"the war of art"

 

I originally wrote this post March 13, 2014. 6.5 years ago. This book is still my number one and I use it to inspire my students all the time so this post is very much still relevant. If you haven’t read it yet, I can’t recommend it enough.

I wanted to talk to you today about a book that has changed my life. Twice. or really countless times. The book is "The War of Art", by Steven Pressfield. Pressfield is a writer who wrote the Legend of Baggar Vance, and many other stories.

He wrote the War of Art about the struggle that we all face (artist or not), in getting the work done and fighting resistance. About the struggle HE faced in even writing the book.

He says it in such a way that it changed my whole perspective on being an artist and getting the work done. It has made me wake up earlier, strap my boots on and just kick resistance's ass. It's not easy, but it's necessary. Because to NOT do it, is not an option.

I'll give you a taste of some of the things he says. I could literally just write the whole book here because it's that good, but ill pick a few favorites.

"Most of us have two lives. The life we live and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance".

"Resistance cannot be seen, touched, heard or smelled. But it can be felt. We experience it as an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential. It's a repelling force. It's negative. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work.

"Procrastination is the most common manifestation of Resistance because it's the easiest to rationalize. We don't tell ourselves, "I'm never going to write my symphony". Instead we say, "I am going to write my symphony; I'm just going to start tomorrow".

Like I said, I could go on and on. I think it is a game-changer for everyone. So do yourself a favor, and go pick one up now. I'll even make it easy for you and give you the amazon link. Right HERE.

And then come back and tell me what you think.

Music and Love,
Dana

p.s. sign up for my list to get 5 songwriting prompts to get you started writing your songs, like, now.