If you’re an aspiring writer or artist,
I’ve got good news and bad news…
First the bad news
1. THERE IS AN ENEMY
The playing field that you, the aspiring artist, stand upon is not level. It is stacked against you.
2. YOU ARE THE ENEMY
Resistance (self-sabotage, procrastination, fear, arrogance, self-doubt) is inside you. No one inflicts it on you from outside. You bring it with you from birth.
3. RESISTANCE WILL KILL YOU
If you don’t believe me, look around at friends and family who have talent and ambition in spades … but are drinking, doping, abusing themselves and their loved ones, wasting their lives because they can’t get out of their own way and do the work they were put on this planet to do. Trust me: you will NEVER, NEVER achieve your dreams until you learn to recognize, confront, and overcome that voice in your head that is your own Resistance.
4. YOU ARE NOT ALONE
You’re not “wrong” if your head is your own worst enemy. You’re not “weak.” You’re not “sick.” Everybody experiences Resistance.
Resistance is an objective force of nature, as immutable as gravity.
5. RESISTANCE CAN BE BEATEN
There’s no magic bullet. No hack, no trick, no tip, no class, no degree.
But you, armed with the right knowledge and resolution, can acquire the self-motivation, self-discipline, and self-belief necessary to become a focused, mentally-tough working pro.
6. YOU’VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE
Whatever brought you to this site—luck, chance, maybe reading or hearing about The War of Art—doesn’t matter. Welcome! You have found an ongoing resource to help you fight and win the inner war of the writer, the artist, and the entrepreneur.
TWO MANTRAS FOR YOUNG WRITERS
From my (fictional) 96-year-old literary agent, Marty Fabrikant, as quoted in The Knowledge:
1. Talent is bullsh*t
“I’ve seen a million writers with talent. It means nothing. You need guts, you need stick-to-it-iveness. It’s work, you gotta work, do the freakin’ work. That’s why you’re gonna make it, son. You work. No one can take that away from you.”
2. The work is everything
“And I’ll tell you something else. Appreciate these days. These days when you’re broke and struggling, they’re the best days of your life. You’re gonna break through, my boy, and when you do, you’ll look back on this time and think this is when I was really an artist, when everything was pure and I had nothing but the dream and the work. Enjoy it now. Pay attention. These are the good days. Be grateful for them.”
