I read The War of Art about nine years ago. My Ex had given it to be to inspire me. I think this was probably about our third or fourth date. He had a bunch of copies of it that he distributed to people. He probably still does that. And I'm actually grateful, even though at the time I probably felt skeptical. He had also told me about Kabbalah and that it might be hard to date someone who didn't practice. So he got me a gift certificate to take my first class at the Centre that Christmas. That turned out to be helpful as well, but that's not my point.
I probably had another copy laying around my place somewhere. But I couldn't find it. Every so often, I would go back to The War of Art and give it a glance. But it has been years.
I remember reading the section on Resistance nine years ago and thinking "Oh yeah. That's awful. That's not what I do." The idea of Resistance is that there is this destructive force that does not want us to get our creative work done. The idea of creativity is threatening, so there will always be an excuse, a reason, a rationale to not get something done. You'll always put other people before yourself. Or think that you're being too egotistical or indulgent to get the work done. It's the thought that thinks that renting an office is a selfish act. Sometimes the Resistance comes from sources closest to us and that's why it gets confusing to combat it. We don't want to offend or hurt people who seemingly have our best interests at heart. Resistance also hits right when something great's about to happen. It goes for the kill. It is relentless and without conscience.
Resistance doesn't always take the form that we think it would take, so we don't look out for it. It's the ultimate "wolf in sheep's clothing." So it tricks us into procrastinating, drinking too much, oversexing, being preoccupied with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, everyone else's lives and successes and failures instead of keeping focused on what we can control. Resistance is results oriented and will shoot us down if we don't make a million dollars by the time we're 30 or get that job that everyone covets. Resistance wants us to think that success is about doing things that can be coveted or seen from outer space. Resistance keeps us focused on the external instead of what drives us, regardless of whether we're getting acknowledged or paid. It's that part of ourselves that seeks approval and validation and thinks we're nothing if someone else hasn't told us that we're something. I could go on and on.
For years, I thought I had beat Resistance. But I had a boyfriend and a boss and a father that took up all of my time because I was more interested in solving their issues and being involved in their dramas instead of writing scripts. Instead of sitting down every day to do the work.
Even though I now have an office, I still battle Resistance on a daily basis because I'm an open target. I have taken a big step to get closer to what I want and Resistance is keeping its good eye closely on me. That's why I get here at a set time every day and I stay and sit and keep working. Everything is writing so no matter what I do when I'm here, I am working towards my goals.
When you've battled Resistance you become really keen in recognizing it in others. So I try to keep Resistance as far away from me as possible. I'm learning to positively support my fellow writers and creative types instead of just commiserating and complaining and bitching and moaning and being pissed off that someone else got something that I wanted and he sucks and we all knew it when we knew him years ago. None of that talk helps. None of it gets my work done. None of it helps me focus. It's all bad.
The second part of the book is about Turning Pro. Apparently, Steven Pressfield, who wrote The War of Art just wrote another book specifically about Turning Pro called Turning Pro. I need to get a copy of that and start reading it. This section is all about the difference between the Amateur and the Pro. Basically, the Amateur says he's going to do it but doesn't devote all of his time, doesn't do it regardless of the cost, only does it when it moves him. The misconception is that the Amateur loves what he does and the Professional only does it for the money. According to Pressfield, the Amateur doesn't love what he does enough to do it all of the time. The Pro loves his creative work so much that he devotes all of his time to do, realizes his own value and gets paid for it.
The Pro in me went to Monterey in May, wrote his ass off, came back turned in a script, worked to get a play rewritten in four days for a reading, got all of his actors together, and then wrote a House of Cards spec in four weeks. That Pro got the attention of another Pro and was given an office for three weeks. Then the office opened up and this Pro started renting it to give a home to his work. This Pro shows up to his office every day to do the work. And even when he's not physically at the office, he's working. This Pro has written five pilots, two specs, and three plays in two years. This Pro was writing while his father was sick. He was writing while his father was dying. He was writing after his father died. He took time to grieve because this Pro knows that if he does not experience life and emotions, the work is not as great as it can be. Then this Pro grieved through writing those five pilots, two specs and three plays…because he wrote those ten scripts in the time his father was dying and since. I have written a lot about grief and fathers and sons lately. I have written about loss. I just wrote a monologue specially about being at my father's bedside. The Pro doesn't wait until he's healed or fixed to get the work done. She takes her damaged self and heals through the work. She agrees to meet herself where she's at and to continue moving forward from that place.
And the third part of the book is a little more spiritual. It involves the Higher Realm. It speaks of Magic, Muses, Angels, Hierarchy and Territory. It's harder to digest. I remember when I started reading the book nine years ago, this last section completely went over my head. Even when I re-read that section a few days ago, the first several chapters were hard to get into. Then he starts talking about the Ego and the Self. And the idea of a Hierarchal approach versus a Territorial approach to life and it started to make sense. I think I'll write more about this third section separately. But the tip of the iceberg is that when we think about hierarchy and how to achieve/keep/secure our place in line, it's a dangerous line of thinking. Then we think of ourselves purely in relationship to others. And if we do that we'll always feel inadequate. My friend Kevin put it beautifully last night. "There's always someone better looking, more successful, a better writer and smarter than you." So don't worry about it. Worry about you. Get your shit done. Territory is about having a home base, an HQ, a Posse. It's about having community. Territory is your claim to your space. You have to work to get it. You have to maintain it and take care of it. You are the groundskeeper of your territory. You are the custodian.
My office is my territory.
It's the outer representation of my territory. It's the land I have claimed. It represents who I am. Once I shut the door, nothing else matters except what I want. My office runs my way. According to me. No one else has jurisdiction over what happens in my office. It's a great metaphor. Anyone else can run their office as they see fit for them. But I am not in their office. I am in mine. I am on my turf, my territory. What they think or want for me or think I should do has no bearing when I'm on my territory.
And I always have to be on my territory. Even when I'm not in my office.
Wow, that thought just started coming to me. And it started in the middle of that longer paragraph, just above us.
I'll have more to say on The War of Art. But it is a war. It's a battle and a fight to the finish. It's kill or be killed. It's risk everything or gain nothing. It's where I am right now.
I am grateful for The War of Art.
I am grateful for knowing new things.
I am grateful for the kale and brown rice I just ate.
I am grateful for knowing what to cleanse from myself.
I am grateful that I have physical ways to affirm mental and spiritual growth
I am grateful for my ability to reframe certain stories in my life.
I am grateful for my continued success.
I am grateful for knowing where my territory is and staying on it.
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