I have a friend who admires me for being a writer. He always talked about writing a book and I am pleased to say he has finished his book! It will soon be published.
But that isn’t what this blog post is about.
This post is about two different writing philosophies.
Visiting my friends house one day I noticed that he had two books on his coffee table. He may have put them there for my benefit. This was before he actually started writing his book.
And the thing that really struck me about these two books was the philosophy of each writer. They are polar opposites when it comes to the craft of writing. – Which I believe transposes very well to any pursuit, not just writing.
Let me explain.
The two writers are Steven Pressfield and Timothy Ferriss. And both are enormously “successful” if you look at success through the lens of money.
But there is a profound difference between these two writers.
Steven Pressfield espouses mastering your craft through hard work. And he even has written a book about this. The book is entitled “Do the work”. You can find it on Amazon.
And, if I remember correctly he tells his story. Early in his career he decided to go all in and become the best writer he could become. He would put in the work to master his craft. Living very frugally he stayed in a trailer out in the woods somewhere and focused solely on his writing. It was an obsession for him. And it paid off. He is a remarkable, and successful, writer. And his ethos shows in his selection of what he writes about. And his writing is beautiful.
Timothy Ferriss has taken a different tact. He espouses taking every shortcut you can find, doing as little “work” as possible, and getting everyone else to do as much work as possible.
And this shows in his writing. He uses a variety of psychological manipulations to manipulate the reader. The real focus of his energy is on marketing and hype. Everything points toward getting you to buy his books.
I guess that is a criticism. But, I have to respect his life choices. It is his life and he is right to pursue it any way he chooses.
But I don’t agree with his philosophy. I think that if fame and income are the only true goals you have lost something. Fame and money are a vapor. They have no intrinsic meaning.
For me, the goal, parallels that of Steven Pressfield.
What becomes of me during this process of book writing? Do I become a better human being. Do I increase my depth of understanding of myself and the World? And do I successfully share this with others?
Fame and Money are a false reality
This is not what life is truly about. We have been deceived. Don’t take shortcuts. Do the work.