42: Author Steven Pressfield On The Warrior Archetype, His New Book, A Man at Arms, and Persisting Through Failure

Today we speak with Steven Pressfield, a successful author of several books covering self-help and fictional genres. Inspired by ancient history and archetypes, Steven has used his fascinations to inspire readers around the globe. 

As our guest, we talk to Steven about his childhood, various career paths; good and bad, and what it took to become a full-blown writer. 

We begin the show by catching a glimpse of Steven’s younger years, as he recalls some of his earliest memories, like walking around his block with two Hopalong Cassidy cap pistols. Little did he know at the time, this warrior archetype would define his career through his writings and outlooks on life. 

We then talk about Steven’s professional experiences as he touches on avoiding going to Vietnam, hating the advertising industry but learning so much from it, and forcing himself to write a novel. 

Before Steven reached author success, he’d failed several times over. In this rich and varied interview, Steven walks us through these failures and touches on how it impacted his finances and relationships. Of his success, we find out from Steven about some of his most popular titles which include Tides of War, Gates of Fire, and The War of Art. 

To hear more on life, failure, success, and the journey across it all, be sure to join us in conversation with Steven Pressfield today.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Introducing today’s guest, Steven Pressfield.
• Hear about a variety of Steven’s books and the genres he writes.
• We touch on Steven’s early years and childhood. 
• Steven tells us about his experiences in the Marine Corp.
• Why Steven hated advertising but learned the most from it.
• Steven tells us about the turning point he made when he was 31.
• Hear why Steve feels fortunate to have experienced so much failure.
• We ask Steven to tell us about some of the archetypes that feature in his books.
• Steven talks about his first mentor figures.
• What shaped Steven’s experiences in Hollywood.
• Steven tells us his thoughts on the feminine warrior archetype.
• Why Gates of Fire was as popular as it was.
• Steven touches on Tides of War and why it was so long and complex to read.
• Steven explains details about The War of Art.
• Hear the comparisons between Steven’s Telemon character and himself.
• How Steve defines success.

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