Read Part 1: Here
The second part of Stephen Pressfield’s book talks about becoming a Pro in The War of Art.
Professionals don’t care about how they feel, they constantly show up. Pressfield talks about people in the military being good at “being miserable”, knowing that the work just needs to get done.
Professionals are detached, and even though they pour their heart, soul, and mind into their work, they just move on to the next project, not worrying about the positive or negative reception of the project. They’re organized, they create structure not chaos. They work to perfect their technique and their craft
To me, being a creative and a lifelong student, I have always thrived in structure. The idea of making sure to sit down and commit 100% to the work and getting the project done sounds amazing. It feels more and more difficult because of the resistance we talked about in the previous post.
What does being a Pro mean for me?
This is what I’m doing to be a pro:
- Committing 100% to creating and working on my craft daily. Practice something, write a new song or a new piece. Learn about what I’m teaching my students. Do something daily.
- Work hard, Rest hard: While committing 100%, I also want to set limits to that I can be a Pro in other areas of my life, especially as a Fiancé, because I tend to be obssessive about my work.
- Reflect, Track, and Iterate: A few months ago, I started carrying a pocket notebook. I use it to capture, store, and review ideas. I use other notebooks to review the ideas and track my practice. Expanding that habit to include better goal setting, and review to take ideas and projects to find ways to improve them.
- Show my work: Be a documentarian, show my thoughts and my processes more, Release the music and creations that I make. I’m getting a lot of Practice with this blog
The next part of the book is about finding inspiration and consistency and I’m excited to read and share my thoughts when I finish it.
What areas of your life do you want to commit and become a Pro in?