This is the best book I’ve read that perfectly expands the term ‘just do it’

The book is divided into 3 parts: (1) Resistance(Defining the enemy), (2) Combating resistance(Turning Pro), and (3) Beyond resistance (The higher realm).

In part one, Pressfield introduces the analogy of ‘resistance’ to define anything preventing us from doing ‘the work’.

The analogy is rock-solid—so much so that every argument he makes rings true, even if we’ve heard similar ideas before.

The second part of the book focuses on how to combat ‘resistance’. What I liked is the approach and the tone Pressfield chose for this section.

“The artist must be like a marine”, he says, “He has to know how to be miserable. He has to love being miserable. He has to take pride in being more miserable than any soldier, sailor, or jet jockey. Because this is war, baby. And war is hell(page 68)”.

The third part of the book is more philosophical. In the first couple of pages, most of that momentum from the second section nearly comes to an end.

That was not what I was expecting…

But then, in the next 10-20 pages, he connects all the claims from section 1 and section 2 into something special and meaningful.

This is an excellent book for anyone who is starting any type of project and looking for that extra nugget of momentum to push themselves forward.

Book 1: Defining Resistance

This section gives you a kick in the butt.

Pressfield opens the section with this sentence.

“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands ‘Resistance'”

The book argues that the worst thing to do is to plan meticulously. Instead, we can just…do it. And then make it better later. It does not matter what you are producing is good at the moment. When you have a steady momentum, when things are snowballing, it’s much easier to reflect and readjust.

“How many pages have I produced? I don’t care. Are they any good? I don’t even think about it. All that matters is I’ve put in my time and hit it with all I’ve got.”

Resistance only opposes in one direction

There is no resistance if you are trying to take a step back from your calling. In fact, there is no resistance to this path at all. You will be at ease on your way spiralling downwards.

“So if you’re in Calcutta working with the Mother Teresa Foundation and you’re thinking of bolting to launch a career in telemarketing…relax. Resistance will give you a free pass(page 17).”

Too much self-medication is the new way of getting confused

Pressfield argues that we are prone to cave in to our dreams and put forward self-medication to not feel bad about it. Most of the self-medication is created by organizations in return for a profit. The more money they put into those ideas, the more appealing they are for us to believe that they really exist.

We get sudden headaches, stress, stomach aches, or sometimes we just don’t ‘feel like it’. We take a pill and go to bed.

It’s just another face of resistance.

“When we drag ourselves to blog out our soul’s call, we are being good Americans and exemplary consumers. We’re doing exactly what TV commercials and pop materialist culture have been brainwashing us to do from birth. Instead of applying self-knowledge, self-discipline, delayed gratification, and hard work, we simply consume a product(page 26).”

“Casting yourself as a victim is the antithesis of doing our work. Don’t do it. If you’re doing it, stop(page 28).”

It’s okay to not have all the answers

Self-doubt is not particularly a form of resistance. Some of the most successful people have had and still have self-doubt. They thrive on it. Our own success depends on how willing we are to push ourselves.

“These are not easy questions. Who am I? Why am I here? They’re not easy because the human being isn’t wired to function as an individual. We’re wired tribally to act as part of a group. The paradox seems to be, as Socrates demonstrated long ago, that the truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery. While those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern over them(page 37).”

“The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death(page 39).”

Book 2: Combating Resistance

The second part of the book focuses on how to combat the resistance and find your most productive self, and eventually to live the life you always wanted to live. In order to beat the resistance, we must become professionals. Then we must perform professionally at our craft over and over until we become a pro.

So, how to become a professional? Just put your head down and do the work.

“The professional shuts up. She doesn’t talk about it. She does her work(page 78)”

“The professional cannot allow the actions of others to define his reality. Tomorrow morning, the critic will be gone, but the writer will still be there facing the blank page. Nothing matters but that he keep working(page 92).”

To bring that professionalism to the next level, Pressfield suggests an interesting initiative.

Create a brand of yourself and commit to it. He calls it, ‘You, Inc.’

“I have one of those meetings with myself every Monday. I sit down and go over my assignments. Then I type it up and distribute it to myself. I have corporate stationery, corporate business cards, and a corporate checkbook. I write off corporate expenses and pay corporate taxes. I have different credit cards for myself and my corporations(page 98).”

Book 3: Beyond Resistance

The beginning of the third section of the book, where, in my opinion, the book takes a rather audacious turn–but it pulls through. The pace and the momentum of the first two sections break at the beginning of the third section.

But I soon realized it’s necessary.

The goal of this section was to give the whole book a ‘purpose’. Being willing to put in hard work is not just enough to become the top 1% of your field, or whatever you are working on. There must be definitive directions to reach the goals we’ve set for ourselves.

You can’t carve a nice-looking clay pot by just consistently beating on it. You’ve got to know what you’re doing.

Hard work is not just enough.

The hierarchical orientation

Pressfield argues that we humans are hardwired to operate as a tribe. We worked in packs. And evidently, that strategy worked over thousands of years. But something unexpected happens when the number of members gets bigger and bigger. That societal connection breaks at some point, and we feel lost and alone.

We lose our purpose.

This is where the resistance dominates our lives.

“We humans seem to have been wired by our evolutionary past to function most comfortably in a tribe of twenty to, say, eight hundred. We can push it maybe to a few thousand, even to five figures. But at some point, it maxes out. Our brains can’t file that many faces. We thrash around, flashing our badges or status (Hey, how do you like my Lincoln Navigator?) and wondering why nobody gives a shit. We have entered Mass Society. The hierarchy is too big. It doesn’t work anymore(page 149)”

Now we have to decide how we want to navigate our professional lives. There are primarily two approaches.

Hierarchical and territorial.

If someone thinks going one stage up the ladder in the corporate world makes them successful, they operate hierarchically. This approach has its drawbacks. The biggest one is that we are seeking validation from others for our own work. That is not going to get us so far in any direction.

The other approach of operation is ‘territorial’. If you have all the money in the world and all the time in the world, would you still do what you do professionally? If your answer is yes, you are operating territorially.

The artist must operate territorially…

“He must do his work for its own sake. The artist can not look to others to validate his efforts or his calling. If you don’t believe me, ask Van Gogh, who produced masterpiece after masterpiece and never found a buyer in his whole life(page 151).”

• The territorial orientation
  • A territory provides sustenance
  • A territory is without any external input
  • A territory can only be claimed alone
  • A territory can only be claimed by work
  • A territory returns exactly what you put in

“What would Arnold Schwarzenegger do on a freaky day? He wouldn’t phone his buddies; he’d head for the gym. He wouldn’t care if the place was empty, if he didn’t say a word to a soul. He knows that working out, all by itself, is enough to bring him back to his center(page 158).”

“Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got(page 165)”

Quotes

“I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: ‘Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it. Begin it now'(page 122)”

“This process of self-revision and self-correction is so common that we don’t even notice. But it’s a miracle. And its implications are staggering(page 125)”