Our enemy is not lack of preparation; itโs 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 canโt/shouldnโt/wonโt do what we know we need to do.
Steven PressfieldThe 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.
Steven PressfieldArtists, writers and people in creative fields are entrepreneurs by necessity. Nobody gives them a paycheck or picks up their medical insurance. The ones who succeed learn to think and act like 'independent operators.' I think people who are technically 'employees' have to think this way as well. The company is not looking out for you.
Steven PressfieldCourage is inseparable from love and leads to what may arguably be the noblest of all warrior virtues: selflessness.
Steven PressfieldThatโs why an artist must be a warrior and, like all warriors, artists over time acquire modesty and humility. They may, some of them, conduct themselves flamboyantly in public. But alone with the work they are chaste and humble. They know they are not the source of the creations they bring into being. They only facilitate. They carry. They are the willing and skilled instruments of the gods and goddesses they serve.
Steven Pressfield