Words for the Weekend: Begin It Now

Image scanned from an old Kate Spade ad / Quote from The War of Art, attributed to Goethe by some sources.

I just finished reading a book called The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield. At first I was a little hesitant to read it, just because I don't think of myself as a self-help book kind of person. But since a friend recommended it with such enthusiasm, I thought I'd give it a try! The theme of the book is, "Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles." It asks the question, what keeps so many of us from doing what we really long to do in life?

Anyway, I found the book to be beautifully written and absolutely empowering. It truly left me feeling so inspired to step it up and approach life with more confidence, to be proactive in pursuing my dreams, to stop being someone with unfulfilled potential. I wanted to recommend it to you guys because even though the book is geared for people in creative fields, I think it's a great read for anyone who has dreams, especially if you're in a stage of life where you're feeling uninspired or lacking in the discipline you need to be successful. Basically, reading The War of Art made me feel like I could conquer the world! And who doesn't want to have that feeling? ;)

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us."

"Late at night have you experienced a vision of the person you might become, the work you could accomplish, the realized being you were meant to be? Are you a writer who doesn't write, a painter who doesn't paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what Resistance is."

"There's a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don't, and the secret is this: It's not the writing part that's hard. What's hard is sitting down to write."

"Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we will feel pursuing it."

"Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. There never was a moment, and never will be, when we are without the power to alter our destiny."

"Are you paralyzed with fear? That's a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do."

"The opposite of love isn't hate; it's indifference."

"The act of courage calls forth infallibly that deeper part of ourselves that supports and sustains us."

"Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we really are and become it."

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Thanks so much for reading! As you can see, the blog is under construction this week, so I hope you'll stick around until it's shiny and pretty again! Happy, happy weekend!! xoxo, Bri