ARCHIVES OF November, 2009
By Steven Pressfield | Published: November 30, 2009
[Some of the smartest and most interesting input we've received on this blog has come from the Comments section. Alas, such contributions often go unnoticed, buried as they are in the "back pages." In an attempt to rectify this, I'd like to present here on the front page a very insightful response to Maj. Jim Gant's paper, "One Tribe At A Time," from former infantry platoon leader and Brigade Intelligence Officer Jim Gourley--along with a reply-in-depth from Maj. Gant. This is long, but worth it. I've edited the piece lightly for acronyms and so forth.]
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By Steven Pressfield | Published: November 27, 2009
[The blog is taking Thanksgiving off; we'll repost last week's interview below.
[On this day of gratitude, though, I want to offer a major thank-you to our weekly series contributors, Chief Ajmal Khan Zazai and Maj. Jim Gant; thanks to everyone who has logged onto the blog, circulated it and linked to it; and special thanks to all who have contributed to the Comments section. Many of the comments have been so insightful and so brilliantly-articulated (we've had input from troopers in the field, from veterans of all theaters and every war back to WWII; we've heard from officers who served with the Montagnards and Pashtun warriors who fought the Russians and many more) that I'm trying to figure a way to translate the best stuff off the Comments boxes, which are sort of like the interior pages of a newspaper, and move it out onto the "front page," where it's more visible. We'll start Monday with a special post and do it again from time to time when the occasion prompts it. (more…)
By Steven Pressfield | Published: November 25, 2009
There’s a story in The War of Art about the afternoon when I finally, finally finished my first novel manuscript–after failing ignominiously in numerous attempts over the previous ten years. I was living in a little town in Northern California then; I trotted down the street to my friend and mentor Paul Rink and told him the triumphant news. “Good for you,” he said without looking up. “Start the next one tomorrow.”
There’s big-time wisdom in what Paul said and here’s why: (more…)
