Motivation
by Steven Pressfield
Why is it still just an idea?
You've had the idea for the novel or the business for years, and it's still an idea. Steven Pressfield wrote Do the Work as a short, blunt book about getting a project from the first page to finished, and about the force that tries to stop you.
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Pressfield names the enemy Resistance. It shows up as procrastination, self-doubt, distraction and perfectionism. It isn't personal and it never gives up. It's strongest when the work matters most to you, so the fear can point you at the right project.
Among Pressfield's allies are stupidity, stubbornness and blind faith. Staying stupid means not thinking too hard before you begin, because clever people talk themselves out of things. Start before you're ready and trust yourself to fix it later.
Before you start, Pressfield says, work out where you're going. He sketches every project on one page in three parts, beginning, middle and end. It works for a novel and for a new business. Knowing the ending tells you what belongs.
Research feels like work, which makes it a perfect hiding place. Pressfield's rule is to limit it. Don't let it eat your best working hours, and don't let it become the reason you haven't started.
Somewhere near the end, almost every project falls apart. Pressfield calls it the Big Crash and treats it as a normal stage of the work. It's the moment to be stubborn, work out what went wrong, and keep going.
Resistance
There's a force in all of us that fights hardest against the work that matters most.
Stay stupid
Don't overthink the start. Too much thinking is how you talk yourself out of a project.
Research
Do some research, but set a limit. Endless reading can be a way of hiding from the work.
Start at the end
Know how the thing finishes before you begin, then work back from there.
The low point
Every project hits a slump in the middle. Expect it, and push on through.
One thing to try
Write your project in three lines covering how it starts, what happens in the middle and how it ends. Then spend twenty minutes on the beginning today, before you feel ready and before you look anything else up.
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. Do the Work comes with a Spot the Trap case to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appWhy is it still just an idea? You've had the idea for the novel or the business for years, and it's still an idea. Steven Pressfield wrote Do the Work as a short, blunt book about getting a project from the first page to finished, and about the force that tries to stop you.
Resistance, with a capital R; Stay stupid; Begin at the end; Research can be Resistance; Expect the Big Crash.
Write your project in three lines covering how it starts, what happens in the middle and how it ends. Then spend twenty minutes on the beginning today, before you feel ready and before you look anything else up.
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from Do the Work in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Spot the Trap case to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
