i > resistance
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I recently read the War of Art… and woah. It’s an incredible read. I think I loved it so much because it really called me out as an aspiring artist, creator. It emphasizes the uphill battle that each of us have to face every single day.
Mt. Resistance.
I loved how it broke down basic human behavior; the need to aspire and to dream. To have something deep within our soul, our genius, that each one of us could tap into, if we were brave enough to reach out and grab it. It talks about how vices are simply a filler to avoid the fear that comes with letting go of that dream.
Just to give you some key notes:
- Procrastination is rationalization, which may be true, but irrelevant.
- The more important the action to our soul’s evolution, the more resistance we feel pursuing it.
- Resistance is always lying and always full of shit.
- fear=good … the more we feel it, the closer we are to our purpose.
- The key to greatness is to go pro.
- An amateur plays for fun, professionals plays for keeps.
- Professionals are full-time.
- What’s important is the work, showing up everyday — no matter what.
- Ironically, you have to love it enough to get paid because if you didn’t there’s no way you could make it your life’s work.
- A professional is armed with patience.
- Fear will never go away, but fear is something you can overcome.
- No excuses, resistance does not care. No one really cares, so get it done.
- A cave today, doubles the chance for a cave tomorrow. Prepare to fight every single day… this is war.
- All it takes is an act of will. Period.
- A professional can’t allow the actions of others to define his reality.
- You need to serve time. There aren’t any true short cuts or hacks. Just work.
- Work only exists as potential. This is the reason why you need to do it for you. Do it because you love it. Because even if there is no one to show up and clap. Even if the world ended. This is what you’d still do. Create, dream, and work towards it.
I would say that’s the Sparknotes version of the War of Art. It definitely taps into mythology and spirituality which is both wholesome and weird.
I find that the more books I read relating to creativity, entrepreneurship, business, productivity… it’s kind of all the same. The same, but said in different voices.
If I were to sum up all those books combined it would probably sound something like this:
We all have dreams or things that we aspire to accomplish in this life. That’s the easy part, the part that comes natural to us. But, it takes courage to step out on the limb to pursue it. Things will always be there to hold us back, whether it’s our peers, family, or people in general. We’re afraid of judgement. But, a lot of our fears fester within ourselves because we’re often critical and impatient with ourselves. We’re afraid to fail. But, you don’t have to be perfect to pursue your goals you just have to get started, which often times is harder. It’s as simple as deciding. The action that follows is where you’ll get a little bit of friction. But, habits, goals, and aspirations are things that have amazing compound interest. You don’t have to put in everything you’ve got today, just 1%.
Ha, I may have oversimplified. But, that is the gist. As I learn and evolve, I’m realizing that I really don’t want to miss anything in my life because I was too afraid. I have to build the courage to lean into it. I have to face fear head on and move past it. If I don’t and just let it linger around, it too will grow… and I really don’t have time to be anxious all of the time.
I rate this book 10/10, I would recommend to anyone. I found it to be sarcastic and honest, which made me appreciate it more because it sounded like me.
