The War of Art

Welcome! Today we’ll be reviewing The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

Not to be confused with The Art of War, Steven Pressfields “The War of Art” is perhaps most well known in modern times as “Joe Rogans favorite book” – and after having read it myself, I can say this is due to a very good reason. This book, while primarily targeting the creative struggles frequently plaguing artists and other creative types, is less a book about “creating good art” and more about “how do we apply discipline”. In a weird round-about sort of way Pressfields book, I would argue, is about finding and maintaining the discipline to do what you SHOULD be doing to achieve success in creative endeavors which, on the surface, seems very counter intuitive.

“Shouldn’t an artist or an author reject discipline, and instead ‘go with the flow’ and work then they’re most inspired?” you might be saying to yourself – Pressfields answer is a resounding “No”. In the authors estimation, you need discipline – it has to mold you so that you can create works that mold and impress others. The genius of this book, however, isn’t in this revelation. Instead, Pressfield (being an multi-book author and creative type himself) addresses a much larger question – how does a creative, traditionally anti-discipline type individual maintain the discipline to achieve great works? Pressfields answer is prolific – you simply abstract your discipline, and treat it as a real entity. In Pressfields mind, discipline is not a thought, idea, or action – discipline is the Muse – and as evident in his interview on Joe Rogans podcast, he believes it to be a real being.

And that’s really what this book is – an argument for the existence of the Muse – a being who, according to Pressfield, accepts your offering of daily regimented discipline, unrelenting focus and dedication to your chosen work or creative idea, and rewards your offering with creative insights, progress towards your chosen project, and success. Whether or not the Muse is a real being, I think Pressfields idea is genius – and is consequently backed up by Dr. Petersons observation that human beings respond and learn lessons and information better they’re conveyed in story or fable form.

That being said, this book also covers some other idea’s addressing how to maintain and achieve discipline and success in life and serves as a great foundation for anyone trying to work on or achieve success in a personal project, business, or building a new skillset. It’s a short read, covers the basics you need to achieve success, and does so in a memorable and easy-to-read fashion – and for these reasons and many more, I think “The War of Art” is a great read for anyone and receives my highest recommendations.