I consider Steven Pressfield to be my writing coach. I read his book Do The Work before I start a new project. I’ve just finished reading it again as I revisit my play Minced. Pressfield describes the creative process accurately. And encourages you to find your way through the Resistance that will challenge you. The…
As part of my preparation for starting my new acting project, I’m rereading Do the Work. And a sentence popped out at me. I’ve read it a bunch of times previously. But it’s lingering with me today: A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you…
Just got off a Zoom call with the Director and rest of the cast for a show called Burn by John Muggleton. Rehearsals will start at the beginning of April. It was kind of a meet and greet. It’s a small cast. Four actors. And most of us don’t know each other. So, it was…
A few days ago, I was talking about Resistance. That force that tries to distract us from our goals. It finds many ways to thwart us from our path. But there is counter force to that, as well. Steven Pressfield says that the opposite of Resistance is Assistance. When you declare a goal and start…
It’s been a while since I’ve spoken about Resistance. At least how it has been affecting me. “Resistance” is the term that Steven Pressfield uses. He says it’s an entity that prevents us from doing the thing we want to do. It has many disguises and tools. It’s the laundry that needs to be done.…
I have a problem. I’m a self-help junkie. I love reading self development books. The problem is that I read them but I don’t take action on what I learn. I’m not great with the follow through. Darren Hardy said, “Learn less, do more.” Most of the time, we know enough. We know enough to…
Resistance can kill your integrity. That siren call prevents you from doing what you said you would do. It makes you break your word, even if it was only to yourself. We get too used to making excuses instead of following through with commitments. It’s easier to come up with a reason why you couldn’t…
A couple of years after Deb and I got married, we were living at my Grandmother’s house because my Grandfather had passed away. My aunts had made the suggestion because it would give Deb and me the ability to live rent free and my Grandmother wouldn’t have to make any major life decisions right away…
You will hear me refer to Resistance a lot in this blog. Steven Pressfield coined the term for that “intelligent, active, malign force” that works against us when we endeavour to create something. He defines it clearly in his book The War of Art and elaborates a bit more in his book Turning Pro. But…
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how long it took to write the first draft of a play I’m working on. I said it was an interesting question. I recently finished the second draft of the same play. How long did it take? It’s still an interesting question… I finished the first draft…
peter gruner 