'The War of Art' - Fighting the Resistance

Fight it. Fight the resistance.

Listen to your intuition. Don't let the outside forces stop you.

Please don't. You can do it.

I believe in you.

Everyone has a hidden dreamer inside of them. The dreamer is preparing itself, waiting for you to unleash her/him into the world.

Smoothing out the crinkles from her carefully sewn dress. Her eyes gaze longingly at the freshly polished stage. Heartbeat pulsing as the music ripples through her veins. Passion shivers through her body.

But you don't listen. She unstraps her silk slippers.

Shining lens without a spec. Lazer eyes looking over his carefully traced terrain. Nothing else in his mind, except the thought of capturing the perfect prey. Camera lifted to take the first shot. His finger is pressed slightly on the shutter, waiting for the consent.

But you don't listen. He puts his camera away.

Sharpened pencils laid out neatly in front her. Lamp aimed at the perfect angle, every part of her desk organised with an intention. Pencil tip lifted millimetres off the paper, waiting for the command to commence.

But you don't listen. With a painful sigh, she puts her pencil down.

Instead you surrender to the tantalising time wasters. You lock your dream away, and let it rot in its cage. Your hidden gems never making an appearance.

It's time to wake it up.

Why do I come with this message?

Last week, my brother passed on a fascinating book that has woken me up to the reality. It's called: "The War of Art"

In this book, Pressfield talks about 'Resistance'. He talks about Resistance being that force within you that "stunts us and makes us less than we were meant to be". It stops us from living the life we truly want to live.

How many people have you met that are nearing the end and state their long lost dream. The dream of travelling around the world with a guitar in their hand, moving people's heart with their magical music. Or their desire of starting an orphanage on the other side of the world. Now a dream that is never to be. It may have been due to various reasons. Lack of resources. Survival focused childhood, with no time to dream. Or simply never taking the leap or chance to live it. Why do we live life in so much fear? Fear to express our true selves? Fear to live the life we want? And then we come near our death bed and realise the life we lost.

I remember putting my first ever video out into the world. It took months of procrastination to get the image from my head, to a material form, then out into the world. What stopped me? Fear, doubt, distraction. Succumbing to the forces of creative death.

It's funny though, you spend so much time on it, worrying, fixing it, trying to make it perfect. Then you put it out there and it's gone. There's no turning back. And there's something scary, but absolutely freeing and exciting when you finally press publish. You made it past the finish line.

In 'The War of Art', Pressfield says "The best and only thing one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration". I could not agree more. They inspire you to realise the artist is also hidden in you. It's waiting silently for you to do the work and unleash the magnificent dragon out into the world. Honestly, the dying dream inside me is film. I have a dream to create documentaries about important topics and raising awareness of injustices happening around the world. As the years go on, the resistance builds more and more.

There was something that kept holding me back. I didn't know what it was. I now find out that it's the thing Pressfield calls Resistance. A little voice telling me that I was wasting my time. That I had to study hard so I could get a good job and money, and film was a waste of time. The dream continued to drift further and further away. Now there's an obligation to push forth. Being surrounded by unforgiving artists has given me the courage to do so. I don't know where to start, but as long as it's forward that's what matters.

So I dare you, I dare you to ask yourself what your lost dream is. One way you could approach this absolute petrifying question is:

1. Take a day, an afternoon, or even an hour (come on, you have one hour!) and go far way from every distraction around you. No tasks, no responsibilities, just you, your thoughts, and your pen & paper.

2. Ask yourself this question: "If you had absolutely no limitation what would your life look like? What would you spend your time and day doing?" (I got this idea from Tim Ferris's podcast #214 - How do Design Your Life - Debbie Millman) 3. Watch the hidden treasures be revealed from within you!

War of Art Book

https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Steven-Pressfield-ebook/dp/B007A4SDCG

Tim Ferris's podcast #214 - How do Design Your Life - Debbie Millman

https://tim.blog/2017/01/12/how-to-design-a-life-debbie-millman/