Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield: Summary & Notes

• Turning pro is a decision to commit fully
• The amateur is driven by fear; the pro overcomes it daily
• Pros show up every day regardless of inspiration
• The shadow life: when we pursue addictions instead of our calling
• Territory vs hierarchy: work for the work, not for approval
• Habits beat inspiration

• Artists and creators stuck as amateurs
• Anyone who has read The War of Art
• People who sabotage their own success
• Those ready to take their work seriously

Quotes

• “I was 31. I had saved up $2,700 and moved from New York City to a little town in northern California. I rented a house behind another house for $105 a month. I had my old Chevy van, my Smith-Corona typewriter, and my cat, Mo.
• Every Monday morning I walked into the village to the Bank of America and took out $25. That sum lasted me for the next seven days.
• I didn’t talk to anybody during my year of turning pro. I didn’t hang out. I just worked. I had a book in mind and I had decided I would finish it or kill myself. I could not run away again, or let people down again, or let myself down again. This was it, do or die.”

Notes

• Ambition is primal, and our life’s purpose is to pursue that ambition.
• If we’re scared of our true calling, we’ll often pursue a “shadow career”—something that resembles our true calling in some way, but isn’t actually it.
• The shadow life is characterized by pursuing the wrong things, often in the form of addiction.
• We are addicted to distraction. And overcoming Resistance requires two things: concentration and depth.
• When we project a quality or virtue onto someone else, we almost always possess that quality ourselves, but are afraid to embrace it.

The amateur is characterized by many things:

• They are easily distracted
• They permit fear to stop them from acting
• They seek instant gratification
• They care too much about the opinions of others

When we turn Pro:

• We structure our days to overcome our fears
• We no longer indulge the distractions we used to
• We make new friends who are also facing their fears, and lose those that refuse to do so

The professional:

• Will not be distracted
• Is ruthless with themself
• Lives in the present
• Defers gratification
• Does not wait for inspiration
• Shows up every day
• Is committed over the long haul
• Accepts no excuses
• Is prepared
• Does not hesitate to ask for help
• Does not take failure or success personally
• Endures adversity

As artists and entrepreneurs we receive two salaries:

• Conventional: money, applause, attention
• Psychological: when we do work for itself alone, our pursuit becomes something larger: a practice.

What is a practice? It has:

• A space
• A time
• An intention