PNTV - Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield

You're listening to Optimize with Bryan Johnson. More wisdom in less time. Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to Philosopher's Notes tv. Today we're going to look at one of my favorite books, Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield. Turning pro, Steven Pressfield. We've got five big ideas pulled from this note which was pulled from this great book. Steven Pressfield, he wrote the War of Art. Highly recommend that. Wrote the Legend of Bagger Vance, which is a movie starring Matt Damon and Will Smith. It's really the Bhagavad Gita set on a golf course. Bagger Vance, Bhagavad Gita. He also wrote the Gates of Fire, do the Work, and a bunch of other books. Really, really prolific, brilliant creator who's also really honest and open about the creative process. He talks about turning pro and dealing with the resistance that we face when we do our creative work. That was the theme of his first book, the War of Art. And the idea was you need to move from being an amateur. The idea of the amateur is based on the word, the Latin word for to love. So an amateur is said to love what they do. They're an amateur. They love it. Steve says, not the way I see it. If you really, really loved something, you turn pro. You wouldn't do it part time, you wouldn't do it as a hobby, you'd do it full time. You'd be all in, you'd be a pro. So the challenge in the world of art was to turn pro. And this book unpacks where he left off in that book of, well, how do we turn pro? So there's the overview, five big ideas. We're going to start with shadow callings. Shadow callings. Shadow callings are those things, those activities that look like a calling, but they're not quite it. They're kind of a metaphor for the real calling. And I'm going to share my own personal story because it, I think, does a pretty good job of representing what a shadow calling might look like as you explore whether you are pursuing a true calling or a shadow calling, where you may know that you're not pursuing either one. But I'll tell you a little story starts like this. Steve and I were having breakfast almost four years ago, three and a half years ago, four years ago in May. I'm recording this in early part of 2015, right? So we're having breakfast, eating some oatmeal and strawberries. This is when I was still vegan. And we're talking about his work, my work, classic Greek virtue. And he knew that I had given myself a PhD in how to live and optimal living, integrating ancient wisdom, modern science, virtue mastery, common sense, fun is how I like to describe it. And during the breakfast he asked me, as we were talking about classic Greek virtue, have you ever considered creating a modern day Plato's Academy? A modern day Plato's Academy? And I had one of those like choir of angel moments. Ah, there's like this chorus of beautiful music going on in my head. And I thought, that's an amazing question. What would a modern day Plato's Academy look like? And I went home and I bought a URL that night. And of course Plato's Modern Academy would be online. And I had the idea that I'd go get all of my favorite teachers and friends to teach everything from doctors teaching on nutrition and fitness and overall well being, to positive psychologists talking about the science of happiness, creativity experts, leadership experts, parenting experts, relationship experts, everything that goes into optimal living and went into it pretty hard, as I tend to do. First year we produced 100 classes, learned a ton, tweaked it a bit, did some other stuff, and then we produced 500 classes. Last year, in the first year of doing it, kind of our second version of it, we had hundreds of professors and it was pretty exciting. And then I realized we're going to talk about epiphanies and how they're ecstatic. Hell, I realized that I was living a shadow calling. I had this epiphany and I realized, oh my God, I got it completely backward. The reality is, if I was going to answer the question properly and create a modern day Plato's Academy. Well, Plato didn't do what I just described. Plato didn't go out to Asia, go out through Europe and through the Middle east and find all the best teachers and bring them into his institution, to his academy. He would have been an administrator. Had he done that, he wouldn't have been a philosopher, he would have been an administrator. Plato, as the historical fact reveals, taught a couple classes a day. He had an intro class in the morning and he had an advanced class in the afternoon, evening. But he was the only teacher, essentially. And I literally had one of those face palm moments of oh my God. I just spent the last three and a half years, a lot of money, hired a lot of people, recruited a lot of people to get involved in it. And I got it pretty much completely wrong. I was close shadow calling, but off. What was my real calling? My real calling was to do this work, to be the teacher. And I'm not comparing myself to Plato, but from that model. To be a lover of wisdom, to be a philosopher. That is what my calling is. So my process of turning pro was to identify that I was pursuing a shadow calling. Looked good, sounded good. We were doing some pretty good stuff. It was metaphorically representative of what I should be doing, but it wasn't it. This is what I'm supposed to be doing. And it was a big process for me, which we'll talk about a little bit more, to recognize the shadow calling. So you share that story to help you see if you might be living a shadow calling. That was my shadows calling. So how about you? Are you living in authentic calling? We got a little shadow work in there. Are you really doing what you're here to do? Because ultimately that's what we're all about. Oftentimes, like me, what I did was I kept myself so busy doing something else, driving in the wrong direction. It didn't give myself time to do what I felt really called to do until I made some shifts. Let's go to this third big idea. Ecstatic hell. So I had an epiphany. Steve talks about one of his friends and the great epiphany that she had as a songwriter. And there's an epiphany. And that epiphany is simultaneously ecstatic because. Because you make a distinction. That's huge for you. And it's hell because it requires you to basically blow up the life that you have. It's ecstatic and it's hell. Joseph Campbell. I talk about it in the note. Joseph Campbell talks about the fact that one cannot have a resurrection without a crucifixion. Nietzsche says, the snake that cannot shed its skin must perish. You have to die to the old version of you to give birth to the new version of you. And guess what? Crucifixions, last time I checked, aren't too pleasant. That process can be excruciating, and it certainly was for me. As I kind of went back to the shadow calling, realized that I had some cleanup to do. We basically stopped doing a ton of stuff. Had to lay off a ton of our team, which sucked. Had to let hundreds of our partners know that we were no longer going to pursue the vision we had just sold them on over the last month. Quarter year sucked. Let our investors know this is what we're going to be doing. Not the most fun experience, but there was a deeper sense of truth there that I know I knew I needed to get to. And that process was part of turning pro. But remember, as we go through that and we turn pro, it's not easy. Steve says, you got to be a little crazy to actually lean into this and to truly go after that, what you feel is the deepest truth. We can talk about that a lot more. I will leave it at that. Ecstatic, how exciting. And, ah, what did I do? And what do I need to do? So then we look at the amateur vis a vis the pro. So again, this is what we're comparing here, the amateur versus the pro. The primary difference between the amateur and the pro, Steve tells us, is the habits that each has. So an amateur has amateur or addictive habits, do things compulsively, not particularly effective habits, and the pro has really, really solid habits, the habits of a professional, which obviously he unpacks. Throughout the book, he also talks about the fact that when you turn pro, your days change like that. And it's funny because I used to have. And oftentimes it's effortless. You just get clear. You turn pro, you are now committed to a certain path, and things just fall away. I used to have to challenge myself to go to bed early, to. To quit, going to ESPN for distraction or stimulation or news again, or email again and again and again. As I turned pro and truly committed myself to this, to this craft, those distractions fell away. My habits changed. Amateur habits, pro habits. These tend to be addictive. These tend to be very conscious, aware, committed. And they're also like a practice. So a practice. Steve outlines the key aspects of what a practice is all about. A practice is basically the context in which habits exist. So you do certain things that are part of your broader practice. You can have a practice for yoga or tai chi or whatever you want to fill in the blank with. When you turn pro, you have a practice for your profession. It's a rigorous set of behaviors that you engage in that help you ultimately connect to that thing that's bigger than you. Whether you call it, as he says, the muse or God or the universe or creative intelligence or whatever phrase or word you use, that's what a practice is all about. Something you engage in on a consistent basis that allows you to connect to something bigger than yourself, such that that essence can flow through you in a more consistent manner. That's a practice. We want to cultivate that as we turn pro. And then the final big idea here is you are the hero, period. Steve says the hero wanders, the hero suffers, and the hero returns. To use Campbellian mythology, the hero wanders, goes off into the forest of the unknown, Campbell tells us where there's a path, that's the one sure sign that it's not your path. You've got to enter the forest at the darkest point. There is no path. That's how you know it's your path. You enter that. You wander, you suffer, you fight dragons and demons and other challenges and you win the treasure and you come back. You return. Campbell says that's actually often the hardest part of the whole process. You bring the boon back, you bring the treasure back. Well, Steve tells us you are the hero of that story. You are the hero of your own life when you choose to move from being an amateur in whatever you're doing to being a pro you. And he says, we need your gifts. All of us need your gifts. And we're going to gladly pay to enjoy them. So there you go, Quick, super quick look at Turning Pro. I shared some of my wonderful exploits in the shadow world. Almost there. Not quite ecstatic. Hell, epiphany is liberating. And it's also not quite what we want to hear. We got to go do the work. It can't be a resurrection without a crucifixion. We've got to be willing to die to the old version of ourselves, to give birth to the new version. Shed our skin or we will perish, as Nietzsche says, at least for the snake. And then what changes? Our habits change. Our days change. We create practices that help us turn pro and stay there consistently and recommit. We remember at the end of the day, we are the hero of our own story. Turning Pro Steven Pressfield. The War of Art also rocks. Do the Work is amazing as well. We'll have more on all that coming up. Hope you enjoyed it. What's the idea that landed that most resonated with you? That just reminded you of something you already know? How do you take that and apply it to your life more consistently? Hope you had one of those aha's and I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to sharing more with you soon. Have another awesome day. See you. Hi, this is Brian. I hope you enjoyed that Philosopher's Notes TV episode. If so, I think you'll enjoy everything else we offer at BrianJohnson. Me. Two basic things. One, our free newsletter. It's called the Optimizer. Over 50,000 people start their day with it and they tell us it's pretty awesome. And two, our optimal living membership program. 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