The War of Art - Book Review

I have two review of this book the one below is a little more personal and my other is featured over at bookshop talk. Have a read for both and I would love to know what you think!

I received such a lovely surprise from Kyle when he bought me a book from his favorite author, Steven Pressfield. The book is The War of Art - Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. Kyle noticed I was in a rut and thought this book could help (How sweet is that??)

A couple pages into this book I read a sentence and knew that this book was really going to make sense to me. The sentence was,

"You know, Hitler wanted to be an artist... He applied to the Academy of Fine Arts and later the School of Architecture...it was easier for Hitler to start World War II that it was for him to face a blank square of canvas."

Right after reading that I ran to grab my “creative journal” (something I started keeping due to another book, more to come on that soon!) I was so struck because the two sentences were so close. No I didn’t almost start WWII, but the concept was the same. I had to show Kyle and read him the following:

"I get more nervous about writing a blog than moving to a new country."

After that I couldn't put the book down. I read 20 pages that night and then finished the entire book the next day.

The book is laid out into 3 sections. In a quick and not in any detailed kind way. The first section talks about Resistance, which is basically the voice in your head keeping you from doing everything you want to do. Start a diet, get in shape, take a new class on something that interests you, ask for a raise from your boss. By the end of this section I realized how much resistance I have in my life. The truth is, the book didn’t create something to blame all your problems on except you. It just gives a name to the thing you are already doing and didn’t know what to call it.

***Interesting Fact – This is the point where I dropped my book into the bathtub, in case you were wondering, a paperback book is not waterproof.***

The second section talks about overcoming resistance. Here you start to see a light at the end of your tunnel (no it’s not a train!)

The third section talked about where the inspiration and overall ability to overcome resistance comes from. Whether or not you agree with this part, it was still a great section.

The best part was it was such a quick read! I am such a slow reader that it's actually saying something if I think it’s quick. Not only is it a quick read but it's something that if you are feeling in a rut you can grab it, pick anywhere section, read a couple pages and get back on the wagon.

Quick to read, I understand it, and it motivates me to get my butt in gear? Sounds perfect. The other part that I love is it puts all the responsibility on me, no one else. It’s a nice kick in the butt to get in gear! At least enough to get me to sit down and write a post that I am sometimes terrified to do.

Final thought: A great book to buy, if you have a friend or family member in a creative rut this is the perfect gift!