Practice (from "Turning Pro")

     In Steven Pressfield's Turning Pro, he discusses what it means to "turn pro" and have "the professional mindset as a practice." This is the core of what he means by "turning pro." Here are some relevant excerpts:

"What is a practice anyway?

To "have a practice" in yoga, say, or tai chi, or calligraphy, is to follow a rigorous, prescribed regimen with the intention of elevating the mind and the spirit to a higher level.

A practice implies engagement in a ritual. A practice may be defined as the dedicated , daily exercise of commitment, will, and focused intention aimed, on one level, at the achievement of mastery in a field but, on a loftier level, intended to produce a communion with a power greater than ourselves — call it whatever you like: God, mind, soul, Self, the Muse, the superconscious.

The following are aspects of any practice:"
[Pressfield, Steven (2012-05-30). Turning Pro (p. 108). Black Irish Books. Kindle Edition.]


A Practice Has A Space

"A practice has a space, and that space is sacred"


A Practice Has A Time

"The monks in their saffron robes mount the steps to the zendo at the same hour each morning. When the abbot strikes the chime, the monks place their palms together and sit.

You and I may have to operate in a more chaotic universe. But the object remains the same: to approach the mystery via order, commitment and passionate intention.

When we convene day upon day in the same space at the same time, a powerful energy builds up around us. This is the energy of our intention, of our dedication, of our commitment.

The goddess sees this energy and she rewards it."
[Pressfield, Steven (2012-05-30). Turning Pro (p. 110). Black Irish Books. Kindle Edition.]


A Practice Has An Intention

"When Stevie Wonder sits down in his studio at the piano, he's not there to mess around.

Stevie has come to work.
. . .
"Our intention as artists is to get better, to go deeper, to work closer and closer to the bone."
[Pressfield, Steven (2012-05-30). Turning Pro (p. 111). Black Irish Books. Kindle Edition.]


We Come To A Practice As Warriors

"The sword master stepping onto the fighting floor knows he will be facing powerful opponents. Not the physical adversaries whom he will fight ( though those indeed serve as stand-ins for the enemy). The real enemy is inside himself.

The monk in meditation knows this. So does the yogi. So do the film editor and the video-game creator and the software writer.

Each day we, as professionals, face the same monsters and chimeras as did Perseus or Bellerophon or St. George.

The sword master advancing into ritual combat has inwardly made peace with his own extinction. He is prepared to leave everything, including his life, there on the fighting floor."
[Pressfield, Steven (2012-05-30). Turning Pro (p. 112). Black Irish Books. Kindle Edition.]


We Come To A Practice In Humility

"We may bring intention and intensity to our practice (in fact we must), but not ego. Dedication, even ferocity, yes. But never arrogance.

The space of the practice is sacred. It belongs to the goddess. We take our shoes off before we enter. We press our palms together and we bow.

Do you understand how the mystery can be approached via order?"
[Pressfield, Steven (2012-05-30). Turning Pro (p. 113). Black Irish Books. Kindle Edition.]


We Come To  A Practice As Students

"Even the peerless sword master Miyamoto Musashi entered the fighting square to learn as much as to teach."
[Pressfield, Steven (2012-05-30). Turning Pro (p. 114). Black Irish Books. Kindle Edition.]


A Practice Is Lifelong

"The Spartan king Agesilaus was still fighting in armor when he was eighty-two. Picasso was painting past ninety, and Henry Miller was chasing women (I'm sure Picasso was too) at eighty-nine.

Once we turn pro, we're like sharks who have tasted blood, or renunciants who have glimpsed the face of God. For us, there is no finish line. No bell ends the bout. Life is the pursuit. Life is the hunt. When our hearts burst... then we'll go out, and no sooner."
[Pressfield, Steven (2012-05-30). Turning Pro (p. 115). Black Irish Books. Kindle Edition.]