005 Overcoming Resistance – ProductivityCast

On this cast, Ray and Augusto discuss overcoming resistance, using Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art and the psychological and practical aspects of dealing with resistance. Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to discuss this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of the post). In this Cast Ray Sidney-Smith Augusto Pinaud Show Notes Resources we mention, including links to them will be provided here. Please listen to the episode for context. Steven Pressfield The Legend of Bagger Vance (book) (movie) (IMDB) The War of Art Turning Pro Do the Work Seth Godin Getting Things Done by David Allen Criticism of The War of Art by Psychologist Frederick Heide (See section entitled, “Criticism”) Changeology by John C. Norcross, PhD (Productivity Book Group discussion) (website with exercises) Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence by Daniel Goleman, PhD Pugh decision matrix Raw Text Transcript 0:00:00.000,0:00:04.110 are you ready to manage your work and 0:00:02.159,0:00:06.000 personal world better to live a more 0:00:04.110,0:00:07.109 fulfilling productive life then you've 0:00:06.000,0:00:09.809 come to the right place 0:00:07.109,0:00:12.509 welcome to productivity cast the weekly 0:00:09.809,0:00:14.969 show about all things productivity here 0:00:12.509,0:00:18.000 are your hosts ray Sydney Smith and 0:00:14.969,0:00:20.520 gusto pan out welcome back everybody 0:00:18.000,0:00:22.560 this is Ray Sidney-Smith and Augusto 0:00:20.520,0:00:24.269 Pinaud good morning good morning how's 0:00:22.560,0:00:26.160 it going this is productivity cast the 0:00:24.269,0:00:30.179 weekly show about all things personal 0:00:26.160,0:00:32.309 productivity and today on this show we 0:00:30.179,0:00:34.980 are gonna be talking about resistance 0:00:32.309,0:00:39.300 there is probably nobody better to 0:00:34.980,0:00:41.760 discuss resistance than the author that 0:00:39.300,0:00:44.190 we'll be discussing and his book which 0:00:41.760,0:00:46.500 is Steven Pressfield and the war of art 0:00:44.190,0:00:47.969 so who's to tell us a little bit about 0:00:46.500,0:00:49.969 Steven Pressfield 0:00:47.969,0:00:53.280 I know his sort of his Wikipedia 0:00:49.969,0:00:56.399 biography but I think you know him a 0:00:53.280,0:00:59.609 little bit better in terms of the 0:00:56.399,0:01:00.960 background and why this book you brought 0:00:59.609,0:01:03.359 up the topic and you sort of have 0:01:00.960,0:01:05.970 championed this this topic and so I'm 0:01:03.359,0:01:08.430 I'm curious about you know what really 0:01:05.970,0:01:12.780 jumped out about pressfield's background 0:01:08.430,0:01:14.820 and and what you know sort of sparked 0:01:12.780,0:01:16.500 your interest in his work and just as 0:01:14.820,0:01:18.540 sort of a little bit of a background for 0:01:16.500,0:01:20.759 folks before you get started at gusto is 0:01:18.540,0:01:21.420 that Pressfield at least at the time 0:01:20.759,0:01:25.409 we're recording 0:01:21.420,0:01:27.659 I think his 73 or 74 years old and he is 0:01:25.409,0:01:29.579 an American author he's written both 0:01:27.659,0:01:33.540 fiction and nonfiction and screenplays 0:01:29.579,0:01:36.990 and people probably most likely know him 0:01:33.540,0:01:38.850 from The Legend of badger fans that's 0:01:36.990,0:01:41.549 probably as big as because it's turned 0:01:38.850,0:01:44.189 into that you know the 2000 film as of 0:01:41.549,0:01:46.500 recent in couple last years several 0:01:44.189,0:01:49.409 years ago he has started a publishing 0:01:46.500,0:01:51.119 house called black Irish books and he 0:01:49.409,0:01:53.460 started that with his his agent Sean 0:01:51.119,0:01:55.740 Coyne and so he has a small publishing 0:01:53.460,0:01:57.930 house but anyway tell us tell us a 0:01:55.740,0:02:00.750 little bit more about Steven Pressfield 0:01:57.930,0:02:02.790 and what makes this topic so near and 0:02:00.750,0:02:05.579 dear to you Lucedale you know press 0:02:02.790,0:02:09.330 field as you said most people know who 0:02:05.579,0:02:11.710 is because of the first book he wrote 0:02:09.330,0:02:15.370 got into 0:02:11.710,0:02:17.410 a movie and and that's you know sadly a 0:02:15.370,0:02:21.250 lot of the reference for the people to 0:02:17.410,0:02:24.220 know that is if the the movie more than 0:02:21.250,0:02:27.520 more than that that said he has 0:02:24.220,0:02:30.610 participated in other movies even some 0:02:27.520,0:02:33.130 of them that people really know but but 0:02:30.610,0:02:35.950 he's here's a quite interesting story 0:02:33.130,0:02:38.980 when he wrote he wrote a book that I 0:02:35.950,0:02:40.810 have no way to to to prove what I'm 0:02:38.980,0:02:44.590 going to say but I think he wrote the 0:02:40.810,0:02:46.720 war of heart for himself and I thought 0:02:44.590,0:02:50.050 telling a story for what his his 0:02:46.720,0:02:52.570 struggles to be in a writer and honestly 0:02:50.050,0:02:55.180 I don't think he thought he was going to 0:02:52.570,0:02:57.490 have that much success but that's 0:02:55.180,0:02:59.560 because he was as he details in the book 0:02:57.490,0:03:03.360 he was homeless living out of his car at 0:02:59.560,0:03:05.590 the time he was writing the war part 0:03:03.360,0:03:08.410 that's why he probably didn't think it 0:03:05.590,0:03:12.070 was gonna be one success well you know 0:03:08.410,0:03:15.520 uh press Hilton right now enjoy a 0:03:12.070,0:03:18.130 certain status as a writer he published 0:03:15.520,0:03:21.160 he bombs delay your burger ones he had 0:03:18.130,0:03:23.920 published some books on his history 0:03:21.160,0:03:27.130 if you fiction history or historic 0:03:23.920,0:03:32.680 fiction if you like history and Romans 0:03:27.130,0:03:35.680 and World War two really his I maybe I 0:03:32.680,0:03:39.400 like them so his books even though some 0:03:35.680,0:03:41.920 of them are our fiction are amazing on 0:03:39.400,0:03:43.690 the content on the historical facts that 0:03:41.920,0:03:47.530 tied up was that fiction to the point 0:03:43.690,0:03:49.300 that really you can come and run and if 0:03:47.530,0:03:51.700 you don't know enough about some of 0:03:49.300,0:03:54.340 those stories you know come and think 0:03:51.700,0:03:56.530 that they have more reality than fiction 0:03:54.340,0:04:01.960 that is one of the things that actually 0:03:56.530,0:04:05.500 make him amazing as a writer his his his 0:04:01.960,0:04:07.810 second novel gates of fires is taught to 0:04:05.500,0:04:10.300 the US military the Naval Academy and at 0:04:07.810,0:04:12.850 Quantico four Marines this is this is 0:04:10.300,0:04:15.850 not like second-class historical fiction 0:04:12.850,0:04:19.060 this is hardcore stuff right right 0:04:15.850,0:04:22.990 one of the things that make him really 0:04:19.060,0:04:24.330 cool really special as a writer is he 0:04:22.990,0:04:29.840 has been able 0:04:24.330,0:04:32.520 to show his humanity you know it takes 0:04:29.840,0:04:35.610 at least on my experience when you look 0:04:32.520,0:04:38.490 at writers and famous people you really 0:04:35.610,0:04:41.490 find two kind of them the ones who are 0:04:38.490,0:04:43.229 perfect and never struggle okay and it 0:04:41.490,0:04:48.750 was expected but they were going to get 0:04:43.229,0:04:51.960 there and the ones who show you all the 0:04:48.750,0:04:54.719 marks that they were led you in their 0:04:51.960,0:04:57.870 way you know I I can tell you as a 0:04:54.719,0:05:01.349 writer I have published II you know 0:04:57.870,0:05:03.240 eleven books and I wish to tell you the 0:05:01.349,0:05:06.780 second one was easier than the first one 0:05:03.240,0:05:09.180 and Dale Evans was easier than the 0:05:06.780,0:05:11.759 second one and sadly that's a lie 0:05:09.180,0:05:14.449 at least has been a lie for me every 0:05:11.759,0:05:17.879 book causes a struggle I'm right now 0:05:14.449,0:05:21.210 finishing a book that is it's difficult 0:05:17.879,0:05:23.909 you know there is a point on writers 0:05:21.210,0:05:26.430 that's what I call the valley of despair 0:05:23.909,0:05:28.529 whatever in his dark mushy you know 0:05:26.430,0:05:30.810 everything that you kind of dislike and 0:05:28.529,0:05:33.330 the only way to finish that book is to 0:05:30.810,0:05:36.440 grow through that valley of despair and 0:05:33.330,0:05:39.960 the work of art come to tell you 0:05:36.440,0:05:43.650 Pressfield version of that he talks to 0:05:39.960,0:05:45.960 what he called the resistance and the 0:05:43.650,0:05:48.960 resistance as he define it is that 0:05:45.960,0:05:52.139 little thing that little voice that tell 0:05:48.960,0:05:54.120 you not to do it but tell you all the 0:05:52.139,0:05:56.430 reasons why you should not do it and 0:05:54.120,0:05:59.099 tell you all the reasons why you should 0:05:56.430,0:06:02.969 quit and when he published that book I 0:05:59.099,0:06:06.419 think it was around 2002 it was really 0:06:02.969,0:06:09.060 this up at the book on his phone it was 0:06:06.419,0:06:11.580 the first time that somebody pinpoint 0:06:09.060,0:06:14.819 that resistance and pinpoint the 0:06:11.580,0:06:18.449 difference between what he called an 0:06:14.819,0:06:20.849 amateur and Arana Pro when he'd make the 0:06:18.449,0:06:24.120 distinction the difference is not that 0:06:20.849,0:06:26.279 the pro doesn't have this resistance the 0:06:24.120,0:06:29.339 difference is the proud owner stop 0:06:26.279,0:06:31.199 because the resistance and he make all 0:06:29.339,0:06:35.639 the difference and even tell his own 0:06:31.199,0:06:37.370 story of when he as a writer changed 0:06:35.639,0:06:39.710 from being what he called 0:06:37.370,0:06:42.980 an amateur rider to being a pro rider 0:06:39.710,...