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  • The Artist's Journey

  • The Wake of the Hero's Journey and the Lifelong Pursuit of Meaning
  • Written by: Steven Pressfield
  • Narrated by: Steven Pressfield
  • Length: 2 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (153 ratings)

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The Artist's Journey

Written by: Steven Pressfield
Narrated by: Steven Pressfield
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Publisher's Summary

I have a theory about the "Hero's Journey". We all have one. We have many, in fact. But our primary hero's journey is the passage we live out, in real life, before we find our calling. The hero's journey ends when, like Odysseus, we return home to Ithaca, to the place from which we started.

What then?

The passage that comes next is the "Artist's Journey".

On our artist's journey, we move past resistance and past self-sabotage. We discover our true selves and our authentic calling, and we produce the works we were born to create.

You are an artist too - whether you realize it or not, whether you like it or not - and you have an artist's journey. Will you live it out? Will you follow your muse and do the work you were born to do?

Ready or not, you are called.

©2018 Black Irish Books, LLC (P)2018 Black Irish Book, LLC

What listeners say about The Artist's Journey

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Next level depth

You are here in the reviews looking for a comment that will help you justify the buy. (as was I) .... buy it. You won't be the same after.

10 people found this helpful

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Inclusive and profoundly insightful

I've never heard a male artist use the female pronoun so often and it is an amazing experience to be so recognized this way. Thank you! Steven Pressfield, the author of many best sellers including The Legend of Bagger Vance, writes with absolute authority on the experience of being a human with a seed of desire and a dormant, demanding inspiration- which is ALL of us. He believes in the mystical and makes his case for the existence of a force greater than ourselves pressing us to express our inner art whatever medium that might require- writing, painting, advocacy, film, music, leadership, anything that takes a Point of View and puts it out into the world with the full force of intentionality behind it. If you wish to add this to the alchemy found in Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" you'll have the tools to finally channel your muse, mission, madness and relieve the internal pressure of having an untapped PURPOSE.

6 people found this helpful

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My reaction to this idea

Wow. I’m totally inspired! I’m sure this is one of those books I will read over and over as I mature on my AJ! Thank you for putting it out there. I sure needed to know that my art is important and purposeful and that I can take it very seriously even if others don’t, a battle I’ve wrestled with all my life. I know you’re right. ❤️😀🌷🇨🇦

4 people found this helpful

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Break-Neck Pace, Packs-A-Punch Guidance

I was constantly pausing to drop an electronic bookmark on phrases that struck me as particularly profound, either in their uniqueness, or their downright simplicity. And most often it was the simplicity of the ideas that I enjoyed the most.

It’s a super quick read/listen, actually, it clips along at break-neck speed, and it’s full of great little nuggets of info to light a little fire under our asses to create. It’s stuff most of us know, or have heard in passing, but it packs a good punch as a reminder, and sprinkles in some unique points of view.

Here are some quotes that I appreciated:

“You can attend the Iowa Writers Workshop, get a degree in literature from Harvard, hang on your wall a framed MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. You can serve with the Navy Seals in Afghanistan, survive heroin addiction in East St. Louis, you can break you back in hard labour, break your heart in love, break your balls in the school of hard knocks. None of it will do a damn bit of good if you can’t sit down and open a pipeline to your muse. The artists journey is about that, nothing else matters, nothing else counts.”

“The artist mines the same vein over and over, he just digs deeper over time.”

“The struggle between an artist and her work is a duel to the death. One of them is going to surrender. One of them will go belly up.”

“The artist discovers herself by the work she produces. Who are you? Dance and find out. Sing and find out. Write and find out.”

2 people found this helpful

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Things you know but maybe don’t “know”

Picked this up after getting through “the war of art” and this book was just as good. If you’re an aspiring artist or entrepreneur, this will help you unpack the things around you that try to stop you from being an artist. I’ve felt a lot of what he’s talking about for a long time now, it’s nice to be able to have someone break it down so accurately.

2 people found this helpful

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awesome but why so many chapters?

Great book but why so many chapters for such a short book? There were over 100?... it took away from the experience everytime Steven would start a new chapter. Other than that a fantastic book for anyone, but especially artists, still 5 star despite the distraction of a new chapter 2 minutes after the previous one.

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Glib Soundbites

I think this is more apt to be considered an expired Twitter feed than a book. 2 sentences in a chapter?

That was a waste.

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  • Ben
  • 2018-10-08

His best book

Loved it. Especially the philosophical last third of the book. Takes his ideas from The War of Art, Turning Pro and Do the Work to the next level.

2 people found this helpful

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Strong, powerful and amazing book

This book gets you into “ready to do it” mode. Now you can enjoy the process of creating humanity’s future with a great sense of purpose. The author goes from mundane to deep spiritual information which touched my body, mind and soul deeply. I loved this book and highly recommend it!

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I enjoyed the book but I will have to re-read it t

An excellent and deep subject that requires a second reading. I enjoyed Steven Pressfield's reading and his personal insights.

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2018-07-30

It will give you strength

Are you a wanna be artist?
Are you struggling with procrastination?
Are you feeling the need for inspiration?
Do you feel like giving up your dreams? Your goals? Your life?

PLEASE! Do yourself a favour, and listen to this book!

25 people found this helpful

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  • Bianca
  • 2018-12-20

Should Not Have Been Made into an Audiobook



I have several issues with this book.

I’d like to preface that I thought when I purchased this that I was the target audience. That could not have been further from the truth. It seemed to me to be mostly for people who have yet to start on the journey the book is about, as a majority of his wisdoms seemed self-evident to someone who has already made the commitment to the artist’s journey. This would be fine. I enjoy hearing my creative experience ratified or vindicated by others as much as the next person, but the way Pressfield goes about it here is a waste of time.

In my opinion, this should not have been made into an audiobook. It is something to skim—because there IS no depth to miss—and flick through. Given this book’s bullet like style, I won’t go so far as to say The Artist’s Journey indicates Pressfield doesn’t understand what chapters are for, but a lot of them could have been merged together. Nearly every minute he starts a new chapter—this is not an exaggeration. With more than 115 chapters within just two and a half hours, the constant interruption is exhausting. It is JARRING to have to listen to him constantly cutting to a new chapter. Just when you think he might be delving into a topic to give some PRACTICAL advice, it’s apparently time for a new chapter. Pressfield doesn’t really have much to offer in terms of practical advice anyway as this book has a lot to do with personal commitment and spiritual devotion to the artist’s call, which is fine! Sometimes you just need to hear something like this to reaffirm why you do what you do. However, I found it deeply frustrating; like I had just wasted my hard earned money on hastily written fluff.

Obviously with so many chapters in such a short book, Pressfield never gives himself the space to dig into any of the subjects with any depth. He will end some chapters with questions—that he doesn't answer. He will give quotes and say ‘wow that’s some heavy stuff,' then breeze right along as if he didn’t need to a.) unpack the quote or b.) relate it back to his own work. It was very frustrating.

Another issue I had was he spends about twenty minutes or so discussing what is essentially Auteur Theory—yet somehow, never mentions that this is a Thing which he is paraphrasing. I find it impossible to believe that Pressfield, who has worked in the movie business, has never heard of this and it would not have taken more than half a sentence to say he was drawing on the idea. Moreover there were a few famous personages he was using as examples without even saying their names? Yeah, these are big names, but that doesn’t mean the reader will know who they are from the titles of their body of work alone. And then he doesn’t pull out the themes these auteurs are working towards, as if they are self-evident. Maybe they are, but he should still say it, if only to establish himself as an authority on the subject. He doesn’t even come out and tell the reader what greater theme his own daemon is leading him toward—though he implies he has one. And I have to say it is not self-evident from the titles of his books.

Occasionally, rarely, he will give real life examples, but Pressfield frequently leaves out the specifics. It is probable he was being vague to protect the innocent, but the way he tells them, these SCANT examples sound more like parables than anything that an aspirant could USE. Honestly one of them left me with the suspicion if it had actually even happened rather than the inspiration it was meant to invoke.

One positive is you can hear Pressfield’s excitement and commitment to his personal journey as he reads. You know he’s happy to be sharing his particular paradigm which is cool, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the waste of time and money I felt this particular effort was.

16 people found this helpful

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  • J Alligan
  • 2018-08-07

Excellent Addition to the "War of Art" series

This was an excellent addition to Pressfield's "War of Art" series. This book happens to come at a perfect time for me personally - I am quitting my job to pursue my art. I really appreciate the guidance and mental model afforded by this book. I can already tell it will be impactful on my life in the same way "War of Art", "Turning Pro", and "Do the Work" have been.

11 people found this helpful

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  • Janice Windt
  • 2018-07-29

I am an artist.

Steven, thank-you. Your exploration of your Subject has deepened in exactly the way you so eloquently describe in this magnificent work. The Legend of Bagger Vance moved me to tears at age 20 and now I finally understand why. Thank-you for helping me see my hero’s journey for what it so clearly was and now, with great excitement and trepidation continue with open eyes on my Artist’s Journey. I am forever in your debt.

7 people found this helpful

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  • Ritsoku Fushi
  • 2018-08-13

Awesome

As always Steve does a fantastic job. This book is amazing. Glad he went into the mystical aspects of this work.

6 people found this helpful

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  • GardensAll
  • 2019-06-01

Another Epic Pressfield Book

Another brilliant book by Steven Pressfield. I LOVE that Steven read the audio version! Our audience is creators: writers, artists, entrepreneurs... anyone creating anything, and the struggles Pressfield talks about is uber real, and just as uber avoidable. Steven inspires us to win the battle against the dragon of resistance, in the words and wisdom of one who has done just that. Master... Steven Pressfield, author extraordinaire... thank you for your legacy to the world.

LeAura Alderson
iCreateDaily

4 people found this helpful

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  • Richard Peterson
  • 2019-03-14

Great listen for artists

If you are a creative person, this is a lucid and inspiring work that takes you to unexpected far-reaching places. The author thinks much like I do, and helped me understand and confidently embrace my own eccentric nature as an artist. Fun words with great narration, too!

4 people found this helpful

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  • P. Yanov
  • 2019-02-22

a nod to the magic that lies within the artist

This book is a kick in the pants with a bit of whimsy. Steven Pressfield delivers his deeply personal ideas on what it means to be an artist. this is a book that I return to again and again. It is filled with bite-sized chunks of wisdom and advice. there are ideas here that will inspire you, maybe even propel you forward. there is an undeniable charm in understanding that your work is heroic. There is power and knowing that others have gone before and had the troubles you've had.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Andrea
  • 2018-08-06

Incredible

Really gets to the heart of what being an artist is, and what artists mean to the world.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Bat Melech
  • 2019-07-21

Thanks

It is a book to be heard few times. I felt like talking to the architype of the old wise man. For me it was a rare and comforting experience. Gives enough air to move on. Thanks

2 people found this helpful