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Steven Pressfield

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Famous Steven Pressfield Quotes

“Turning pro is a mindset. If we are struggling with fear, self-sabotage, procrastination, self-doubt, etc., the problem is, we’re thinking like amateurs. Amateurs don’t show up. Amateurs crap out. Amateurs let adversity defeat them. The pro thinks differently. He shows up, he does his work, he keeps on truckin’, no matter what.”

IfsThinkingDoeSelfMatterShowsProblemStruggleDoubtAdversityNo Matter WhatDefeatMindsetEtcProcrastinationCrapSabotageSelf-doubtProcrastinatingSelf Sabotage
Author:Steven Pressfield
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“If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), "Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?" chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.”

IfsRealSelfArtistChanceAskingScaredFinding YourselfChances AreInnovatorsCounterfeitReal OnesSelf Confident
Book:The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
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“We fear discovering that we are more than we think we are. More than our parents/children/teachers think we are. We fear that we actually possess the talent that our still, small voice tells us. That we actually have the guts, the perseverance, the capacity. We fear that we truly can steer our ship, plant our flag, reach our Promised Land. We fear this because, if it’s true, then we become estranged from all we know. We pass through a membrane. We become monsters and monstrous.”

IfsThinkingKnowsChildrenStillsFearParentVoiceTeacherLandTalentCapacityPlantPerseveranceMonstersShipsGutsFlagsDiscoveringMonstrousSteersPromised LandParent ChildSmall VoiceMembranes
Book:The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
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“Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it. Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That's why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there'd be no Resistance.”

IfsFeelsImportantSoulSelfRememberCertainGrowthDoubtCallingDegreesScaredResistanceEnterpriseThumbsSelf-doubtIndicators
Author:Steven Pressfield
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“If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don't do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself. You hurt your children. You hurt me. You hurt the planet.”

IfsWritingChildrenHurtPlanetsColdOur ChildrenCancerCuresYour ChildrenCracksSymphonyHurt MeFusionYou Hurt Me
Book:The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
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“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 our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justifications and a million reasons why we can’t/shouldn’t/won’t do what we know we need to do.”

IfsKnowsNeedsGivingSelfStatesReasonBrainEnemyMillionsProjectsAccountsDifficultyExcusePreparationReason WhyEmptinessJustificationTransparentMarketplaceBank AccountsSelf JustificationAlibis
Author:Steven Pressfield
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“Resistance is directly proportional to love. If you’re feeling massive Resistance, the good news is, it means there’s tremendous love there too. If you didn’t love the project that is terrifying you, you wouldn’t feel anything. The opposite of love isn’t hate; it’s indifference.”

IfsFeelsMeanFeelingsHateLove IsProjectsNewsOppositesResistanceIndifferenceMassiveGood News
Book:The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
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“Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it. If we were born to paint, it’s our job to become a painter. If we were born to raise and nurture children, it’s our job to become a mother. If we were born to overthrow the order of ignorance and injustice of the world, it’s our job to realize it and get down to business.”

IfsWorldChildrenJobsMotherOrderRealizingBornDestinyImagineIgnoranceOughtShapesIdealsRaisesLifetimePaintInjusticePainterNurtureYour DestinyMy Destiny
Author:Steven Pressfield
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“If you were meant to cure cancer or crack cold fusion and you don't do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself. You hurt your children, you hurt me, you hurt the planet. You shame the angels who watch over you and you spite God Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter further along its path back to God.”

IfsHumansChildrenPurposeHurtRaceWatchesPathPlanetsColdUniqueAngelShameOur ChildrenCancerCuresYour ChildrenHuman RaceSpiteOver YouCracksSoleAlmightyHurt MeFusionUnique GiftsYou Hurt Me
Author:Steven Pressfield
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“Sometimes, when we're terrified of embracing our true calling, we'll pursue a shadow calling instead. That shadow career is a metaphor for our real career. Its shape is similar, its contours feel tantalizingly the same. But a shadow career entails no real risk. If we fail at a shadow career, the consequences are meaningless to us. Are you pursuing a shadow career?”

IfsFeelsRealSometimesCareersFailingRiskCallingShapesShadowConsequenceMetaphorPursueMeaninglessTerrified
Author:Steven Pressfield
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