If you want to be YESsed to death, I know a few business consultants that you can hire. They have great pedigrees and as long as you pay their hourly rate, they will tell you how wonderful you are, how everything you do is the greatest thing; and that there are just a few tweaks here and there that need to be ironed out . . .

Then, there’s Steven Pressfield who dares to tell you with a straight face, “Better to be stupid than to be smart”, which makes you ponder:

• I’ve been called smart in my life, actually I’ve been told that I am very smart; and it made me feel good, really good. I thanked those individuals profusely for going out of their way to pay me those compliments.  In my eyes they are pretty smart people themselves.
• I’ve been called stupid (not many times, I swear).  Shame on those people.

I can assure you that after reading Steven’s latest book Do the Work not only I feel smarter, in a dumber kind of way, but I truly believe that he’s got a point. Or two, or three . . .

Do the Work is unadulterated, un-coated preventive medicine for the Artist-Entrepreneur in you.  It is not bitter, in fact it is quite humorous.

“Doctor” Pressfield’s prescription covers an interesting array of modern day maladies:

1. The pursuit of any calling in writing, painting, music, film, dance, or any creative art, however marginal or unconventional.
2. The launching of any entrepreneurial venture or enterprise, for profit or otherwise.
3. Any diet or health regimen.
4. Any program of spiritual advancement.
5. Any activity whose aim is the acquisition of chiseled abdominals.
6. Any course or program designed to overcome an unwholesome habit or addiction.
7. Education of every kind.
8. Any act of political, moral, or ethical courage, including the decision to change for the better some unworthy pattern of thought or conduct in ourselves.
9. The undertaking of any enterprise or endeavor whose aim is to help others.
10. Any act that entails commitment of the heart – the decision to get married, to have a child, to weather a rocky patch in a relationship.
11. The taking of any principled stand in the face of adversity.

In other word, any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity.

It’s a fast read in terms of quantity (lower cap, of course), but it is an important read in terms of Quality (let’s capitalize what’s important); important for anyone involved in DO-ing and Creating Art, in whichever form your Art presents itself.

But wait, there’s more!  In the present transition state of the publishing industry at large, this project represents a rare piece of innovation since the Kindle edition is free, always free thanks to the generous sponsorship by GE, and part of uncle Seth’s Domino Project.

Chances are you’ll read it at once, you’ll love a good part of it, let’s say half.  You’ll hate the other half; and it’s this second half that – if you are like me – will make you go back and re-read it again. And then you don’t want to read anything else, go on a reading diet; and stART something ASAP.

If you are smart, don’t read it.
If you are stupid you might already know everything in there, but something inside you tells you that it’s worth a refreshment, so that you can get closer to be a stupid genius (a process, not a destination).

Related Steven Pressfield’s videos at SODBTV.com

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{Photography by Paul Downey}