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The War of Art

By: Steven Pressfield
Narrated by: Steven Pressfield
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Editorial reviews

Want to know the secret to achieving your dreams and living a life of passion? The War of Art is a practical manual for personal development that equips you with strategies and tools to conquer your fears and bet on yourself.

Before he became a best-selling novelist and acclaimed screenwriter, Steven Pressfield battled a terrible foe: his internal naysayer. His creative struggles led to living out of the back of his car and working odd jobs as he tried and failed to make it as a writer. As Pressfield shares in The War of Art, the key to unlocking his potential and opening the door to success — including having his novels turned into Hollywood movies starring Matt Damon, Will Smith, and Anthony Hopkins—was overcoming what he calls 'Resistance with a capital "R"'.

Procrastination, perfectionism, fear and self-doubt are all examples of Resistance, a form of self-sabotage that causes us to ignore our calling. Identifying and conquering the enemy within led Pressfield on his own journey of discovery. His hard-earned wisdom shines through in this audiobook, which he narrates himself.

The War of Art is self-help on steroids. Pressfield urges listeners to live the life they were meant to live. The only way to do that, as he makes clear, is by taking action and developing creative discipline. According to one listener, this audiobook is 'a game changer, an eye opener, a kick in the butt reality check...to just get on with it and live the life you want and become the person you want to be'.

Publisher's Summary

Think of The War of Art as tough love...for yourself.

Since 2002, The War of Art has inspired people around the world to defeat "resistance"; to recognize and knock down dream-blocking barriers and to silence the naysayers within us. Resistance kicks everyone's butt, and the desire to defeat it is equally as universal. The War of Art identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success.

Though it was written for writers, it has been embraced by business entrepreneurs, actors, dancers, painters, photographers, filmmakers, military service members, and thousands of others around the world.

©2011 Black Irish Entertainment LLC (P)2019 Black Irish Entertainment LLC

What listeners say about The War of Art

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Audio Book

An extremely well delivered message and so easy to finish that I listended to it twice

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Plenty of Truisms for me

A lot of the theories in this book resonated with me in the end. They were very well presented with their examples and just struck home.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Masterpiece

A book that cuts straight to the point with information so useful you'll be sharing it with people/pets/inanimate objects for years to come. Enjoy. Mort à la résistance!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Jan
  • 04-08-2021

Life changing

Steven Pressfield maybe the writers midwife ❤️😂He certainly kicked my arse with this! He shows us what we’ve got. So grateful for this book… I’m just about to start listening to it from the start again!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Short and Sweet

A very interesting perspective into the purpose of creative endeavours. The author can be a little American at times, but the overall message is clear and incredibly important for anyone trying to pursue something.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

Great book to gain clarity and understanding on resistance and how it applies to everyday life

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Missing last few pages

It is missing the last few pages about territory vs hierarchy, perhaps because they would piss off agreeable temperaments too much

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

Great for artists.

Loved it. Offered some great insights into creativity and a professional approach to artistic pursuits.

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Remarkable Little Book

This will likely be a staple of my reading for the rest of my life.

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  • Fg
  • 08-09-2021

Great AudioBook with real life examples

This is a down to earth with no woohoo method. I felt I was talking to a good friend giving me motivation to overcome procrastination. Worth listening to it.

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