Steven Pressfield: The War of Art | Lex Fridman Podcast #102

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

June 20, 2020

Duration

1h 27m

Channel

Lex Fridman Podcast

Watch on YouTube

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📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Steven Pressfield is a historian and author of War of Art, a book that had a big impact on my life and the life of millions of whose passion is to create in art, science, business, sport, and everywhere else. I highly recommend it and others of his books on this topic, including Turning Pro, Do the Work, Nobody Wants to Read Your Shit, and the Warrior Ethos. Also his books Gates of Fire about the Spartans and the battle at Thermopylae, The Lion's Gate, Tides of War, and others are some of the best historical fiction novels ever written. Support this podcast by signing up with these sponsors:

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EPISODE LINKS: Steven's Website: https://stevenpressfield.com/ Steven's Twitter: https://twitter.com/SPressfield Steven's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steven_pressfield/ Books:

• The War of Art: https://amzn.to/2BkNHL3
• Do the Work: https://amzn.to/2NelGaJ
• Turning Pro: https://amzn.to/2Ykqu4w
• The Warrior Ethos: https://amzn.to/2YkqwJG
• The Lion's Gate: https://amzn.to/3hOcyb1
• Gates of Fire: https://amzn.to/2AXsh6K

PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 5:00 - Nature of war 11:43 - The struggle within 17:11 - Love and hate in a time of war 25:17 - Future of warfare 28:31 - Technology in war 30:10 - What it takes to kill a person 32:22 - Mortality 37:30 - The muse 46:09 - Editing 52:19 - Resistance 1:10:41 - Loneliness 1:12:24 - Is a warrior born or trained? 1:13:53 - Hard work and health 1:18:41 - Daily ritual CONNECT:

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🎤 SPEAKERS

• Lex Fridman

  host

• Steven Pressfield

  guest

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Lex Fridman and Steven Pressfield, Steven Pressfield: The War of Art | Lex Fridman Podcast #102 explores steven Pressfield on War, Resistance, and Serving the Creative Muse Lex Fridman and Steven Pressfield explore war both as a historical reality and as a metaphor for the inner battles of the creative life. Pressfield argues that humans are still tribal cave-people at heart, making conflict inevitable, but believes outer wars mirror a deeper spiritual war within each person. They dive into his concept of Resistance—the ego-driven force that blocks creative work—and contrast it with the higher self that seeks meaning, love, and service to a “muse.” The conversation also covers Israel’s wars, mortality and reincarnation, the discipline and health of a writer’s daily routine, and what it really means to be a professional and a “warrior” in art.

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