The Artist's Journey: The Wake of the Hero's Journey and the Lifelong Pursuit of Meaning
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- Create Date：2021-05-09 11:55:21
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Steven Pressfield
- ISBN：1936891549
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Summary
"No one's insights about the craft and journey of being an artist have guided me in the day-to-day struggle of this profession more than Steven Pressfield。 Wherever you are， whatever you've been called to make， you need to read this book。。。and everything else he has written。"
— Ryan Holiday， Bestselling Author of Ego Is the Enemy and The Obstacle Is the Way
YOU ARE AN ARTIST 。。。 AND YOU HAVE AN ARTIST’S JOURNEY
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。
Reviews
Stanley Turner
，
A good book， not up to the same standards of other Pressfield works that I have read， especially the War of Art。 Still worth the read。 Recommended…SLT
Howard
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I found this very inspiring。 It's about the intangibles of being an artist。 And the way the author framed this really rang true to me。 I will use this inspiration to guide my work。 I found this very inspiring。 It's about the intangibles of being an artist。 And the way the author framed this really rang true to me。 I will use this inspiration to guide my work。 。。。more
Jeff
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Another short volume of inspiring insights by one of my favorite thinkers about writing。 What compelled me to read this， in addition to my adoration of The War of Art， was the idea that the hero's journey could be applied to the life of an artist。 On first reading， I found the connection quite thin -- but that didn't diminish how inspiring and insightful the book was。 I especially liked the idea that the beginning of the Artist's Journey comes at the END of the artist's hero's journey。 That the Another short volume of inspiring insights by one of my favorite thinkers about writing。 What compelled me to read this， in addition to my adoration of The War of Art， was the idea that the hero's journey could be applied to the life of an artist。 On first reading， I found the connection quite thin -- but that didn't diminish how inspiring and insightful the book was。 I especially liked the idea that the beginning of the Artist's Journey comes at the END of the artist's hero's journey。 That the artist's work is the elixir they bring back to their people。 。。。more
Joshua McCoy
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This is really a 4。5。 A much needed shot in the arm for me， as I am still early in my career as an artist。 While the art/writing content is highly valuable， I believe the philosophical notions of oneness and accessing the superconscious are the most useful parts of this book。 Though I do have disagreements with one of the conclusions — that the artist will save the human race in their journey which is practically the hero’s journey of the human race — I find the allegory to be useful for the int This is really a 4。5。 A much needed shot in the arm for me， as I am still early in my career as an artist。 While the art/writing content is highly valuable， I believe the philosophical notions of oneness and accessing the superconscious are the most useful parts of this book。 Though I do have disagreements with one of the conclusions — that the artist will save the human race in their journey which is practically the hero’s journey of the human race — I find the allegory to be useful for the intended audience which is individual writers and artists。 。。。more
Catherine Lam
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Bite-sized excellence。 However， much like a Disney movie， I can see how this book is not for everyone as it requires a dose of belief in the invisible。
thomas james Smith
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I will read and reread Steven pressfield’s books again and again。 Hugely inspiring。
Carolyn
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enjoyed the first 2 parts but the last part got a little over the top。
Duffy
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Everyone， not just artists， can learn from this resource
Jamie House
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Eh。
Hannah
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I audiobooked this， and 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 pa I audiobooked this， and 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。” 。。。more
Charlotte Nash
，
This is a tough one， where I've vacillated between 4 and 5 stars。 Five， because I've listened to it several times， and have found it both comforting and inspiring。 Four， because it's also a bit woo-woo in places for me， and leans heavily into survivor bias。 Leaving it at five for now。 This is a tough one， where I've vacillated between 4 and 5 stars。 Five， because I've listened to it several times， and have found it both comforting and inspiring。 Four， because it's also a bit woo-woo in places for me， and leans heavily into survivor bias。 Leaving it at five for now。 。。。more
LindaL
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A great motivator to add creativity and mindfulness
Phil Rosen
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Another classic by Steven Pressfield， building off his initial cult classic， "The War of Art。" A fantastic and encouraging and illuminating book for creatives -- meaning， anyone who wants to or has to create something。 Building off lessons about 'Resistance' from his previous book， Pressfield ties in the Hero's Journey archetype into the journey and the task of the artist。 I enjoyed this， and made short work of it; the chapters are written in a very digestible way， in 1-3 page bites。 Certainly a Another classic by Steven Pressfield， building off his initial cult classic， "The War of Art。" A fantastic and encouraging and illuminating book for creatives -- meaning， anyone who wants to or has to create something。 Building off lessons about 'Resistance' from his previous book， Pressfield ties in the Hero's Journey archetype into the journey and the task of the artist。 I enjoyed this， and made short work of it; the chapters are written in a very digestible way， in 1-3 page bites。 Certainly a positive and substantive read for writers especially， but really applicable to all avenues of creativity。 。。。more
Martijn Reintjes
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Read about 25% of the book on my kindle and decided to return （yes you can do that！）What a pretentious piece of garbage。 It felt like a thesis of some second grade art student。 And I can say so， because I went to art school。Whole lot of fluff。 No substance what so ever。It's a pity， since the Art of War did spark motivation and inspiration。 I don't really know what his message was with this book， but it could probably fit into a blog post 。。。 or a tweet 。。。~~~Show me someone who claims he doesn't Read about 25% of the book on my kindle and decided to return （yes you can do that！）What a pretentious piece of garbage。 It felt like a thesis of some second grade art student。 And I can say so， because I went to art school。Whole lot of fluff。 No substance what so ever。It's a pity， since the Art of War did spark motivation and inspiration。 I don't really know what his message was with this book， but it could probably fit into a blog post 。。。 or a tweet 。。。~~~Show me someone who claims he doesn't give a shit and I'll show you a born artist who's scared out of his wits to become that artist。 。。。more
Scott
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A collection of bit-sized insights inspired by joseph campbell’s hero’s journey。 It’s Steven Pressfield， so it’s his distinctively hard hat and lunchbox， no bullshit， and somehow at the same time awe-inspired， mystical voice。 Worth it for seekers in every creative endeavor。
Mark Melendez
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Simple book。 Yet a fun motivational book for anyone creating something。
Wojtek
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I think this book is one of the least valuable books from Steven Pressfield that I have read。 Nevertheless， it was entertaining and provided an interesting insight。I especially liked the idea of the journey， but it was too metaphorical and mystical to me。 In many cases， it was written like a voodoo book - full of cognitive biases and rhetorical tricks like appealing to the authority or "general wisdom"。I think the most valuable parts are related to C。 G。 Jung's work and analyzing it in the creat I think this book is one of the least valuable books from Steven Pressfield that I have read。 Nevertheless， it was entertaining and provided an interesting insight。I especially liked the idea of the journey， but it was too metaphorical and mystical to me。 In many cases， it was written like a voodoo book - full of cognitive biases and rhetorical tricks like appealing to the authority or "general wisdom"。I think the most valuable parts are related to C。 G。 Jung's work and analyzing it in the creator context。 I had a feeling that I read an appending to the "The War of Art" that tries to poorly explain why content creators are so much in love with a flow and deep work but without any merits - instead of with a metaphysical story。 。。。more
Stiltzkin Vanserine
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By reading The Artist's Journey: The Wake of the Hero's Journey and the Lifelong Pursuit of Meaning， I accomplished a rare feat of mine: reading two books by one author at the same time， the other being Gates of Fire。 Steven Pressfield’s message becomes repetitive after his 5th non-fiction book， but even so， I still enjoyed this one。 Compared with his other works， this one is more philosophical and—dare I say—mystical。 An aspiring writer myself， I totally understand what Pressfield means when he By reading The Artist's Journey: The Wake of the Hero's Journey and the Lifelong Pursuit of Meaning， I accomplished a rare feat of mine: reading two books by one author at the same time， the other being Gates of Fire。 Steven Pressfield’s message becomes repetitive after his 5th non-fiction book， but even so， I still enjoyed this one。 Compared with his other works， this one is more philosophical and—dare I say—mystical。 An aspiring writer myself， I totally understand what Pressfield means when he writes about the concept of daimon。 It’s that tiny， ethereal voice inside my head， beckoning me day and night。 No matter what happens in my life （on the plane of reality）， that voice keeps calling out to me。 It urges me to sit down and write， even though I feel exhausted after a long day of work。 It crams ideas into my mind， and those ideas in turn scream at me to be written into stories。 It compels me to submit my stories to literary contests， despite me having little confidence in my own work。 It pushes me to work hard and earn money， just so I can support my writing。 It is a force of nature as sure as gravity。 It is relentless。 It’s always there， and will stay there even after I’m gone from this world。 It is my daimon。 。。。more
Michael Nazari
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Good slap in the face for those of us who have been ignoring their calling
Belle Beth Cooper
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Didn't finish。 Way too much woo woo for me。 Didn't finish。 Way too much woo woo for me。 。。。more
Michael T。 Christensen
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The apparent core premise of this book is “your journey as a writer mirrors the hero’s journey that most characters go on，” and that’s interesting。 But that’s not where the book spends most of its time。 Instead it bounces between several ideas， going only surface-level in a lot of them。 “The War of Art” did something similar， but I rate that book higher because it has the section on “resistance，” which I found intensely motivating。 Here， the best section discussed how artists have their own “ref The apparent core premise of this book is “your journey as a writer mirrors the hero’s journey that most characters go on，” and that’s interesting。 But that’s not where the book spends most of its time。 Instead it bounces between several ideas， going only surface-level in a lot of them。 “The War of Art” did something similar， but I rate that book higher because it has the section on “resistance，” which I found intensely motivating。 Here， the best section discussed how artists have their own “refusal of the call” moments， but we don’t take much time with it before moving on to something else。 This book also still has a ton of metaphysical stuff， but I think the similar stuff in “the War of Art” was more focused。 This very much feels to me like a companion to that book， not its own stand-alone work。 。。。more
Timothy Ball
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"You may wonder as you sit in your cubicle designing a gun down scene for Call of Duty Black Ops 4， if you're really advancing the cause of humanity？ You are。 Your artist Journey is unique to you。 You alone are on your path。 Your job is only to follow it and be true to it。 Who knows what heights it may eventually bring you。 You are an artist， your journey however humble， however fraught， however beset with thorns and thistles is part of a noble， cosmic cause。 It is not meaningless， it is not in "You may wonder as you sit in your cubicle designing a gun down scene for Call of Duty Black Ops 4， if you're really advancing the cause of humanity？ You are。 Your artist Journey is unique to you。 You alone are on your path。 Your job is only to follow it and be true to it。 Who knows what heights it may eventually bring you。 You are an artist， your journey however humble， however fraught， however beset with thorns and thistles is part of a noble， cosmic cause。 It is not meaningless， it is not in vain。 It is a portion of a grand Adventure。 The artist Journey is the hero's journey of the human race。 " 。。。more
Reem
，
I read The War of Art at the RIGHT time。 And then I read Turning Pro at the RIGHT TIME！ So I'm not surprised that I read the Artist's Journey at the RIGHT TIME！These books are vital for every creative， every artist。 Slumps are so difficult to get out of。 Slumps during a pandemic are nearly impossible to get out of。 This book flowed with such ease， filled with poetic quotes from other artists， that the author connected to his own journey。 Steven Pressfield has found a way to show up for his art i I read The War of Art at the RIGHT time。 And then I read Turning Pro at the RIGHT TIME！ So I'm not surprised that I read the Artist's Journey at the RIGHT TIME！These books are vital for every creative， every artist。 Slumps are so difficult to get out of。 Slumps during a pandemic are nearly impossible to get out of。 This book flowed with such ease， filled with poetic quotes from other artists， that the author connected to his own journey。 Steven Pressfield has found a way to show up for his art in ALL the ways I want to show up for mine。 I'm beyond grateful that he continues to share books like these。 These should be required reading materials。 My favorite part of the book is the parallels between the artist's journey and Joseph's Cambell's Hero's Journey。 Which reminds me， I really need to read that book！ 。。。more
Darci
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This book was recommended to me after I completed a different book on the creative path。 I am a huge fan of The War of Art， also by Pressfield， so snapped this one up。 I listened to the audio version and enjoyed the fact Pressfield read it himself！ It was inspiring， and informative， and challenging。 It's what I needed to hear right now。 The audio is less than 3 hours and well worth the time！ This book was recommended to me after I completed a different book on the creative path。 I am a huge fan of The War of Art， also by Pressfield， so snapped this one up。 I listened to the audio version and enjoyed the fact Pressfield read it himself！ It was inspiring， and informative， and challenging。 It's what I needed to hear right now。 The audio is less than 3 hours and well worth the time！ 。。。more
Charlotte Lambrecht
，
short but oh so sweet
Alexandria Blaelock
，
This short book is a pretty accurate description of what goes on inside my artist head。 The sense you’re a vehicle for the expression of someone else’s thoughts。 The loose grasp you have on the “real” world “normal” people live in。 Having the inability to create at the exact same time as you’re driven to。 If you think you might be crazy， you’ll be reassured to find it’s just the artist’s journey。
Nick Burdick
，
I loved the war of art， do the work， and turning pro。 I wasn’t as crazy about this one。 It felt repetitive and not all that insightful， especially compared to those others。
Em
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"Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be， but to find out who we already are and become it。" I loved this book。 It totally changed the way I was mentally framing my own artistic journey， and I loved the story/metaphor Pressfield came up to support that framework。 It's weird and mystical， but also grounded and so incredibly relatable。 （My sister introduced me to Stephen Pressfield with the quote above from The War of Art， describing him as b "Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be， but to find out who we already are and become it。" I loved this book。 It totally changed the way I was mentally framing my own artistic journey， and I loved the story/metaphor Pressfield came up to support that framework。 It's weird and mystical， but also grounded and so incredibly relatable。 （My sister introduced me to Stephen Pressfield with the quote above from The War of Art， describing him as both brilliant and totally off his rocker -- I'm saying she's wrong， I just think he's got a neat way of looking at things。）I read this book a little over a year ago， and it's one of those books whose message has really stuck with me and has even fundamentally changed the way I see things。 It's given me a newfound sense of confidence in knowing my path and feeling prepared for the challenges ahead of me。 I'm reviewing this a year later because while catching up on updating my long-neglected goodreads list， this was book that immediately came to mind that I wanted to add， and it made me think how much I'd like to read it again now。 After The Artist's Journey， I ended up reading all of Pressfield's non-fiction books， and they've all been great -- but personally， I liked this one is the best。 There is some overlap between them， but they're all quick and enjoyable reads， each one is unique and serves it own purpose。 That said， I think The Artist's Journey and Art of War probably have the most overlap content-wise， and I'd recommend reading The Artist's Journey first as it was more interesting and concise， compared to Art of War which was longer and felt a bit repetitive （but still excellent and worth reading -- I'm just saying that if you're new to Pressfield's books about creating and being an artist， then The Artist's Journey is a great place to start）。 。。。more
Mak
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*audiobook
Jameson Ketchum
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