A CRITTER THAT KEEPS COMING
W
hy does Resistance yield to our turning pro?
Because Resistance is a bully. Resistance has no
strength of its own; its power derives entirely from our fear
of it. A bully will back down before the runtiest twerp who
stands his ground.
The essence of professionalism is the focus upon the work
and its demands, while we are doing it, to the exclusion of all
else. The ancient Spartans schooled themselves to regard the
enemy, any enemy, as nameless and faceless. In other words,
they believed that if they did their work, no force on earth
could stand against them. In The Searchers, John Wayne and
Jeffrey Hunter pursue the war chief, Scar, who has kidnapped
their young kinswoman, played by Natalie Wood. Winter
stops them, but Wayne's character, Ethan Edwards, does not
slacken his resolve. He'll return to the trail in spring, he
declares, and, sooner or later, the fugitive's vigilance will
slacken.
STEVEN PRESSFIELD