# Book Club: The War of Art
**URL:** https://forum.podcaster.community/t/book-club-the-war-of-art/4358
**Category:** Workbench
**Created:** [October 3, 2024, 12:13pm UTC](https://forum.podcaster.community/t/book-club-the-war-of-art/4358 "2024-10-03T12:13:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@craigconstantine](https://forum.podcaster.community/u/craigconstantine)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2024, 12:13pm UTC](https://forum.podcaster.community/t/book-club-the-war-of-art/4358/1 "2024-10-03T12:13:54Z")
Join me in reading [Steven Pressfield’s](https://stevenpressfield.com) book, [_The War of Art_](https://bookshop.org/a/92755/9781936891023).
> So although Steve and I may differ on the cause, we agree on the effect: When inspiration touches talent, she gives birth to truth and beauty. And when Steven Pressfield was writing _The War of Art,_ she had her hands all over him.
>
> _~ Robert McKee_
We’ll break the book into three pieces: The three “books” within, each of ~50 pages.
On each of the below dates, I’ll post a reply here to prompt discussion. There’s no need to wait for me though… scribble here by replying anytime…
**Oct 10 —** complete reading through the end of _Book One: Resistance_
**Oct 17 —** complete reading through the end of _Book Two: Combating Resistance_
**Oct 24 —** complete reading through the end of _Book Three: Beyond Resistance_
📅 Remember to [subscribe to the Podcaster Community’s calendar feed](https://forum.podcaster.community/t/podcaster-community-calendar/123) to see everything that’s going on. The weekly Book Club dates will then _automatically_ be on your calendar.
* * *
Are you committing to reading the book?
Do you have a copy?
What will stop you from engaging in discussion here?
ɕ
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### Author:  [@maryjlrowe](https://forum.podcaster.community/u/maryjlrowe)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2024, 1:10pm UTC](https://forum.podcaster.community/t/book-club-the-war-of-art/4358/2 "2024-10-03T13:10:20Z")
@craigconstantine - commit, have a copy, no barriers! Prompts and reminders recorded in all the right places 👍
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### Author:  [@craigconstantine](https://forum.podcaster.community/u/craigconstantine)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2024, 1:44pm UTC](https://forum.podcaster.community/t/book-club-the-war-of-art/4358/3 "2024-10-10T13:44:20Z")
# The Work
After reading the first “book” in Pressfield’s _The War of Art_, I’m inspired to define, for me specifically: What is “the work?”
In a specific moment, on a specific day, when I feel that odd uneasiness, I will not try to identify the specific form Resistance is taking. Instead as Pressfield mentions on page 12:
> […] We can use this. We can use it as a compass. We can navigate by Resistance, letting it guide us to that calling or action that we must follow before all others.
>
> Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.
As a real example of my own experience, Resistance’s compass guides me towards watching sci-fi entertainment (“a harmless relaxation,” I think after working in my yard for hours). So the opposite would be to… organize and streamline my writing environment and processes so tomorrow I can write more easily! No. My hiding in preparation and perfection is just another form of Resistance.
The best way for me is to look at all the possible things I _could_ do, rather than follow Resistance’s compass. Then boil that down to a list of positive, actionable, directions in which I can sit down and work.
In a specific moment, on a specific day, when I feel that odd uneasiness, I can glance at my list and simply do a bit of The Work.
To defeat Resistance I can simply sit down, and do a little bit of _any_ of the following…
- do guest outreach for podcasting
- write the next issue of _7 for Sunday_
- write the next _Open + Curious_ article
- write new blog posts
ɕ
_PS: I’ve listed “do guest outreach” because—for me—once I do that consistently for a few weeks, all the rest of the podcasting process follows automatically._