Crush self-resistance, struggle less, soar more- a “do the work” book review

What’s The Biggest Barrier To Our Success?

It’s not due to a bad childhood, crappy real estate markets, the-low-bar, your slow-to-grow broker, a grid-locked government or anyone else. It’s US. It’s our own Self-Resistance to success. We’re smart – we know what we should do.  We’re talented – we have ability and potential coming out of our ears.  Yet, we’re stuck and struggling.

How can we RISE-UP, once and for all?  How do we reach escape velocity and leave soul sucking mediocrity and struggle behind? I suggest you read the book: Do The Work, by Steven Pressfield.  It’s a fast, no bullshit, powerful and easy read.  Really fast.  Really powerful. No BS.

Here’s my book review.

Overcome Resistance and Get Out Of Your Own Way

The book begins by sharing why smart people struggle with success by revealing who Our Enemies (Resistance, Rational Thought, Friends and Family) and who Our Allies (Stupidity, Stubbornness, Blind Faith, Passions, Friends and Families) are.

The easy to understand explanations and examples wide-open our eyes, making us hyper-aware of what holds us back.  Awareness is a monster advantage, once we understand the problems and challenges, we can overcome them.   In the beginning chapters, the big take away for me was the searing reminder that we create sustained success when we consciously overcome our subconscious Self-Resistance to success.

CLICK On The Master's Head To Hear The Grasshopper Lesson.

The book helps us to see which shadow-forces hold us back and which sunlit-actions whoosh us forward.  If you want uncommon results and tangible advantages, read this book.

Don’t Think.  Act.

I bet we have this in common.  Our minds whir and purr constantly; dreaming up plans, ideas, projects, reinventions and new adventures.  Then we over think it, begin to doubt it, talk ourselves out of it and bury it — along with our spirit, soul and future.  The book shines a light on how to hit the big GREEN GO button.

Start Before You’re Ready – Don’t Prepare.  Begin.

Com’on man.  How much is lost by perpetual, Getting Ready To Get Ready?

If you suffer, as I do, from over preparation, research, planning and under execution – read the book.

The Three-Act Structure

Amateurs structure their strategies by working their way from the beginning to the end, usually never crossing the end line.

World class types do it backwards.  They structure their strategies by Beginning At The End, working backwards, and Ending At The Beginning.  To learn how to structure successful strategies and why structuring backwards works, don’t even finish reading this blog post, instead Click > Download > and Read the book now.

Ideas Do Not Come Linearly – Act, reflect.  Act, reflect.

Our bodies sleep, our brains don’t.  Because you’re bright, I bet great ideas routinely flash into your imagination, but you promptly forget and lose more than you can remember and act on.  What a precious waste of brilliance.  If we capture our great ideas when they bubble up, before they float away, we can move from ordinary to extraordinary.  Pressfield goes into detail on how to understand, capture, process and share your inspired and freshest ideas.

Coincidentally the same day I read the book, I ran across this great Subconscious Information Processing article from Fred Wilson, in which he shares an example of this The Brain Never Sleeps reality. This is a valuable lesson for us as well as our kids and friends.

Read Fred’s article, then download the book and read it.  Don’t Think.  Act.

The Seven Principles of Resistance

The book wraps up by delineating the Seven Principles of Resistance and How To Overcome Them.  Here’s a couple of examples:

Principle Number Four: The Enemy Is Inside You, But It Is Not You

Principle Number Six: Resistance Arises Second (“It means that before the dragon of Resistance reared its ugly head and breathed fire into our faces, there existed within us a force so potent and life-affirming that it summoned this beast into being.” ~ Steven Pressfield)

Welcome To Getting More Done, Felling Better About Yourself and Realizing The Potential You Deserve.

It’s a crazy world, nothing comes easy and our worst enemy isn’t other people or circumstances outside us. Our worst enemy is own Self Resistance to success.  If you want to move forward faster – Act Now.  Read the book – Do The Work.

Thanks for reading.  Cheers.

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