I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. It shows up on Hacker News and other entrepreneurs’ forums regularly as recommended reading. Steven Pressfield is a novelist, but this book is popular reading for anyone who is pursuing a goal.
The author’s main point is that the most important and the hardest thing is doing. Whether that be sitting down at a desk to write a novel or software. Once you are at your desk, or at your office, the hard part is done. This can apply to anything: fitness, painting, photography, etc.
Things that make you the most nervous about doing are probably the most important things. If these were not important to you, then you would not feel resistance when attempting them.
One last piece of advice that I really liked was from the Bhagavad Gita. It says that one has no right to the fruits of their labor, only to their labor. Basically, one should work hard without any expectations of reward. If they are lucky, their work will bring them all kinds of rewards, such as money, fame, and respect. But if they don’t get anything in return for their work, then so be it. They should do work for work’s sake and nothing else.
