Day 49 - Book 3 Con't - The War of Art

The author ends his book with these final thoughts.  Resistance is fed on fear, mostly consistently with regards to “will I succeed?”  Pressfield suggests that we all have specific jobs, or a calling to do while on earth.  “Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into something ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.”  He discusses territory as a place one knows.  And in this world, there is a hierarchical structure, but for the artist, this he says is “fatal.”  He shares his view as within a “pecking order,” the artist will begin to compete with others, or try to elevate their status.  An artist would begin to view their happiness based on their success or achievement, especially within the hierarchy, finding the artist would be most satisfied with high success and the most low when no perceived success.  The artist would evaluate others based upon the order within the hierarchy.  He gives the example of Van Gogh never finding success as he did not sell one of his pieces of artwork.  Pressfield strong suggests the best place to find the approval is within. 

I encourage you to buy a copy of The War of Art for a better understanding of your own creative process.  Whether you're a master artist or beginning artist, this is an excellent book. 

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