Read “The War of Art” to Stop Procrastinating & Resurrect Your Dead Dreams

I’m very gifted. But there’s a problem. My gift is procrastination.

What about you? Do you share my gift? Are you terrific at procrastinating? If the answer is “yes” then you need a secret weapon. You will never reach your potential unless you wrestle procrastination to the ground and kill it.

That’s why you need to read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. His book is a secret weapon which puts procrastination out of its misery.

Pressfield is a highly respected writer. Maybe you saw the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance? He’s the author. The War of Art is written from the perspective of a writer. But it would be a mistake to think his book only speaks to aspiring authors. It helps anyone struggling with the enemy called procrastination.

Here’s a few lines from his book:

• “Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”
• “Resistance is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, harder to kick than crack cocaine. We’re not alone if we’ve been mowed down by Resistance…”

Many Baby Boomers have fought resistance for an entire lifetime. The fierce battle caused many to surrender. They’ve given up. How about you?

• Are your dreams a casualty to resistance?
• Have you always wanted to write a novel or poem?
• In your younger days did you dream of becoming a master genealogist?
• Deep down on the inside is there an artist dying to be released?

I know. You now have the perfect excuse. “I’m too old.” No. You can scrap that excuse. Here’s the hard truth: you’ve given up on your dreams. They were beaten back again and again until they laid down and died.

But wait. It’s not too late. You need to read The War of Art. It’s short and easy to read.

Pressfield gets in your face and challenges you to step up to the plate. In short chapters and scattered quotes he prods you into action. How do you ignore Pressfield’s quote from Telamon of Arcadia: “It is one thing to study war and another to live the warrior’s life?”

Whether or not you buy and read The War of Art isn’t the point. The point is this: please don’t give up on your dreams. You have plenty of reasons to do so. I get it. Life has been hard. You’ve been hurt and disappointed. Maybe your dreams are strewn all over the floor of your mind like brittle fall leaves.

But here’s what I believe. Your dreams are not really dead. They need you to give them shock therapy to come back to life. Maybe the shock you need is to read Pressfield’s book. Maybe it is to slap yourself in the face. Maybe it’s to sit with a cup of coffee and remind yourself of the day when you were passionate about your dreams. And perhaps, if you apply some serious shock therapy, your broken dreams will begin to stir once again.

If you are lucky enough to resurrect a broken dream, keep it alive. Feed it. Pamper it. Do everything you can to make it strong. And the day will come when that dream which almost died will become a reality.

How will you shock your dreams back to life?

Click the image below to check out The War of Art on Amazon.