This past week, two of my favorite bloggers, Seth Godin and Steve Thomas, both gave the nod to Steven Pressfield’s Do the Work. 
That piqued my interest, so I clicked on over to Amazon.com to check out the book for myself.
A few pages into the sample sections, I’m hooked (and squirming like a worm). The chapters on beginning and resistance are especially apropos for procrastinators like me. If that label fits you as well, consider the following from Pressfield’s text.
Don’t prepare. Begin. Remember, our enemy is not lack of preparation; it’s not the difficulty of the project or the state of the marketplace or the emptiness of our bank account. The enemy is our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justification, and a million reasons why we can’t/shouldn’t/won’t do what we know we should do.
A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you or I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and over think and hesitate. Get your idea down on paper. You can always tweak it later. Don’t think. Act. We can always revise and revisit once we’ve acted. But we can accomplish nothing until we act.
Reminds me of words screamed every game by the coach of my younger son’s club soccer team: “You won’t score if you don’t shoot.” Translated into language fundraisers understand, “If you don’t ask, you won’t get.”
Pressfield warns that “once we commit to action, the worst thing to do is to stop.” For a relatively new blogger, those are scary words. Maybe I should think about this blogging thing for a bit. Oops, there I go again.
Wow, thanks for putting me in the same sentence with Seth Godin, I’m honored. I’m delighted that Pressfield is making you uncomfortable, too. He had me squirming as well.
You’re so right (or your son’s soccer coach is right) that you gotta shoot! When you’re finished thinking about the Resistance, can’t wait to hear what you think about Impostor Syndrome (my latest discomfort).
Great thinking, thanks for the shout-out.
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Fortunately (or unfortunately) the Imposter Syndrome chapter wasn’t included in the online segments provided by Amazon.com, so I have to wait for Pressfield’s book to arrive in the mail to be bothered by another of his points. Glad you saw this post in which I mentioned you. I enjoy reading Oneicity and I will be honored if you will add Generous Matters to your blogroll and/or bookmarks. I sense a kindred spirit.
Those are two of my favorite bloggers a well. Looks like I’ll have to get this book. Maybe tomorrow. If I have the time. And can find the money. But then, when will I read it? My night stand is already full.
Hi Al, So nice to hear from another procrastinator. Responding to your comment has given me an excuse not to do what I should be doing right now. Hope you will keep on reading Generous Matters, and I hope you will find my musings to be more than simply time killers. Thanks for stopping by.
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