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SkorpivoMusterion
Livin in theTwilight Zone...


Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 9,954
Loc: You can't spell fungus wi...
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Turning Pro
#23477376 - 07/26/16 12:12 AM (7 years, 6 months ago) |
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So I was browsing Amazon books, stumbling from one book to the next 'related book' when I ended up at "Turning Pro" by Steven Pressfield. The top review of this book is what caught my attention. Although the author puts a Christian spin on certain ideas, I nonetheless appreciated the depth of his review. Without reading the book itself (or even planning to), I've been chewing on a particular quote he addressed from the book:
Quote:
"The amateur is an egotist. He takes the material of his personal pain and uses it to draw attention to himself. He creates a "life," a "character," a "personality." The artist and the professional, on the other hand, have turned a corner in their minds. They have succeeded in stepping back from themselves."
Hmm. The professional has turned a corner in their minds. They have succeeded in stepping back from themselves. That's the part that I keep thinking about. What does he really mean by this? I have some ideas in mind, but I'd like to see what others -- or better yet, other pros -- have to say on this.
-------------------- Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.
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Jokeshopbeard
Humble Student

Registered: 11/30/11
Posts: 26,088
Loc: Deep in the system
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This thread was moved from Physical and Mental Well-Being.
Reason: This'll definitely go better here..
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LunarEclipse
Enlil's Official Story


Registered: 10/31/04
Posts: 21,407
Loc: Building 7
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"I'm just doing my job"
What corner did these "pros" turn? The one where they were pure, to the one where they took money in exchange for their work? Seems a slippery slope...
-------------------- Anxiety is what you make it.
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Hobozen


Registered: 11/03/11
Posts: 10,634
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Reminds me of a bit from the book 'By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept' by Paulo Coelho
"A man runs into an old friend who had somehow never been able to make it in life. "I should give him some money", he thinks. But instead he learns that his old friend has grown rich and is actually seeking him out to repay the debts he had run up over the years.
They go to a bar they used to frequent together and the friend buys drinks for everyone there, When they ask him how he became so successful, he answers that until only a few days ago, he had been living the role of the Other.
"What is the Other?", they ask.
"The 'Other' is the one who taught me what I should be like, but not what I am. The Other believes that it is out obligations to spend our entire life thinking about how to get our hands on as much money as possible so that we will not die of hunger when we are old. So we think so much about money and our plans for acquiring it that we discover that we are alive only when our days on earth are practically done. And then it's too late."
"And you? Who are you?"
"I am just like everyone else who listens to their heart: a person who is enchanted by the mystery of life. Who is open to miracles, who experiences joy and enthusiasm for what they do. It's just that the Other, afraid of disappointment, kept me from taking actions".
"But there is suffering in life", one of the listeners said.
"And there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggle for your dreams than to be defeated without ever even knowing what you're fighting for."
"That's it?", another listener asked.
"Yes, that's it. When I learned this, I resolved to become the person I had always wanted to be. The Other stood there in the corner of my room, watching me, but I will never let the Other into myself again - even though it has already tried to frighten me, warning me that it's risky not to think about the future."
"From the moment that I ousted the Other from my life, the Divine Energy began to perform its miracles"."
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RJ Tubs 202


Registered: 09/20/08
Posts: 6,016
Loc: USA
Last seen: 15 hours, 10 minutes
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Quote:
SkorpivoMusterion said:
"The amateur is an egotist. He takes the material of his personal pain and uses it to draw attention to himself. He creates a "life," a "character," a "personality." The artist and the professional, on the other hand, have turned a corner in their minds. They have succeeded in stepping back from themselves."
That's a great quote!
(I'm reading Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art", about the nature of resistance we have to doing what we love)
I think the quote means we must transcend our ego to fully engage and enjoy what we do.
And to do so has significant consequences. I've noticed how I'm surprised when a pro sport star, actor, or musician is interviewed and is quite humble and not self-centered. I think we expect pros to have huge egos, but often they don't.
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FlowerofTitania
Stranger
Registered: 07/26/16
Posts: 29
Last seen: 7 years, 5 months
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I wonder how much truth there really is to this whole "follow your heart bit".
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Hobozen


Registered: 11/03/11
Posts: 10,634
Loc:
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What is heart?
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quinn
some kinda love


Registered: 01/02/10
Posts: 6,799
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Re: Turning Pro [Re: Hobozen]
#23481652 - 07/27/16 08:49 AM (7 years, 6 months ago) |
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my professional opinion is that it is a false dichotomy in that i have met many 'pros' and know of many many 'artists' (like all of them?) who are great at what they do but shitty in other aspects of their lives. 
i mean maybe they can step back from themselves momentarily to perform certain tasks but that's about it imo
-------------------- dripping with fantasy
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RJ Tubs 202


Registered: 09/20/08
Posts: 6,016
Loc: USA
Last seen: 15 hours, 10 minutes
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Quote:
FlowerofTitania said:
I wonder how much truth there really is to this whole "follow your heart bit".
As much truth as Plato's famous line, "Know thyself"
We often feel fear and resistance to learning who we really are.
We'd rather cling to the whole, "I'm not normal" bullshit we feed on.
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balance777
BaLaNcE


Registered: 05/09/15
Posts: 274
Last seen: 10 months, 4 days
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I have Not read this book, but I like that quote as well. To me, he is talking essentially about killing your ego. "Stepping back" from the perspective that sees situations from the me, me, me Point of View. This is a crucial part of personal devolvement. You must separate ,if you will ,from your self(ego) and "step back" in order to view any given situation from an un biased perspective. The amateur isn't yet able to view things without the ego clouding ones self. Imo we're talking about a perspective change only possible when someone can "kill" their ego and become completely honest regarding ones self
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