FOR LOVE OF THE GAME
T
o clarify a point about professionalism: The pro-
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. Too 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 experience facing it. The payoff of playing-the-
game-for-money is not the money (which you may never see
anyway, even after you turn pro). The payoff is that playing
the game for money produces the proper professionalSTEVEN PRESSFIELD 73