The Faux Pas Press #5 - The Prime Mover

The Faux Pas Press #5

A Weekly Thought

By Jason Scott Chambers

The Prime Mover

I would like to start this week's message with a thought taken from Steven Pressfield's book The War of Art. He got it from some Pre-Christian Era Rambo. "It is one thing to study war and another thing to live the Warrior's life." (Telamon of Arcadia, Mercenary of the Fifth Century B.C.) A Warrior is easy to identify because, the way I see it, there are two types of people in this world: 1) the kind of people who face their fears and 2) the kind of people who run from them. There are no fearless people under the Sun, only those who choose to face fear head on. (There is also a third, those who have not figured out how to stop drinking 2 liters of soda before bed. I've been waking up in a puddle of my own urine since my parents put me on Ritalin at the age of 8. So, frankly, I don't know where I fit in the Warrior model.)

I believe that we are all afraid. Some are afraid of having others find out that addictions have run their lives, some have no intentions of starting that business even though they talk about it, and some are just afraid of being a nobody.

"What will they say about me if I fail?"

"Well, there's a special site in the Redneck Discount Graveyard for people who didn't clear a million dollars in a year, the same section where bad followers of big churches go. What happens if they don't speak your name? or if you never find it on the walk of fame? But on the walk of shame? Special site in the Redneck Discount Graveyard.

" When you run from fear what do you run to? In many directions. I have some ideas: cheeseburgers, booze, chocolate, cheezy quesadilla goodness, the explanation of why I failed not the description of how I succeeded. Here is the Warrior conquered by the Enemy. You know, I get so tired of hearing the damn sob stories: my back, my blood pressure, my job, my health condition, I can't stop peeing my pants at sleepovers, I just can't figure out what I want to do with my life, I should have been a doctor but I don't have wide enough lips to choke on the enormous cock of the Dean of Admissions at medical school, I can't believe this crowd - they're really tough - I should probably stop doing comedy and go home and wipe cheese spread on my balls.

Let me ask you a question. "What is the real you doing while a false you goes about living your life?" Is he watching you run away? Run to a new pathetic relationship? Where is the singer who got off stage years ago? If you're not living the dreams you want, can't you do one thing today to live your dreams? If you want to be a doctor, can't you spend 10 minutes studying medicine (or at least do mouth-widening exercises?)

What do you do to face your fears? Now, pay attention because here's the weekly thought. I know that I've unloaded quite a bit on you, but here she blows, Odysseus. You face fear by doing the Prime Mover, the First Thing closest to your fear, not by ordering another article of clothing from Banana Republic.

Let me qualify. Have you ever seen someone doing the Prime Mover, the First Thing closest to the fear? What do they look like? Depressed? I think not. I'll tell you how I feel when I see them. If I'm not practicing my Prime Mover, I feel envious and afraid that I will never by that kick ass. If I am doing the Prime Mover then I know them because I am like them. I see a reflection of the real me not the false me who says, "You shouldn't write your three pages today. You should probably spend your afternoon eating churros and watching a fat dude eat pizza at Costco and yell at his children." I see who I really am.

Doing the Prime Mover means not doing anything else until it is done. If you consistently paint your pictures, it won't matter if the masses don't appreciate them. It will not matter in the slightest because you will be the real you. You face your fear by doing the Prime Mover, the First Thing closest to your fear, not by ordering another article of clothing from Banana Republic. I would like to thank author Steven Pressfield for the gift of his life and his kick ass work.

Green Lights and Galactic Pulsars of Good,

Jason Scott Chambers

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