DEV Community

Cover image for Why Your Best Work is Hardest to Finish

Why Your Best Work is Hardest to Finish

Nicky Hajal on September 20, 2018

"The professional does not over-identify with his art, but simply shows up every day to put his time in, to do the work." Steven Pressfield, the ...
Collapse
 
ben profile image
Ben Halpern

Wow, I love this post so much. Sharing it with the team.

Collapse
 
nickyhajal profile image
Nicky Hajal

Hey thanks so much, really glad you enjoyed it!

btw - I found dev.to through the IndieHacker podcast and I'm very grateful for your and the team's hard work! It's just so well built, a joy to use and such an excellent community. It's really invigorated me back into writing and sharing content πŸ™

Collapse
 
ben profile image
Ben Halpern

I also doubly recommend War of Art. I read it years ago and could stand to do a re-read sounds like.

Collapse
 
nickyhajal profile image
Nicky Hajal

Yes! I actually started occasionally picking it up and randomly reading a few pages of War of Art or Turning Pro every morning. Really starts things off right!

Collapse
 
callgage profile image
Gage Henderson

I struggle with this all of the time! Mostly with my music. I think it's super common among all breeds of creators.

The War of Art has influenced me as well, and that was also something that I needed some time to really understand on my own.

Nothing tops feedback from the real world - Putting your project out for everyone to see and watching how it fairs in the real world is so vital as a creator. Some people fear it, some people start to feel more resistance towards the end of a project which stalls it's release - but you just have to keep putting things out there, it's the fastest road to improvement!

Collapse
 
nickyhajal profile image
Nicky Hajal

Very well said! What kind of music to you make?

Collapse
 
callgage profile image
Gage Henderson

I dabble in a lot of genres! This is my latest track, but I'm dropping a new one this weekend :) youtube.com/watch?v=cU_DmQmoaQg

Collapse
 
reinaldoassis profile image
Reinaldo Assis

As a young programmer (14 years old, but I started programming at 8), I came here in the hope of learning more with experienced ones and your post is exactly that, you are sharing knowledge. I know pretty much the feeling of "I must protect my work" because until a few months ago I felt it almost everytime I showed my apps. Thanks a lot for sharing your experience! I am definitely following you now.

P.S: Please feel free to correct me of whatever language-related error I could have done, I am not an English speaker, thanks!

Collapse
 
anthonydevelops profile image
Anthony Campos

Thank you for sharing this, it helped me realize a few things too and why I tend to put projects off. Awesome!

Collapse
 
kspeakman profile image
Kasey Speakman

😲 Amazing post. It brought me to an intense realization. Thank you.

Collapse
 
nickyhajal profile image
Nicky Hajal

So glad you liked it! I love when those realizations come πŸ’‘πŸ˜ƒ

Collapse
 
kvie profile image
Karyme Virginia

I really appreciate reading this, Nicky! Thank you for writing and sharing. I have yet to read The War of Art, but I think I'm going to move it up a little higher on my list. :)

Collapse
 
stenpittet profile image
Sten

If you shift that love for your work to love for your craft the exact opposite happens

I want to frame this somewhere.

Collapse
 
nickyhajal profile image
Nicky Hajal

Ha, I think I actually need it framed as well :)

Collapse
 
kylegalbraith profile image
Kyle Galbraith

Fantastic post Nicky. I found it to be a lightbulb moment for myself and I hope to keep this in mind in the future.

Also as a fellow Indie Hackers, welcome to Dev.to, it's fantastic.

Collapse
 
mccurcio profile image
Matt Curcio

You nailed it!

Buddhists strive for 'non-attachment'.

If you become too attached to a thought, a feeling or even an object AND that object becomes 'you', your own life is on the line.
;))