The Greatest Gift

by Philip Van Doren Stern
The Greatest Gift cover
Good Books rating 3.67
Technical
  • ID: 5213
  • Added: 2025-10-22
  • Updated: 2025-10-22
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
goodreads.com · Unknown · 2025-10-23
insightful 4.50

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is a timeless guide for artists and creatives, focusing on overcoming internal resistance to achieve goals. The book is divided into three parts, each addressing different aspects of resistance and how to combat it, with the reviewer finding the first two parts more accessible and practical.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is a book that has been around for 20 years but still holds relevant advice for artists and creatives. The reviewer was introduced to it recently and found it incredibly insightful. The book is divided into three parts: Resistance, Combating Resistance, and Beyond Resistance. The first part defines resistance as an internal force that prevents us from achieving our goals, with procrastination and self-doubt being common battles. The second part discusses how to combat resistance by turning professional and treating creativity as a job. The third part delves into the higher realm of creativity, which the reviewer found a bit uncomfortable but still valuable. Overall, the book is a powerful tool for anyone looking to overcome their inner creative battles.

Quick quotes

    Resistance is the broad umbrella word under which Pressfield puts all the internal battles we harbor. The battles we fight every waking minute of every day that keeps us from our goals, from accomplishing our creative tasks. Resistance is the enemy.

    Pressfield’s comparison of Resistance to a bully makes total sense to me. We, as professionals, are fighting this bully every day when we get up and go to work.

    The magic and mystery of where our thoughts and creativity comes from is inside us. Pressfield says from muses or angels working in our subconscious.

trustywaterblog.co.uk · Unknown · 2023-12-22
critical 2.00

The reviewer finds the book's central thesis about procrastination valuable but criticizes it for being filled with superstition, thinly veiled proselytizing, and unsupported claims. They believe the book's extremist views fail to consider valid reasons for resistance to tasks.

The reviewer appreciates the book's main point that procrastination can be harmful to long-term success. However, they find the majority of the book to be problematic. It is filled with what they consider to be superstition, thinly veiled proselytizing, and unsupported claims. For example, the reviewer mentions absurd assertions such as Hitler's art being good, procrastination causing erectile dysfunction, and cancer patients going into remission by achieving personal goals. The reviewer also criticizes the book's absolutist and extremist views, which fail to acknowledge that resistance to tasks can sometimes be a form of good judgment or self-preservation. They even point out that the author suggests taking care of an eight-month pregnant wife is a form of procrastination, which they find ridiculous.

Quick quotes

    Reading this book is like fishing through a landfill site for diamonds; they're there, just buried under mountains of crap.

    The author makes an unsubstantiated claim that diseases such as ADHD, seasonal affective disorder, and social anxiety disorder are not real and were invented by marketing departments and drug companies to make a quick buck.

    This book is very absolutist and extremist, and fails to take into account the occasions an internal resistance to doing something is not true procrastination, but the cornerstone of good judgment and sometimes even self-preservation.

lauragerold.blogspot.com · Unknown · 2014-12-31
insightful 4.50

The reviewer found 'The War of Art' by Steven Pressfield to be a powerful and motivational book, full of gems that can push readers back into their creative work. They appreciated the concept of 'resistance' as an internal obstacle and the importance of discipline in overcoming it, though they suggested a more flexible approach to discipline for those balancing writing with other responsibilities.

The reviewer recently reread 'The War of Art' by Steven Pressfield and found it to be a powerhouse of motivation, especially for those struggling with creative blocks. The book introduces the concept of 'resistance' as an internal obstacle to creativity, which the reviewer found particularly insightful. They appreciated Pressfield's emphasis on discipline and treating writing as a job, but suggested a more flexible approach for those balancing writing with other responsibilities. The reviewer also highlighted the importance of distancing oneself from one's work to sustain creativity and not let criticism or fear of failure paralyze the creative process. Overall, they highly recommended the book for its valuable insights and motivational push.

Quick quotes

    Resistance is internal. It’s not the laundry list of external obstacles we often cite as the forces that keep us from writing. Those are excuses — they’re the external manifestation, if you will, of the real enemy, which is…us.

    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.

    We are so much more than any one thing we do, and it’s easy to forget that. Pressfield’s reminder is, to me, liberating. “The professional loves her work. She is invested in it wholeheartedly. But she does not forget that the work is not her.

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