Do The Work is the newest title by Steven Pressfield, a writer who should need no introduction to regulars at this blog. If you don’t remember, I featured a mini-interview with him back in 2009 talking about a couple of questions related to his famed work The War Of Art. Do The Work continues where The War of Art left off, giving you ideas and tools to assist you in whatever endeavor you choose. Although Pressfield is a writer, this book is not aimed only at writers. Photographers, dieters, business owners, language students, entrepreneurs and indeed anyone seeking to head down a new or at least different path in some aspect of their life will do well to read this.
The central theme of this book is once again the force described as Resistance. It’s not lack of preparation, it’s not lack of finances, it’s not the complexity of the project, it’s resistance. Whether you’re trying to write a screenplay, shoot a National Geographic cover or fit into the jeans you wore at high school, your enemy is resistance. It affects everyone, from the most successful people to the apparent failures. There are a number of different Resistance Points on the path to completion of any project and each of them is looked at here.
Do The Work is the second release by the Domino Project, a new publishing model that is the brainchild of Seth Godin. It serves to create a direct connection between publisher and reader, organized around new avenues of distribution.
For the photographer, Do The Work offers plenty of inspiration and encouragement. It can spur you to go ahead and create something new. Are you an editorial photographer waiting for the phone to ring before you photograph a particular story? Stop waiting – go out and create the story yourself. Advertising photographer with a creative idea that is not being done anywhere? Do it yourself and make it happen.
Do the Work
