#642: Steven Pressfield on Going from Truck Driver to Bestselling Novelist, Overcoming Self-Sabotage, Building Momentum, Dancing with the Muse, Turning Pro, and Letting Your Underground River Flow

Brought to you
by MasterClass online
video lessons taught by 180+ of the world’s best,
Athletic Greens all-in-one
nutritional supplement, and Eight Sleep’s Pod
Pro Cover sleeping solution for dynamic
cooling and heating.


Steven Pressfield (@SPressfield) was 52 years
old before his first novel was published. Since then, he has
written the million-sellers Gates of Fire and The War of Art, as
well as The Legend of Bagger Vance, A Man at Arms, and many
others. His newest book, the memoir Govt Cheese,
is about those years before that first publication. It is coming
out on December 30th, and you can pre-order signed copies here.


Please enjoy!


*


This episode is brought to you
by Athletic
Greens. I get asked all the time,
“If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My
answer is usually AG1 by Athletic Greens, my
all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The
4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my
best with nutrient-dense meals, of course,
but AG further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals,
and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and
the immune system. 


Right now, Athletic
Greens is offering you their Vitamin D
Liquid Formula free with your first subscription
purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and
strong
bones. Visit AthleticGreens.com/Tim to
claim this special offer today and receive the free Vitamin D
Liquid Formula (and five free travel packs) with your first
subscription purchase! That’s up to a one-year
supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious
and comprehensive all-in-one daily greens product.


*


This episode is also brought to you
by Eight
Sleep! Eight
Sleep’s Pod Cover is
the easiest and fastest way to sleep at the perfect
temperature. It pairs dynamic cooling and heating with
biometric tracking to offer the most advanced (and user-friendly)
solution on the market. Simply add the Pod Cover to
your current mattress and start sleeping as cool as 55°F or as
hot as 110°F. It also splits your bed in half, so your partner
can choose a totally different temperature.


For a limited time, Eight Sleep is offering my listeners
up to $450 off their Sleep Fit Holiday Bundle, which includes my
personal favorite, the Pod 3 Cover. Go
to EightSleep.com/Tim to
get the exclusive holiday savings. Eight Sleep
currently ships within the USA, Canada, the UK, select countries
in the EU, and Australia. That’s EightSleep.com/Tim


*


This episode is also brought to you
by MasterClass! With MasterClass,
you can learn from the world’s best
minds—anytime, anywhere, and at your own pace. With more
than 180 classes from a range of world-class instructors, that
thing you’ve always wanted to do is closer than you think.


MasterClass’s cinema-quality lessons give you
unparalleled access to renowned instructors, who share
everything from how to execute specific techniques to insights
about their craft that can be translated across many fields and
disciplines. This holiday, give one annual
membership and get one free! Go
to Masterclass.Com/Ferriss today.


*


[05:51] Ambition in a halfway house.


[09:30] Evanescent dreams.


[10:37] Helpful self-delusions.


[13:28] What’s in a name?


[19:18] Trimming fiction’s fat beyond the first draft.


[22:06] The Paul Rink method of maintaining Blitzkrieg momentum.


[25:48] Other pearls of Paul Rink perspicacity.


[28:08] A transition from aspiring fiction writer to prolific
author.


[32:05] A hint from Hemingway.


[33:15] Positive self-delusion.


[35:26] Writing fiction isn’t self-indulgence. It’s an
obligation.


[40:44] How does writing fiction fit into my life? Is it a top
priority?


[51:04] Why Steven wrote Govt Cheese.


[53:34] A pivotal slap in the face.


[55:48] Seeking home from the wilderness.


[58:46] Banishing depression by finding profundity in the absurd.


[1:04:12] The novelty of absurdity isn’t necessarily negative.


[1:05:29] Icing on the cake.


[1:06:49] Two years I spent in the wilderness without a compass.


[1:09:33] Richard Rohr’s vessel.


[1:12:49] Handling the voltage.


[1:14:31] What did it feel like for Steven to write this memoir?


[1:16:25] The origin of the title Govt Cheese.


[1:18:55] What you, dear listener, should know about this book.


[1:20:49] Parting thoughts.


*


For show notes and past guests
on The Tim Ferriss Show,
please
visit tim.blog/podcast.


For deals from sponsors of The Tim
Ferriss Show, please
visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors


Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday)
at tim.blog/friday.


For transcripts of episodes, go
to tim.blog/transcripts.


Discover Tim’s
books: tim.blog/books.


Follow Tim:


Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 


Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss


YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss


Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 


LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss


Past guests on The Tim Ferriss
Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh
Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin
Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew
McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth
Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah
Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine
Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary
Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael
Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria
Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de
Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly
Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard
Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael
Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan
Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit
Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim
Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval
Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth
Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard
Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid
Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick
Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren
Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter
Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah
Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.


See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California
Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.