F O R LOVE OF T H E GAME
T
o clarify a point about p r o f e s s i o n a l i s m : T h e p r o fessional, though he accepts money, does his work
out of love. He has to love it. Otherwise he wouldn't devote his life to it of his own free will. The professional has learned, however, that too much love can be a bad thing. T o o much love can make him choke. The seeming detachment of the professional, the cold-blooded character to his demeanor, is a compensating device to keep him from loving the game so much that he freezes in action. Playing for money, or adopting the attitude of one who plays for money, lowers the fever. Remember what we said about fear, love, and Resistance. The more you love your art/calling/enterprise, the more important its accomplishment is to the evolution of your soul, the more you will fear it and the more Resistance you will e x p e r i e n c e f a c i n g it. T h e p a y o f f o f p l a y i n g - t h e game-for-money is not the money (which you may never see anyway, even after you turn pro). The payoff is that playing the g a m e for money p r o d u c e s the p r o p e r p r o f e s s i o n a l
STEVEN
PRESSFIELD
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