Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life's Work
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-09 11:55:29
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Steven Pressfield
- ISBN：1936891034
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Turning pro is free， but it's not easy。
When we turn pro， we give up a life that we may have become extremely comfortable with。 We give up a self that we have come to identify with and to call our own。
Turning pro is free， but it demands sacrifice。
The passage from amateur to professional is often achieved via an interior odyssey whose trials are survived only at great cost， emotionally， psychologically and spiritually。 We pass through a membrane when we turn pro。 It's messy and it's scary。 We tread in blood when we turn pro。
What we get when we turn pro。
What we get when we turn pro is we find our power。 We find our will and our voice and we find our self-respect。 We become who we always were but had， until then， been afraid to embrace and to live out。
When we turn pro， we give up a life that we may have become extremely comfortable with。 We give up a self that we have come to identify with and to call our own。
Turning pro is free， but it demands sacrifice。
The passage from amateur to professional is often achieved via an interior odyssey whose trials are survived only at great cost， emotionally， psychologically and spiritually。 We pass through a membrane when we turn pro。 It's messy and it's scary。 We tread in blood when we turn pro。
What we get when we turn pro。
What we get when we turn pro is we find our power。 We find our will and our voice and we find our self-respect。 We become who we always were but had， until then， been afraid to embrace and to live out。
Reviews
Cherry Oak
，
This was an easy book to read。 It took me 3 hours including breaks。 I highlighted 14 passages from the book。 I didn’t get much from the first half of the boom when the author talks about being an amateur。 Most of my hilighting was in the second half when he “turned pro。”
Richard Mulholland
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This is the first Pressfield book I enjoyed。 And I really enjoyed it。At first I thought it wasn't written for me， but it really was。 This is the first Pressfield book I enjoyed。 And I really enjoyed it。At first I thought it wasn't written for me， but it really was。 。。。more
Jordan
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3。5 stars rounded up。 Part memoir， part reflection of the writing and creative process， part general self-help advice， Turning Pro has a lot of helpful general pointers scattered throughout as well as some kind of aimless spiritual-but-not-religious hoodoo （if you’ve read The War of Art you’ll know what I mean）， which is at least offered in the service of the larger， more practical points。 Especially good is Pressfield’s repeated emphasis on the distinctions between amateurs and professionals。 I 3。5 stars rounded up。 Part memoir， part reflection of the writing and creative process， part general self-help advice， Turning Pro has a lot of helpful general pointers scattered throughout as well as some kind of aimless spiritual-but-not-religious hoodoo （if you’ve read The War of Art you’ll know what I mean）， which is at least offered in the service of the larger， more practical points。 Especially good is Pressfield’s repeated emphasis on the distinctions between amateurs and professionals。 I found the best stuff came in Part III， where Pressfield really buckles down with some of the application—the “What does this look like？” aspect—of his reflections。 His emphasis on developing a “practice” a la Alasdair MacIntyre and his nose-to-the-grindstone， rain-or-shine attitude toward doing the work required of one’s calling are perhaps the strongest and most important of his messages。I have to wonder if Pressfield is a Nietzsche fan。 Not only is some of his artistic advice a lot like Nietzsche’s call for the Übermensch to rise and cast off all that impedes him， but his non-fiction self-help reads a lot like Nietzsche: terse， urgent， aphoristic， and in an irresistibly high poetic register。 It goes down smooth， which helps with the parts they don’t make as much sense。Many years ago when I read The War of Art I recommended treating it like a smorgasbord or buffet: look at all of it， take only the best parts。 I’d say that here， too。 Worthwhile。 。。。more
Jan Leotti
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Fantastic Inspirational， wise， and full of useful tips。 I recommend this book to anyone ready to take their creative journey seriously。
Rodrigo Quintanar
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I think the point of this book is clear in the first five pages。Pro's get the work done while amateurs keep talking and dreaming about it。 Could be a good motivational 100 page read but not a lot into it。 I think the point of this book is clear in the first five pages。Pro's get the work done while amateurs keep talking and dreaming about it。 Could be a good motivational 100 page read but not a lot into it。 。。。more
David Elikwu
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Another book that could've been a blog post - apparently it's based on his blog posts so that makes sense。 The author writes like Batman。 There are a few nuggets in the content but it's largely just variations on the same theme。 If it was read as a speech I'd say that was a good speech， but it's a book。 Another book that could've been a blog post - apparently it's based on his blog posts so that makes sense。 The author writes like Batman。 There are a few nuggets in the content but it's largely just variations on the same theme。 If it was read as a speech I'd say that was a good speech， but it's a book。 。。。more
Michael Moreno
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Meh， really not much else to say about this book
Courtney Stuart
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This book can change your life。
William C
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Fantastic。 Re-connects me to my goalsTurning Pro is a fantastic read。 I’ve read it twice now。 It helps center and re-focus me。 It helps me embrace the struggle of pursuing my goals。
Luisa Kutza
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love all the books from steven pressfield
David Millar
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Self-help pablum that can be summarized as “grow up and work hard。”
Pauline Braychenko
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A must-read for any creativeDon’t waste any minute to read the testimonials， just dive in and （finally） turn pro。 After all， that’s what we all need。
Misan
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The amateur tweets。 The pro works。A short read， which teaches you how to deal with resistance- gives you exactly what you need to Turn Pro。 Nothing more， nothing less。
Lily
，
Silent mentor。
Waseem
，
I’ve been somewhat binging on this authors work the past week and this is not only my 3rd consumed， but been the most enjoyable。Short yet powerful message - really got into the traits of what it is to be a pro in your endeavour to succeed - regardless what that aspect of your life that may be to do with - ie - health， wealth， relationships etc - and compared it with an amateur which helped drive home the message - I’m a big believer in doing something right （like a pro） if you ought/choose to do I’ve been somewhat binging on this authors work the past week and this is not only my 3rd consumed， but been the most enjoyable。Short yet powerful message - really got into the traits of what it is to be a pro in your endeavour to succeed - regardless what that aspect of your life that may be to do with - ie - health， wealth， relationships etc - and compared it with an amateur which helped drive home the message - I’m a big believer in doing something right （like a pro） if you ought/choose to do it - and thus books helps teach and show us how to do and be that。。。To Our Continued Success！Seemy http://www。WaseemMirza。net 。。。more
Pandora Dylan Gorman
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Highly recommend this and Steven Pressfield's other book ， The War of Art， which a business coach assigned me 。 It was astounding how accurate this author is when it comes to the myriad ways in which writers and artists sabotage themselves。 If anything， Turning Pro is even better。 Engaged in the creative process， or an entrepreneur， or just want to get out of your own way at work ？ Read both of these unique books。 Highly recommend this and Steven Pressfield's other book ， The War of Art， which a business coach assigned me 。 It was astounding how accurate this author is when it comes to the myriad ways in which writers and artists sabotage themselves。 If anything， Turning Pro is even better。 Engaged in the creative process， or an entrepreneur， or just want to get out of your own way at work ？ Read both of these unique books。 。。。more
Brooke Millhouse
，
If you have a goal and you’ve not met it or not started on it， then this is the swift slap around the face you need。 Adored it。
jouvet
，
Great bookSimple and powerful。 Full of metaphors and little treasures of experience。 Such a pleasure to read and to learn。 Thanks！
Lesya Kostiv
，
It felt very motivating on the very beginning and the whole idea that resistance don’t give you to become a pro is interesting。 And it was quite inspiring to compare the mindsets of amateurs and pro。 But I don’t like the structure of this book- too repetitive， too many stories which weren’t really good examples to the chapters， it felt more like some random stories。 Some chapters are very short and topics weren’t covered enough 。 The idea of “don’t be amateur， be a pro” is amazing。 But that’s al It felt very motivating on the very beginning and the whole idea that resistance don’t give you to become a pro is interesting。 And it was quite inspiring to compare the mindsets of amateurs and pro。 But I don’t like the structure of this book- too repetitive， too many stories which weren’t really good examples to the chapters， it felt more like some random stories。 Some chapters are very short and topics weren’t covered enough 。 The idea of “don’t be amateur， be a pro” is amazing。 But that’s all you receive here - pros and cons。 No real advices 。。。more
Spencer
，
The amateur tweets。 The pro works。 Short and sweet， easy read to motivate us towards discipline in our crafts。
Eric Brown
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Every art student in every school should read this book and Pressfield’s The War of Art！ It should be required reading。
A Need to Read
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The honesty of Steven Pressfield is so refreshing， this Is the third book of his that I have read and loved。 If you are embarking on a journey， side hustle， main hustle or any sort of project then this is a must read！
Tony Loyd
，
Some books pursue you until you read themSeveral years ago， someone mentioned The War of Art in passing。 I made a mental note。 The book came up several more times as friends suggested it， or podcast guests extolled its virtues。 Each time， I added it to the endless pile on my bedside table。 It was as if the book was pursuing me and wouldn't relent until I read it。 But I did not。 Recently， a friend sent me Turning Pro。 She insisted that I read it。 She even sent a $25 gift card in case I wanted the Some books pursue you until you read themSeveral years ago， someone mentioned The War of Art in passing。 I made a mental note。 The book came up several more times as friends suggested it， or podcast guests extolled its virtues。 Each time， I added it to the endless pile on my bedside table。 It was as if the book was pursuing me and wouldn't relent until I read it。 But I did not。 Recently， a friend sent me Turning Pro。 She insisted that I read it。 She even sent a $25 gift card in case I wanted the book in another format。 I read it。 Then I reread it。 Then again。 In the last month， I have read it at least a half dozen times。 Though it is not the same content as The War of Art， the lessons are the same。 I find myself digging into my work and staying there。 I guess the lesson is being learned。 I'm turning pro。 。。。more
Munhtemuulen khashbolor
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198 ugnii shimshirelt
Robert Swan
，
This book isn't very good。 I really get where the author is coming from， that you should dedicate yourself to your craft and do work as it's own reward （because that leads to more sustainable hard work， rather than holding out for some reward）。 But I really had to work hard to get that message out。The book feels like it was written & conceived entirely around making things sound deep。 This， combined with the staccato rhythms of the "chapters"， make it feel like just a barrage of platitudes。 Ther This book isn't very good。 I really get where the author is coming from， that you should dedicate yourself to your craft and do work as it's own reward （because that leads to more sustainable hard work， rather than holding out for some reward）。 But I really had to work hard to get that message out。The book feels like it was written & conceived entirely around making things sound deep。 This， combined with the staccato rhythms of the "chapters"， make it feel like just a barrage of platitudes。 There's no deeper inspection， no evidence， and finding a overarching takehome message is left as an exercise for the reader。The plethora of different points means however that surely at least one will land with a particular reader （I enjoyed "take what the defence gives you"） but 1-2 in a book isn't a great strike rate， even if it is quite short。 This is all also leaving aside a number problematic parts - praising Picasso for "chasing" women at age 90 for example。 There's a number of weirdly detached parts， like comparing WW1 soldiers shooting themselves in the foot rather than going over the top to everyday people who are maybe avoiding pursuing their real goals。 But perhaps this book is a perfect representation of what Pressfield believes - maybe he really does mistake nuance for disbelief， senstivity for weakness， and compromise for cowardice。 Or maybe he thinks that's the best way to make a point impactful。 Either way - I'm not on board。 。。。more
Tiffany Dickinson
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A helpful and quick read。 Although， the tenets are not easy。 But， Pressfield cuts to the chase and we can take it or leave it。 Be a professional or be an amateur - out choice。 Highly recommend。
Yanal
，
The usual work of Pressfield where he gives you short insights that reflect on the differences between a pro and an amateur。Here are 3 lessons to help your Turning Pro:1。 The defining trait of the amateur is the fear of being who she is and getting rejected for it。2。 A central obstacle for the amateur is that he always chases some guru or authority。3。 When you do your work for the sake of its practice and nothing else， that’s when you turn pro。
Hlyan
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I read this book because it was in Ryan Holiday's "If You Only Read a Few Books in 2021， Read These" list。 This book is about facing our own fears， turning away from distractions and "shadow jobs"， facing towards our true callings， quitting being amateurs and turning pros。 It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from A Return To Love by Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate。 Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure。”So perfect for a new year， or a I read this book because it was in Ryan Holiday's "If You Only Read a Few Books in 2021， Read These" list。 This book is about facing our own fears， turning away from distractions and "shadow jobs"， facing towards our true callings， quitting being amateurs and turning pros。 It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from A Return To Love by Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate。 Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure。”So perfect for a new year， or any time of it。 。。。more
Cj Oordt
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It was a fine audiobook。 I bought a hardcopy because its pretty succinct and meant to be re-read。 I think it'd be much more impactful for somebody who is actively pursuing creative projects。 I plan to do so when I relate more。 It was a fine audiobook。 I bought a hardcopy because its pretty succinct and meant to be re-read。 I think it'd be much more impactful for somebody who is actively pursuing creative projects。 I plan to do so when I relate more。 。。。more
Sebastian Castillo
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