Book Review: The War of Art

I remember reading this book the first time on our trip to Boston. Kevin needed a wi-fi connection so we stopped at Starbucks in Barnes&Nobles. He did his thing and I wondered around the self-help section. I love this section and I am not ashamed to admit that I have problems and I need help. 🙂 So this book appeals to me because: 1. it’s thin, I only have 45-60 minutes before we are out of the store again, 2. the cover of the book is different than other self-help books that day, ie. I can’t find a picture of the author on the cover or in it (bummer for people who think that they need their picture on their books, eh? When you are different, people actually picked you/your book!), 3. I read through the first few pages and then this section hit me:

Have you heard this story: Woman learns she has cancer, six months to live. Within days she quits her job, resumes the dream of writing Tex-Mex songs she gave up to raise a family (or starts studying classical Greek, or moves to the inner city and devotes herself to tending babies with AIDS). Woman’s friends think she is crazy; she herself has never been happier. There’s a postscript. Woman’s cancer goes into remission.

Is that what it takes? Do we have to stare death in the face to make us stand up and confront Resistance? Does Resistance have to cripple and disfigure our lives before we wake up to its existence? How many of us have become drunks and drug addicts, developed tumors and neuroses, succumbed to painkillers, gossip, and compulsive cell-phone use, simply because we don’t do that thing that our hearts, our inner genius, is calling us to? Resistance defeats us. If tomorrow morning by some stroke of magic every dazed and benighted soul woke up with the power to take the first step toward pursuing his or her dreams, every shrink in the directory would be out of business. Prisons would stand empty. … Domestic abuse would become extinct, as would addiction, obesity, migraine headaches, road rage and dandruff.

… No one has to tell you. And unless I’m crazy, you’re no closer to taking action on it than you were yesterday or will be tomorrow. You think Resistance isn’t real? Resistance will bury you.

Those words intrigued me. I was so ready to nest in a comfy chair with a glass of coffee and forget about Boston for that moment. I kept reading and the book just drew me in deeper and deeper. When Kevin told me it was time to leave, I took a picture of the ISBN no and the first night we were home, I ordered the book from Amazon.

This book is one of the “push” for us to transform our photography from a hobby to a business. If we are asked what our biggest fear is (or resistance as Pressfield called in his book), it would be choosing a career that is far from nine-to-five and create arts on people’s walls along the way. This career, however, requires a substantial amount of money for the necessary equipments, and then the insurance for them, domain name and such (online presence), business cards and client packagings (real presence) and many more. On top of that, it requires time to cultivate it. As small business owners, at times you can’t really justify outsourcing most of your business activities but you have time in your hands so you do everything by yourselves: marketing, website designing, blogging,  logo designing, photo-editing, accounting, networking and exposure and everything in between. I have heard a lot of my photographer friends deciding to assist other photographers or work in studios because the expenses of running your own business (and not to mention the stress) is h.u.g.e. I don’t want to capitalize it even though I am very tempted to do so. Well, that’s our fear. We have overlooked that throbbing knock on our doors. Believing that today will be better than yesterday. And at the end of the day, turn off our computers, say to ourselves: “this is enough and tomorrow will be better than today”. We just have to move, one step at a time and ignore the fear. The resistance.

Here is a super short review (the book itself is thin already!) of what we learned from this book I think will help artist in general to push through:
– Persistence pays off. Pressfield sees it as the Muse approves our diligence and grants us what is supposed to be our right to it. I see it as a bad habit broken/consistency and style found if we persist.
– Artists need prayer to start the day, self-discipline, dedication and write “THE END” on each and every project. Basically, finish what you have started. He went on with his story of how he learned this and it was quite amusing.
– And, start a new one right a way. To begin a new work of art/start making a new one right away is as important as finishing every project at hands (Only artists/writers know how hard/fearful it is to start a new project!).

If you believe that you are bornt to create something: write a book, arts, or even to start an enterprise, this book is for you. It is a short read but a very powerful one. You need to pick up this book and be energized to create what you are bornt to do. Don’t waste you time! Even though I don’t necessarily agree on some parts, I am thankful that Pressfield put “Resistance” or proscratination into perspective and art-making into an occupation in this modern world. We are all bornt to do and to create something, let’s acknowledge and embrace it so we are not losing our favourite musicians, authors and photographers. Pick up  this book and see what it does for you!

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Jenn

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