War has been driven by the desire for conquest throughout history, serving the purpose of spreading and mixing cultures.
Resistance is the force that hinders individuals from pursuing their creative endeavors, and it must be recognized and overcome to create meaningful work.
Surrendering to the greater self, embracing love over fear, and understanding our own mortality provide purpose and meaning to life's creative journey.
Deep dives
The Nature of War and Human Conflict
In this podcast episode, Stephen Pressfield discusses the nature of war and human conflict. He suggests that the urge to conquer and compete has been a universal human imperative throughout history. Pressfield believes that war has served purposes such as spreading cultures and mixing them, but it is fundamentally driven by the desire for conquest. He also explores the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its roots in religion and ethnic tribal identity. Pressfield suggests that true reconciliation can only occur when there is mutual respect and fear between warring sides, allowing them to interact as equals without causing harm to each other.
Resistance and the Creative Process
Pressfield discusses the concept of resistance and its role in the creative process. Resistance is seen as the force that hinders individuals from pursuing their creative endeavors. Pressfield emphasizes the importance of recognizing and facing resistance in order to overcome it and create meaningful work. He notes that resistance evolves as one progresses in their creative journey and that the battle against it is ongoing. Pressfield's approach involves fortifying oneself through rituals, such as going to the gym, and seeking inspiration from the muse or the greater self. He believes that surrendering to the unknown and being open to new ideas propel the creative process forward.
The Ego and Self-Reflection
Pressfield delves into the concepts of ego and self-reflection. He defines the ego as the conscious mind that believes in the reality of death, time, and separation. In contrast, the self represents a greater consciousness that perceives death as an illusion and sees unity among individuals. Pressfield suggests that resistance is driven by the ego's fear and desire to maintain control. He encourages aspiring artists to adopt a mindset of surrendering to the greater self and embracing love over fear. He explains that self-reflection and understanding our own mortality provide purpose and meaning to life's creative journey.
The Source of Creativity: A Continuation of Something Greater
The speaker reflects on the creative process and how it seems to be a continuation of something that happened before and will lead to something else. They mention the uniqueness and theme present in an artist's body of work, suggesting that it comes from a calling or destiny. They propose the idea that creativity involves sampling parts of a previous human or being influenced by a force or consciousness that is trying to communicate with us. Whether it's viewed as a divine presence, a soul, or a force, the speaker emphasizes the existence of a deeper connection and partnership in the creative process.
The Process of Writing and Letting Go
The speaker discusses the process of writing and the importance of letting go and clearing the channel of communication. They mention that it took years of practice and perseverance to reach a point of being more open to the creative flow. They compare it to meditation or drilling technique and highlight the struggle of not being dependent on external factors. The speaker also emphasizes the significance of editing and having an editor, mentioning the role of drafts and genre conventions. They suggest that writing is both a solitary and collaborative process, requiring both the writer's consciousness and a connection to the deeper realms of creativity.
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.
This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify, or support it on Patreon.
Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
OUTLINE:
00:00 – Introduction
05:00 – 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
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