Running Down a Dream: Your Road Map to Winning Creative Battles

You see how Steven Pressfield’s conception of Resistance is starting to build a wall around this “book” idea? Something very pure and good (helping other people) starts to get loaded with a whole bunch of stuff that’s really all about “me.” And that’s good too, don’t get me wrong. Because writing a book is very much about “me” too. If it weren’t, t

“Make a worry list,” he said. “What’s a worry list?” I asked. “Exactly what it sounds like. Make a list of every single thing you’re worried about. From the big, truly scary things, to the small, mundane things. Get it all out and onto paper. Then, once it’s all out, look at the list and promise yourself that you will take care of everything on tha

Over the months that followed this week, I came to realize two things. The first is that I wasn’t taking a radical or ruthless enough approach to change. I was constantly making bargains and pacts and capitulations. I would compromise and cajole. Resistance thrives in that gray zone of valueless nonjudgment. It loves instant gratification and ratio

First, for simple tasks—things that have less than five steps to them—I just make a decision and do them the same way every time. My keys go in the same spot every single day. Even if I forget to put them in and find them in my pocket upstairs, I go back downstairs and put them in the silver dish. The simple task system extends to everything with l

IN THE AUTHENTIC SWING PRESSFIELD DESCRIBES THE WAY HE RIFFED ON THE ANCIENT HINDU SCRIPTURE, BHAGAVAD GITA, AS THE BASIS FOR HIS BOOK THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE. * * * Being the obsessive compulsive that I am, this prompted me to take a look at this Hindu scripture Pressfield was so enamored with. I found this line: “You have a right to perform yo

Here are the steps: Make observations Form a hypothesis Make a prediction Perform an experiment Analyze the results of the experiment Draw a conclusion Report your results Go back to step 1 Tool

“I’ve done this for a lot of people and it takes a lot of time, and all you did was argue with me for most of the hour. This whole thing should have taken thirty minutes and we’re now going into the second hour. If you trust my advice, then take it. If you don’t, find someone you do trust and stop wasting my time.”

So taking the experimental mindset, I decided to test out a new theory. First, I would start assuming I was good and had my heart in the right place, instead of a rickety monster that had to be held in check and put on a tight leash. Second, anything I did that was bad or wrong or unhealthy, I would just tell myself it was a layer of plaster on top

I built up a good toolbox of options to use whenever fear started holding me back. 1. I focused on creating for one person. 2. I promised myself to keep it a secret. 3. I wrote affirmations to combat specific fears about my character 4. I always kept my worry list close by.