A chance meeting with a new friend led me to this book – Put Your Ass Where Your HEART Wants to Be, by Steven Pressfield.

He also wrote a classic for creatives – The War of Art. A different take on The Art of War by Sun Zhu.

While reading this book, it was like hundreds of lightbulbs going off at once in my head.

It’s an easy read (138 pages) – written like short topics in sections he calls “books.”

Book One – Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be

Book Two – Ass = Commitment

Book Three – Put Your Ass Over The Long Haul

Book Four – Put Your Ass In A Space

Book Five – Fortune Favors The Bold

Book Six – Put Your Ass… And Keep It There

Book Seven – Put Your Ass Out There In Public

Book Eight – Put Your Ass In The Spiritual Plane

One of my favorite “books” was #8 – Put Your Ass In The Spiritual Plane.

It’s about helping you stop procrastinating on your life’s work, getting your ass more aligned with your heart, and keep doing what you’re called to do on this planet…

I’ve often wondered how my ideas just “come to me.”

You’re sitting drinking a cup of coffee, and suddenly, something pops into your head. I’m talking about the stuff that just “appears in your consciousness.”

This often happens when working with clients, and some amazing things happen.

I often call it intuition and having this inner knowing and connection.

Pressfield takes it to an interesting place, and I wanted to share this with you.

In recovery, that intuition or voice of inspiration is called a “Higher Power,” or some call it God, or whatever word you are comfortable with…

In Pressfields’ book, he calls it a “Higher Dimension.” He says a “sphere of reality that exists above the material plane…that permeates and interacts with this plane.”

I remember listening to Wayne Dyer speak at a conference once and how he always woke up between 3 and 4 a.m., went to his writing desk, and transcribed his books from the “higher dimension.”

Much has been written about this, such as where “War and Peace” came from. (Or other great authors’ and artists’ works.)

Many authors and creatives have written about how not only does the idea “come to them,” it “seizes them,” and they can’t do anything else. They simply have to write, paint, and create.

This can also be said for many things in this world, from Thomas Edison’s inventions to Albert Einstein and many creations, inventions, and art today.

The biggest challenge as an entrepreneur, no matter what your profession, is accessing “that place” where our ideas come from.

I’ve found that the toughest part is getting the ego out of the way. As Pressfield shares and believes, the ego only thinks in this physical plane.

It’s awesome to take care of your daily life, from paying bills and taxes to planning and more. (Your left brain stuff.) Yet its main modus operandi is fear. Its total job is to keep you safe from harm.

Yet, your higher self’s job is focused on love and connecting to your higher dimension. It understands it inhabits a body, yet it’s not bound to it. It also contains the unconscious.

Dreams, Intuition, Ideas, and Inspiration – all come from your higher self.

If you choose to accept it, your goal is to change your center of being (of living) from your ego to your higher self and connect to your higher dimension.

How do you put this into action?

• Have a daily practice where you get quiet and connect to your higher dimension (or higher power) through meditation, yoga, etc.
• Understand that making that shift of living from your higher self will change your priorities, and be willing to look at your life differently.
• Access your courage and be ok with your fear, yet don’t let it run your life any longer.
• Look at your current life and ask important and hard questions such as –
  • Am I doing what inspires me, or am I doing this just for the money?
  • Am I living in a city that supports my life’s work?
  • Is it time to change up my hair or start working out? (I made the decision to just go grey.)
  • What’s going on with my wardrobe? Is it time for a change?
  • Do I need to change up my sleep and go to bed earlier and get up earlier?

Look closely at your business and your offers, and how you’re marketing.

Does it feel in alignment with your higher self? (You don’t have to sell your soul to make money!)

You may want to make changes and decisions to help transform more lives. And you may even decide to invest in tools, communities, and resources that will help guide you.

Move past your fear and make changes in your life to support your higher self, its gifts, and what you are meant to do on this planet.

If needed, look to others for support, guidance, and encouragement along the way.

The biggest lesson from this book was how I want to be more conscious of living more from my higher self and accessing my higher dimension.

Plus, I want to continue to be focused and make decisions based on my gifts AND to continually address my fear and NOT let it stop me from sharing my gifts.

This has been a tough one for me lately.

Know you have many gifts that you came to this planet to share.

Start living your life from your higher self, and as Susan Jeffer’s book taught me, Feel the Fear, and Do It Anyway!

And I’d love to hear what your biggest takeaway is!

A Summary to Inspire You To Read this Book!

Quick Summary: If you’re struggling with procrastination, fear, and thinking that the world doesn’t need another product, course, book, or resource on —- (Insert the name of your idea here), then this book is definitely for you! I LOVE Pressfield’s no-nonsense style and telling it like it is for if you’re a creative writer, copywriter, artist, photographer, or have something you want to share with the world, and something’s holding you back – then GET THIS BOOK! It will give you some terrific guidance, a kick in the pants, and some inspiration to get your gift out into the world and do it now. Don’t wait any longer.

WHO Ought to Read this Book: If you have an idea and want to get it out into the world and something’s holding you back, or you keep making excuses or feel like you don’t have enough knowledge or credibility to do so, then get this book now!

Why Read this Book? It’s easy to understand and written in short essays. Each one builds on the next. Some great things in here go to the core of why you’re here on this planet – to share your gifts and stop at nothing to do so, along with giving you some terrific ideas to inspire and help you get off your ass and get moving before time runs out. The premise is – There’s only one you on this planet, and you’re here to share your gifts – no one sees the world as you do. No one will share it as you will. It’s time you tell the world what you see and how you can help and inspire.

A Couple of Things You Will Discover: Stop sabotaging your dreams. You are brave and courageous. the world needs you and how your vision, thoughts, and creativity. Take the first step to reach your goals. If you want to be a writer, set up your desk, carve out 30 minutes a day to write – make a commitment, and don’t let anything get in your way. Shut down your distractions and stay disciplined. Live to access and connect your higher dimension to a higher realm of consciousness.

INSPIRING BOOK QUOTES:

Body Follows Spirit:
“…where the body goes, the spirit follows. Therefore, move thy butt. Put your ass where your heart wants to be.”

Your Gift is Important:
“It’s not a habit – It’s your life… This is our calling. This is who we are. This is what we do. ”

Your Fear
“Don’t cry to overcome your fear. Fear cannot be overcome. Instead, simply move your body into the physical space of fear…and see what happens..”

Getting the Courage to Pursue Your Dream Anyway:
“Only when the pain of not doing it got greater than the imagined pain of doing it did I somehow find the balls to pursue what I really wanted and had been obsessed by since the age of seven…..”

Don’t Skimp on Marketing:
“…putting it out there where the world can judge it-and doing it in the smartest and most appealing ways possible.”

Say Goodbye to Self-Sabotage:
“We’re sinking our dagger into the insidious, pernicious, rotten, sneaky, evil force of our self-sabotage… our own fear of success (or failure).”

Never Give Up – An Artist’s Skill:
“If the artist’s skill is the ability to open the pipeline from the ego to the Self — and it is—then Put your ass where the heart wants to be, means exactly that. Seat your identity not in the ego, but in the Self. ”

Definition of Self:
“…The Self contains the Unconscious (Personal as well as Collective.) Dreams come from the Self. Intuition comes from the Self. Ideas come from the Self. Inspiration comes from the Self… Seat your identity not in the ego but in the Self. ”

About the Author – Steven Pressfield:

Steven Pressfield is the author of The War of Art, which has sold over a million copies globally and been translated into multiple languages. He is a master of historical fiction, with Gates of Fire being on the required reading list at West Point and the recommended reading list of the Joint Chiefs. His other books include A Man at Arms, Turning Pro, Do the Work, The Artist’s Journey, Tides of War, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Last of the Amazons, Virtues of War, The Afghan Campaign, Killing Rommel, The Profession, The Lion’s Gate, The Warrior Ethos, The Authentic Swing, An American Jew, Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t, and The Knowledge.

Where I Would Recommend Getting Your Copy:
Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To Be by Steven Pressfield

Here’s a link to StevenPressfield.com if you want to discover more.

If you’re interested in this book, I’d also recommend:

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Lesser

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use it for Life by Twyla Thorp

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle