Presumably if you’re reading this blog you’re not dead yet. That’s good news for your insurance company. It’s good news for you too because that means it’s not too late!
It’s not too late for you to write the novel that’s already written inside your head. It’s not too late to launch the business you dream about or to find the solution to that environmental problem that keeps you up at night.
Okay, what has this to do with “traditional and innovative storytelling techniques and communication issues” you may be wondering.
I would like to share with you a little book that I pull out every couple of years. I’ve read it four times. Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art” is the kick in the seat of the pants I need to remind me of my raison d’être.
Resistance
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According to Pressfield, the first step toward realizing your full potential is identifying the obstacles that stand in your way. The obstacles he calls Resistance and they could take the form of fear, self-doubt, criticism, self-dramatization, self-medication, rationalization, procrastination and a whole lot more. Resistance is like a negative force field that prevents people from accomplishing that which they dream of doing.
Before the writer scratches out a single word, or the entrepreneur moves from vision to venture, or the philanthropist rescues a single scrawny orphan, he must first overcome Resistance—the ultimate enemy. There would be no RIM, no “Book of Negroes”, no Winged Victory of Samothrace if their creators hadn’t first battled Resistance.
Going Pro
The antidote to Resistance is professionalism. It means adopting an attitude that is immune to all the aforementioned obstacles. The professional gymnast turns up at the gym every day regardless of whatever obstacles Resistance throws her way: a cold, a hangover, a broken toe. Going pro is all about getting your work done—no excuses.
Pressfield knows of that which he speaks. After 17 years of trying, he landed his first professional writing job as a screenwriter on a film called King Kong Lives. It tanked. Even his friends didn’t show up to the after party. After five years in Hollywood he wrote nine screenplays, none of which sold. Then, after more than ten years of writing he published a novel, “The Legend of Bagger Vance” (1995). Heard of it?
A novel written in your head, regardless of how detailed are the story ideas, is not a novel. It’s just an idea. Novels are made of paper and kept on bookshelves not inside people’s heads. If you have a novel in your head, it’s time to go pro and write the thing down.
Calling on your Muse
Why does the new mother weep in awe at the new life in her arms? She knows that the child came out of her but not from her. So too, Pressfield argues, is the writer, innovator, entrepreneur, and artist merely a vehicle. They don’t create the new life, they only bear it.
Have you ever felt that way? Has the solution to a problem suddenly hit you while you were in the shower? Did you ever read over a manuscript you had written and wondered from whence came your creativity?
Pressfield argues that the right attitude for the artist/inventor is that of humility and gratefulness that you alone have been created to be the vehicle of this great work. It is a privilege.
And so, call on your Muse, tap into the positive energy in the universe, say a prayer to God and do the work that you were born to do.
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Great post. Thanks for the perspective.
Thanks for sharing. Who knew that Steven Pressfield wrote such a book. I loved his book, “The Gates of Fire”, about the Battle of Thermopylae. I will make a point to read The War of Art.
Resistance is futile! OK as long as you are a Borg. Great thots on overcoming those things that hold us back with a healthy dose of professionalism. That`s the discipline!
Rob
This was exactly what I needed. Thanks.
Thank you! Very timely.
Very thought provoking. I will try to be more aware of what stands in my way, and even more importantly, what is it that I am passionate about doing! Both need some pondering. Thanks.
I identify with going Pro…that is what I need to do. Its so easy to start something, sticking it with is the ‘resistant’.
this blog is so refreshing and very relavant. Thanks once again for sharing.
I came back to re-read this post. I so need to find more time (okay, some time) to write and finish my project. Perhaps…if I hadn’t started this blog I would have some. Hummmm, Pile it on I always say!
Great post Brenda. Thanks for the reminder. That was a great book. I need to re-read it.
Rick