Steven Pressfield Quotes

When Krishna instructed Arjuna that we have a right to our labor but not to the fruits of our labor, he was counseling the warrior to act territorially, not hierarchically. We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause.

Call it overstatement but I'll say it anyway: it was easier for Hitler to start World War II than it was for him to face a blank square of canvas.

A king does not expend his substance to enslave men, but by his conduct and example makes them free.

The writer is an infantryman. He knows that progress is measured in yards of dirt extracted from the enemy one day, one hour, one minute at a time and paid for in blood. The artist wears combat boots.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” Begin it now.

A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate. Don’t think. Act.

Then there’s the third way proffered by the Lord of Discipline, which is beyond both hierarchy and territory. That is to do the work and give it to Him. Do it as an offering to God. Give the act to me. Purged of hope and ego,

The clash is epic and internal, between the ego and the Self, and the stakes are our lives.

Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance.

Sjećaš li se,Dijaneče,kad smo se borili s Tebancima kod Eritreje?Kad su se slomili i pobjegli?Bio je to prvi bijeg kojem sam svjedočio.Zaprepastio me je.Postoji li primitivniji i više ponižavajući prizor pod suncem nego kad se falanga slama zbog straha?Zbog njega se čovjek srami što je smrtnik,kad ugleda tkavu neplemenitost čak i kod neprijatelja.To krši sve božje zakone.Samoubojičino lice koje se pretvorilo u grimasu prijezira sada se razvedrilo u nešto veselije.Ah,ali suprotno njemu:linija koja se drži ! Može li išta biti veličanstvenije,plemenitije?!

Be brave, my heart [wrote the poet and mercenary Archilochus]. Plant your feet and square your shoulders to the enemy. Meet him among the man-killing spears. Hold your ground. In victory, do not brag; in defeat, do not weep.

Resistance is directly proportional to love. If you're feeling massive Resistance, the good news is, it means there's tremendous love there too. If you didn't love the project that is terrifying you, you wouldn't feel anything. The opposite of love isn't hate; it's indifference.

It is that peculiar soldiers’ humor which springs from the experience of shared misery and often translates poorly to those not on the spot and enduring the same hardship.

Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got.

RESISTANCE CAN BE BEATEN If Resistance couldn't be beaten, there would be no Fifth Symphony, no Romeo and Juliet, no Golden Gate Bridge. Defeating Resistance is like giving birth. It seems absolutely impossible until you remember that women have been pulling it off successfully, with support and without, for fifty million years.