DO THE WORK! Also by Steven Pressfi eld DO THE Fiction Th e Profession WORK! Killing Rommel Th e Afghan Campaign Th e Virtues of War Overcome Resistance Last of the Amazons and get out of your own way Tides of War Gates of Fire Th e Legend of Bagger Vance By Steven Pressfi eld Nonfi ction Author of The War of Art Th e Lion’s Gate Th e Authentic Swing T H E Turning Pro Th e Warrior Ethos Th e War of Art © 2011 Steven Pressfi eld DO THE WORK! Th e Domino Project Published by Do You Zoom, Inc. and Black Irish Entertainment LLC. Sign up for updates and free stuff at www.thedominoproject.com. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA Pressfi eld, Steven, 1943— Do Th e Work!: Overcome Resistance and get out of your own way / Steven Pressfi eld p. cm. ISBN 978-1-936891-32-0 Printed in the United States of America For Ellie Foreword Right there, in your driveway, is a really fast car. Not one of In this manifesto, Steve gets practical, direct, and personal. Read those stupid Hamptons-style, rich-guy, showy cars like a Ferrari, it fast; then read it again and take notes. Th en buy a copy for but an honest fast car, perhaps a Subaru WRX. And here are the everyone else who’s stuck and push them to get to work as well. keys. Now go drive it. Hurry. Right there, on the runway, is a private jet, ready to fl y you wher- ever you want to go. Here’s the pilot, standing by. Go. Leave. Seth Godin Right there, in your hand, is a Chicago Pneumatics 0651 ham- Hastings-on-Hudson, January 2011 mer. You can drive a nail through just about anything with it, again and again if you choose. Time to use it. And here’s a keyboard, connected to the entire world. Here’s a publishing platform you can use to interact with just about anyone, just about any time, for free. You wanted a level play- ing fi eld, one where you have just as good a shot as anyone else? Here it is. Do the work. Th at’s what we’re all waiting for you to do—to do the work. Steven Pressfi eld is the author of the most important book you’ve never read: Th e War of Art. It will help you understand why you’re stuck, it will kick you in the pants, and it will get you moving. You should, no, you must buy a copy as soon as you fi nish reading this. About This Book On the fi eld of the Self stand a knight and a dragon. Th is book is designed to coach you through a project (a book, a ballet, a new business venture, a philanthropic enterprise) from You are the knight. Resistance is the dragon. conception to fi nished product, seeing it from the point of view of Resistance. We’ll hit every predictable Resistance Point along the way— those junctures where fear, self-sabotage, procrastination, self- doubt, and all those other demons we’re all so familiar with can be counted upon to strike. Where butts need to be kicked, we shall kick them. Where kinder, gentler methods are called for, we’ll get out the kid gloves. One note: Th is document is articulated for the most part in the lexicon of a writer—i.e., the model used is that of conceiving and constructing plays, novels, or screenplays. But the principles can be applied with equal eff ectiveness to any form of creative endeavor, including such seemingly far-afi eld enterprises as the 2 Steven Pressfi eld Do Th e Work! 3 acquisition of physical fi tness, the recovery from a broken heart, or the pursuit of any objective—emotional, intellectual, or spir- itual—that involves moving from a lower or less conscious plane to a higher one. ORIENTATION ENEMIES AND ALLIES 4 Steven Pressfi eld Do Th e Work! 5 Our Enemies 5. Any activity whose aim is the acquisition of chiseled abdominals. Th e following is a list of the forces arrayed against us as artists 6. Any course or program designed to overcome an and entrepreneurs: unwholesome habit or addiction. 1. Resistance (i.e., fear, self-doubt, procrastination, 7. Education of every kind. addiction, distraction, timidity, ego and narcissism, self- 8. Any act of political, moral, or ethical courage, including loathing, perfectionism, etc.) the decision to change for the better some unworthy 2. Rational thought pattern of thought or conduct in ourselves. 3. Friends and family 9. Th e undertaking of any enterprise or endeavor whose aim is to help others. Resistance 10. Any act that entails commitment of the heart—the decision to get married, to have a child, to weather a What exactly is this monster? Th e following few chapters from rocky patch in a relationship. Th e War of Art will bring us up to speed: 11. Th e taking of any principled stand in the face of adversity. Resistance’s Greatest Hits In other words, any act that rejects Th e following is a list, in no particular order, of those activities that most commonly elicit Resistance: immediate gratifi cation in favor 1. Th e pursuit of any calling in writing, painting, music, of long-term growth, health, or fi lm, dance, or any creative art, however marginal or integrity. unconventional. 2. Th e launching of any entrepreneurial venture or Or, expressed another way, any act that derives from our enterprise, for profi t or otherwise. higher nature instead of our lower. Any of these acts will elicit 3. Any diet or health regimen. Resistance. 4. Any program of spiritual advancement. Now: what are the characteristics of Resistance? 6 Steven Pressfi eld Do Th e Work! 7 Resistance Is Invisible Resistance has no conscience. It will pledge anything to get a deal, then double-cross you as soon as your back is turned. If Resistance cannot be seen, heard, touched, or smelled. But it you take Resistance at its word, you deserve everything you get. can be felt. We experience it as an energy fi eld radiating from a work-in-potential. Resistance is always lying and Resistance is a repelling force. It’s always full of shit. negative. Its aim is to shove us Resistance Is Impersonal away, distract us, prevent us from Resistance is not out to get you personally. It doesn’t know who doing our work. you are and doesn’t care. Resistance is a force of nature. It acts objectively. Resistance Is Insidious Th ough it feels malevolent, Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your Resistance in fact operates with work. It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; seduce, bully, cajole. Resistance is protean. It will assume any form, if that’s what it the indiff erence of rain and takes to deceive you. transits the heavens by the same Resistance will reason with laws as stars. When we marshal you like a lawyer or jam a nine- our forces to combat Resistance, millimeter in your face like a we must remember this. stickup man. 8 Steven Pressfi eld Do Th e Work! 9 Resistance Is Infallible Resistance Never Sleeps Like a magnetized needle fl oating on a surface of oil, Resistance Henry Fonda was still throwing up before each stage perfor- will unfailingly point to true North—meaning that calling or mance, even when he was seventy-fi ve. action it most wants to stop us from doing. In other words, fear doesn’t go We can use this. away. Th e warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, We can use it as a compass. which dictates that the battle must We can navigate by Resistance, letting it guide us to that calling be fought anew every day. or purpose that we must follow before all others. Rule of thumb: Th e more Resistance Plays for Keeps important a call or action is to Resistance’s goal is not to wound or disable. our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance aims to kill. Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it. Its target is the epicenter of our being: our genius, our soul, the unique and priceless gift we were put on this earth to give and that no one else has but us. Resistance means business. Resistance Is Universal When we fi ght it, we are in a war to the death. We’re wrong if we think we’re the only ones struggling with Resistance. Everyone who has a body experiences Resistance.