Do you love your idea? Does it feel right on instinct? Are you willing to bleed for it?
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of passion and commitment to one's ideas.
In this quote, Steven Pressfield urges individuals to deeply connect with their ideas, suggesting that true love for one's work goes beyond mere interest. It requires a strong instinctual affinity and a readiness to endure hardship and sacrifice in pursuit of those ideas, highlighting the dedication necessary for success.
In practice
During a motivational speech at a startup conference.
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.
It is one thing to study war and another to live the warrior's life.
The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.
When we sit down day after day and keep grinding, something mysterious starts to happen... Unseen forces enlist in our cause; serendipity reinforces our purpose.
You know, Hitler wanted to be an artist. At eighteen he took his inheritance, seven hundred kronen, and moved to Vienna to live and study... Ever see one of his paintings? Neither have I. Resistance beat him. Call it overstatement but I'll say it anyway: it was easier for Hitler to start World War II than it was for him to face a blank square of canvas.
Itβs better to be in the arena, getting stomped by the bull, than to be up in the stands or out in the parking lot.
For those who say you're thinking too big... be smart enough not to listen. For those who say the odds are too small ... be dumb enough to give it a shot. And for those who ask, how can you do that?... look them in the eyes and say, I'll figure it out.
I just try to win the match by fighting for every point, and running down every ball.
Like every person, every thought has the potential to become something great.
The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them.
The best motivating is self-motivating. The guy says, "I wish someone would come by and turn me on. "What if they don't show up? You've got to have a better plan for your life."
Successful people will always tell you you can do something. It's the people who have never accomplished anything who will always discourage you from trying to achieve excellent things.
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