Steven Pressfield is one of the most successful, well-known authors of this era. He has written fiction books, nonfiction books, and books on how to battle the force that he tabbed Resistance. The career that Pressfield has didn’t come easy, though. Before he earned any money on his writing, Pressfield wrote for 17 years. And before he got his first novel published, Pressfield wrote for 21 years. During this time, he worked 21 different jobs in 11 different states.
I have found Pressfield’s work to be extremely inspiring. If you have not read his book The War of Art, then you are missing out and need to pick it up as soon as possible.
Here are ten of my favorite quotes from Steven Pressfield:
“The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more resistance we will feel towards pursuing it.”
“It is one thing to study war and another to live the warrior’s life.”
“The pro knows that resistance is like a telemarketer; if you so much as say hello, you’re finished.”
“An amateur has amateur habits. A professional has professional habits.”
“The amateur, the addict and the obsessive all want what they want now. The corollary is that, when they get it, it doesn’t work.
“The amateur tweets. The pro works.”
“In the scheme of our lifelong practice, twenty-four hours when we can’t gain yardage is only a speed bump. We’ll forget it by breakfast tomorrow and be back again, ready to hurl our bodies into the fray.”
“A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.”
“Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do.”
“It’s better to be in the arena, getting stomped by the bull, than to be up in the stands or out in the parking lot.”