Summary - "War of Art" Vol. 2 by Steven Pressfield

Second part of the summary. For the first part, head here.

  1. A professional is fully committed to a craft, it’s an identity. An amateur has no skin in the game, the craft becomes a hobby.

  2. Inspiration has its triggers. Find your own.

  3. Principle of Priority: do what’s important first, then the urgent. Learn to distinguish the two, and learn to celebrate the everyday victories.

  4. Learn to love pain: anything worth pursuing in this world demands a high pain threshold.

  5. Overidentifying with your job prevents you from failing and experimenting with new things. Statuses are limiting.

  6. Consistency is what makes a pro: “show up every day, show up no matter what, stay on the job, be committed over the long haul”.

  7. There is no art without both technique and judgment: learn your katas, improve, and get yourself out there for the whole world to judge.

  8. Love your craft, but always be detached and stay objective.

  9. Be patient, be persistent, never settle.

  10. “Eliminate chaos from your world in order t banish it from your mind”: Work in a tidy environment.

  11. Don’t sacralize your work, intellectual wanking won’t get the job done.

  12. Fear never vanishes, learn to live with it, channel it.

  13. Get rid of your excuses, always find a way to sit down and practice your craft.

  14. The real world or nothing: confront reality, adapt yourself to it.

  15. Always be prepared, nothing can stop a versatile artisan.

  16. Do not show off, glory is a trap.

  17. Be a constant apprentice: learn from others, always get back to the basics.

  18. Be detached from your tools, your successes, and your failures: they are not you.

  19. Improving and getting things done is the only self-validation you need. Criticism is only here for you to integrate into your work, not to feed your ego.

  20. Stay out of adversity and competition, you have your own path to walk.

  21. You are not limitless, address your shortcomings by collaborating with others.

  22. You will live many lives: reinvent yourself and don’t dwell on grief.

  23. Think of yourself as a one-man business: hire yourself, or get fired.

One volume left.