies. Thanks for reminding us!
I agree, Kim. It was indeed the best book to end the semester. I thought about Pressfield’s “Resistance” this week actually, as I was tempted to procrastinate on the Design Workshop Report (I finished the Synotopical Essay early!) on the parts that were tedious. I had Pressfield in the back of my head, pushing me to push through, as recent as this afternoon as I finished the annotated bibliography. Of course, you were finished with all of these assignments a long time ago!
Haha, no not a long time ago, just a few days ago. Actually, as I reference in my comment to John, I’ve been experimenting with chunking out my time and it’s been very freeing. So I set aside all my available time this whole week to finish the Workshop paper. It was freeing in the sense that last week I could have looked at it, but I waited until Monday morning, cranked through it and had it done by Tuesday. Just as an encouragement to anyone else out there struggling through resistance! Stay focused and get rid of obstacles, as Pressfield says. You can do it!
These are all great points Travis and I’m in full agreement with all 10… but I want to comment on one here: #2 Procrastination… I’m with you. I waited WAY too long to get this doctorate. I started a with other schools a couple of times but never could get traction for one reason or another (But 3 semesters in this one, i’m not going back).
Procrastinating around doing my doctorate was one of the first things that came to mind when I read The War of Art.
By the way, I was not aware that you had attempted a doctorate before. I would bet there are others in this program, too, who have done the same. Many years ago I thought I was going to have an academic career. I started a PhD program at Concordia Theological Seminary, but at some point nearly 1/3 of the way into the program (probably about the time I was taking Quranic Arabic) I pulled the plug. The children were small, my full-time work was getting in the way, and so I pushed pause and thought I would one day return to doctoral studies, but only when the children were adults.
And, here we are.
I’m thankful God seemed pleased to hold “Resistance” at bay with this Doctor of Leadership, for you and for me and for whoever else may have attempted doctoral studies in the past.
I like this list, Travis! I am glad you waited until the end to make it 🙂
This one caught my attention: “‘In my view, the amateur does not love the game enough. If he did, he would not pursue it as a sideline, distinct from his ‘real’ vocation.’
HOWEVER, didn’t Kleon remind us that ‘Side Projects…Are Important?’ This is where Kleon and Pressfield diverge. So, maybe DON’T quit your side hustle, yet.”
I agree with the tension here. When I was a kid, I loved to draw. And I was pretty good at it. I did not, however, want to make it into my vocation, because I felt strongly that I did not want to be forced to produce. I didn’t want to be accountable for being inspired. In fact, I knew it would squelch the passion in it for me. I wonder how Pressfield and/or Kleon would respond to that?
Thanks, Jen.
Yes, this “side-projects” concept is where I thought Pressfield and Kleon went in different directions. Even as I write this, I’m thinking about the date of publication for The War of Art. The book is over 20 years old now. Back then, I don’t think it was as common for professionals to have side projects. I’m sure someone has written a book or two about that. Technology, healthier views/thinking about work-life rhythms, “gig” economics, and host of other things have made side project(s) more acceptable, I think.
I think Kleon and Pressfield would both encourage you to take up your passion of drawing, however one of them would say to make it your profession and refuse to do anything else. Ha!
You were the second blogger to connect Pressfield to Austin Kleon, and I agree. Very similar.
I read both these authors annually. I call it my Annual Butt-kicking.
I so agree with your assessment found in #5…
“In my view, the amateur does not love the game enough. If he did, he would not pursue it as a sideline, distinct from his ‘real’ vocation.” HOWEVER, didn’t Kleon remind us that “Side Projects…Are Important?” This is where Kleon and Pressfield diverge. So, maybe DON’T quit your side hustle, yet.
I disagree with Pressfield and agree with Kleon on this.
I’m not surprised that you read both Kleon and Pressfield regularly. I have a friend who is also a gifted writer like you. I told him what I was reading, and I quickly found out how much he liked Pressfield. In fact, I don’t think it took him two minutes to respond to my text with a statement about Pressfield’s premise for writing the book.
I was surprised and not surprised about Pressfield’s divergence from Kleon’s love for side projects. In my reply to Jen Vernam’s response to my post, I highlighed the publication date for The War of Art. I don’t think side hustles were quite as ubiquitous in 2002 as they are today. Which reminds me…I think you and your wife own/operate a Cinnabon / Pretzel franchise?
Actually our dear friends from church own two Auntie Anne’s pretzel franchises. And we work with the a few times a month. When I get home, particularly after this last Black Friday TWELVE HOUR SHIFT, I feel like I own/operate considering how much butter I’ve been dipped in.
Travis,
I love having these blogs to put us all into human context. Thanks for sharing thoughts with authenticity. I especially love your thought “Relocate your hope, THEN stop doing it.” Short but profound to say the least. Sometimes we simply need to stand on our theology and tell ourselves to stop it. (Also reminds me of Bob Newhart and his “Just Stop It” clip)
Thanks again for an amazing post. Have a wonderful Christmas with your new family addition!
In the spirit of pop culture I hearken back to an oldie but goodie. “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” ― Frank Herbert, Dune (https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3634639-dune)
This saying is also oddly similar to Pressfield’s FEAR.
Shalom..
Hi Travis,
I enjoyed the creativity of your 10 Things. I like your 10th point and the Pressfield quote, “Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.” The shaping of ourselves is dangerous territory so I am glad that God is the designer of this creative journey. I struggle to see my own creativity sometimes, but when it shows up I know it comes from somewhere else beyond myself as Dr. Lieberman described. I am awestruck with the knowledge that it comes from God. In what creative ways do you see yourself bearing God’s image?
Hello Travis,
Steven Pressfield’s concept of “Resistance” resonates with many, including your personal experiences. Resistance often takes the form of procrastination, and acknowledging its presence is the first step in overcoming it.
Prioritizing work and resisting the victim mentality can help combat Resistance. Focusing on the quality of work, like Kleon suggests, and treating one’s craft professionally can lead to success. While Pressfield advocates for specialization, Kleon supports side projects, highlighting their importance. Viewing oneself as a corporation can reinforce professionalism, but leadership requires a balance between specialization and generalist orientation.
Establishing a weekly meeting with oneself, like Pressfield does, can aid in setting goals and tasks. Lastly, recognizing the inherent creativity in all humans aligns with the idea that we are made in the image of a creative God, and our purpose is to become who we are meant to be in Christ.