Fixpert

Hi ur’body. A few weeks back, I read this book called The War of Art (not the Art of War).

It’s late and I’m tired, so you can read the descriptions and reviews on Amazon. I just wanted to take a couple minutes and pull out some of quotes that resonated with me.

This is almost like a list for myself, some of these are out of context and I encourage you to read the whole book.

Page 24 - “The working artist will not tolerate trouble in her life because she knows trouble prevents her from doing her work.” — Here “trouble” refers to vices such as alcohol or neurotic compulsions.

Page 31 - “What does Resistance feel like? First, unhappiness. We feel like hell. A low-grade misery pervades everything. We’re bored, we’re restless. We can’t get no satisfaction. There’s guilt but we can’t put our finger on the source. We want to go back to bed; we want to get up and party. We feel unloved and lovable. We’re disgusted. We hate our lives. We hate ourselves….At this point vices kick in. Dope, adultery, web surfing.”

Page 40 - “Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul.”

Page 68 - “The artist must be like the Marine. He has to know how to be miserable. He has to love being miserable” — I liked this part because as a cyclist, I feel I’m well-equipped in the ‘enjoying misery’ arena.

Page 70 - “We do not overidentify with our jobs…The amateur, on the other hand, overidentifies with his avocation, his artistic aspiration. He defines himself by it…he is overly invested in its success and overterrified of its failure. The amateur takes it so seriously it paralyzes him”

Page 75 - “Resistance outwits the amateur with the oldest trick in the book: It uses his own enthusiasm against him…It knows we can’t sustain that level of intensity. We will hit the wall. We will crash.”

Page 78 - “A pro views her work as craft, not art. Not because she believes art is devoid of a mystical dimension. On the contrary. She understands that all creative endeavor is holy, but she doesn’t dwell on it. She knows if she thinks about that too much, it will paralyze her. So she concentrates on technique…The sign of the amateur is the overglorification of and preoccupation with the mystery. The professional shuts up. She doesn’t talk about it. She does her work.”

Page 101 - “There is no mystery to turning pro. It’s a decision brought about by an act of will. We make up our mind to view ourselves as pros and we do it. Simple as that.”

Page 108 - “Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.”

Page 136 - “I think angels make their home in the Self, while Resistance has its seat in the Ego.”

Page 139 - “Have you ever wondered why the slang terms for intoxication are so demolition-oriented? Stoned, smashed, hammered. It’s because they’re talking about the Ego. It’s the Ego that gets blasted, waxed, plastered. We demolish the Ego to get to the Self.”

Page 151 - “To labor in the arts for any reason other than love is prostitution.”

Page 156 - “The artist and the mother are vehicles, not originators. They don’t create the new life, they only bear it. This is why birth is such a humbling experience. The new mom weeps in awe at the little miracle in her arms. She knows it came out of her but not from her, through her but not of her.”

Page 158 - “Here’s another test. Of any activity you do, ask yourself: If I were the last person on the earth, would I still do it?”

Page 161 - “…do the work and give it to Him. Do it as an offering to God.
Give the act to me.
Purged of hope and ego,
Fix your attention on the soul.
Act and do for me.
– I think that was a quote from the Bible”

Maybe some of this makes sense, maybe not. Maybe I’ve at least whetted your appetite to go check out this book. If you’re a creative person that is inspired but not particularly productive, it’s a good resource (and a quick read, you can read it in one sitting).

To summarize in the most crude way imaginable — what I took away from this book was a cross between “Just Do It” and “Less Talk, More Rock” (which I’ve been saying a lot lately for some reason, maybe too many meetings at work). The Art of War is a nice pep-talk/kick in the pants, and reiterated that #1 thing that I learned in Art School. Hmm, should I tell you what that is?…

The Most Important Thing I Learned in Art School

Be productive. Always be producing something, and don’t be afraid to make crap — just be making stuff constantly. Slowly, as you continue to work, the overall quality of your work will rise. The stuff that used to be terrible-terrible crap, is now just crap, and maybe next year it’ll be kinda good. Regardless, quantity + time invested (will eventually) = quality. As the quantity goes up, so does the likelihood that you’ll make something worthwhile. And in the meantime, you’re honing your technical skill, you’re not getting stuck in a rut, no mental blocks, no creative constipation, just pure productivity. Every damn day.

Hats off to Jeff Majer, Jim (Barf) Callahan, Liam Lynch, and others who have constantly inspired me with their work ethic, perseverance, productivity, and quality of work.