Do the Work

Yet another tedious, repetitive "motivational" guide for creative types and entrepreneurs. Synopsis: "Resistance (Pressfield's endlesslyl-repeated buzzword for the tendency to procrastinate) is a force of nature and is bad. So do stuff."

Pressfield also uses two fonts/"voices" to hammer through his point more thoroughly, which gives the impression of being cornered in a bar by a pair of obsessive drunks.

This is basically the spiritual successor to The War of Art but without all the confusion of his notions of a mythical/spiritual Muse, thus making Do The Work a lot more concise and a far superior book. Nothing in here is groundbreaking but Pressfield lays out his material in a clear, logical manner which is easy to take in. Basically, everyone experiences difficulties and internal struggles when doing any sort of creative work. These difficulties are not insurmountable, but they are very very hard, and it's easy to become discouraged and let them halt creative production. Essentially, you just have to plow through them, but Pressfield explains it in a way that is motivating. He frames these struggles as an evil force, "Resistance" with show more a capital R, and he reminds you that you have to fight it each time in your creative battle to get to your goal. It reminds me a lot of one of my friends who describes his life as a hero's journey-- you have to face a lot of adversity in order to complete your quest. show less

A small book full of big encouragement. Literally, many of the sentences are in double-sized font to drive the messages home. It's almost as if Pressfield already did the underlining for the reader.

There are hundreds of books about productivity, about facing inner demons, about sparking creativity. This one distills everything down to the essence and drives it home with punchy prose. Pressfield is your friendly, enthusiastic, butt-kicking coach who believes in you and wants you to succeed.

I think this would be a great book for young people who are just getting started, self-conscious, and worried about whether or not they are talented enough to pull of their dreams. It's also great for adults, but the lack of non-essential text and show more the sense of humor and encouragement seem perfect for people in their late teens/early twenties. show less

In spite of his tendency to write historical fiction set in a period I am fond of (Ancient Mediterranean), I've not read a whole lot of Pressfield's books, and those I did were not all that impressive. In this non-fiction book, Pressfield presumes to instruct us on methods that seem to work for him. His contention is his method is applicable to any creative endeavor, although he frequently applies it to book writing. The problem, though, is he instructing on project management without having much of a clue about existing project management methodology.

Having been trained in PMI Project Management Methodology, Pressfield's attempt is found seriously wanting. For example, Pressfield bemoans an "inevitable" stage in a project where things show more come to a halt through no apparent fault of one's own. "When it happens, and it will, there is nothing that can be done." Umm...Steve, in real Project Management, there is a whole discipline known as "Risk Management" where one learns to plan for such inevitabilities. Only a poorly-managed project is brought to a complete halt because of unforeseen circumstance.

Even when talking about things that should be more in his wheelhouse, Pressfield comes off as no more than a cheerleader. "Just keep at it" he exhorts time and again. "Don't read and edit what you just wrote." I guess that explains why I don't find his writing to be particularly good. If you want tips on the craft of writing, I strongly recommend Stephen King's On Writing. show less

As a professional procrastinator, this short book will come in handy. It is a very quick read but it will be useful to give myself a kick-start every time I am stuck. There are a number of examples I recognise from my other reading (such as Stephen King and The New Yorker) and I squirmed as I read Pressfield's confessions of everything I feel but would die of shame if I spoke about. Pressfield's Gates of Fire is a good work so I trusted this book. I intend to read Turning Pro and The War of Art soon. I am experiencing a number of consistent themes, all relating to Stoicism, and Do the Work appears to apply some of these principles to the act of writing. Pressfield suggests that one should trust one's instinct, so after I finish my show more immersion in Stoicism, some critical reflection may be useful. I am worried about group think, but it is no excuse for not "doing the work". show less

Sequel to THE WAR OF ART, which I liked better. This one covers the much same ground. The new age-y spirituality has been removed (which I sort of liked) and overly-large type sizes and odd page positionings have been added for emphasis and page interest. It's still a good choice for reminding yourself that Resistance is the dragon and you are the DragonSlayer. I like that he varies his pronouns, so that "she" is often mentioned as a creative sort. Not just for writers only: launching a business, carving your abs, starting a diet and/or any other physican and/or spiritual quests or personal change project. WAR OF ART got me off my resisting butt. Recommended for motivating yourself.

Start. Start now. That's the simple message of this simple inspiration. I've always enjoyed the pace and story of Pressfield's historical fiction. In this book, he pushes and pulls the reader to get going on their own life's work. What holds us back is resistance. What overcomes it is action. You should read it, now. And then get going on something else.