Category Archives: Steven Pressfield Quotes

Resistance Is Infallible Like a magnetized needle floating on a surface of oil, Resistance will unfailingly point to true North—meaning that calling or action it most wants to stop us from doing. We can use this. We can use it … Continue reading →

Rational Thought Next to Resistance, rational thought is the artist or entrepreneur’s worst enemy. Bad things happen when we employ rational thought, because rational thought comes from the ego. Instead, we want to work from the Self, that is, from … Continue reading →

Ignorance and arrogance are the artist and entrepreneur’s indispensable allies. She must be clueless enough to have no idea how difficult her enterprise is going to be—and cocky enough to believe she can pull it off anyway. How do we … Continue reading →

Start Before You’re Ready Don’t prepare. Begin. Remember, our enemy is not lack of preparation; it’s not the difficulty of the project or the state of the marketplace or the emptiness of our bank account. The enemy is Resistance. The … Continue reading →

That’s Why They Call It Rewriting The old saw says there’s no such thing as writing, only rewriting. This is true. Better to have written a lousy ballet than to have composed no ballet at all. Get your idea down … Continue reading →

The Process Let’s talk about the actual process—the writing/composing/ idea generation process. It progresses in two stages: action and reflection. Act, reflect. Act, reflect. NEVER act and reflect at the same time. The Definition of Action and Reflection In writing, … Continue reading →

Fill in the Gaps, Part Two Ask yourself, “What’s missing?” Then fill that gap. What’s missing in the menu of your new restaurant? What have we left out in planning our youth center in the slums of São Paulo? Did … Continue reading →

In other words, any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity. Or, expressed another way, any act that derives from our higher nature instead of our lower. Any of these acts will elicit Resistance. … Continue reading →

QUOTE “He who whets his steel, whets his courage”― Steven Pressfield, Gates of Fire “You know, Hitler wanted to be an artist. At eighteen he took his inheritance, seven hundred kronen, and moved to Vienna to live and study… Ever … Continue reading →

QUOTE “Fear conquers fear. This is how we Spartans do it, counterpoising to fear of death a greater fear: that of dishonor. Of exclusion from the pack.”― Steven Pressfield, Gates of Fire “Turning pro is like kicking a drug habit … Continue reading →