‘One of the most fascinating things about golf is how it reflects the cycle of life. No matter what you shoot, the next day you have to go back to the first tee and begin all over again and make yourself into something.’ Peter Marshall
I’ve been thinking about Steven Pressfield’s blog post on sticking points - the subject of yesterday’s blog post. In a way I like the term ‘sticking points’ - it reflects the idea that at any of those points, the project can get stuck and fall apart completely. Let me list the blog posts again below so you can read more about each of the different phases:
Questioning the legacy project
So, I was saying about Steven Pressfield’s choice of the term ‘sticking points’. Personally, I prefer to use a more positive term to talk about the progression of the different phases.I have chosen the term ‘legacy project cycle’ to describe the process that is made up of these phases. I like the term ‘cycle’, because it indicates that going through all the low points after the honeymoon phase is over is normal, that you’re doing okay even if you feel down while working on something you initially thought you’d love from beginning to end.
As I wrote in you are not alone, I think one of the most unsettling experiences while undertaking a legacy project comes after the honeymoon phase is over, when you think you shouldn’t feel down while doing something you chose yourself. I think this feeling is the cause of many legacy creators giving up on their projects, thinking that feeling down while doing it is a sign they are doing something wrong. I think it is important to make people who want to start legacy projects aware that for the most part of working on it, they will feel down, and that this is okay.
I hope this helps, and that whatever stage you are at in the legacy project cycle you can muster the strength to carry on.
The time is now.
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Alexa, great minds definitely think alike. Thanks for your kind words re my “Sticking Points” post. There’s a very interesting (short) book by Seth Godin called “The Dip.” You must know about it since I see Seth’s site on your blogroll. For those of your readers who aren’t familiar with this book, what Seth means by “the dip” is that slump/nosedive/depression that comes midway through any long-term project. He’s got a whole philosophy about it, complete with semi-whimsical graphs and charts. The Dip is what separates the men from the boys, or in his phrasing, those who get through the Dip becomes “scarce” beings and thus possess extra value. Very interesting. Thanks again, Alexa. Keep up the great work!
Steven, thank you so much for your comment – I had completely forgotten about trackbacks, and I was in total (very pleasant) shock when I saw a comment from you. I have greatly enjoyed The War of Art and it has helped me a great deal. I will be blogging about bits from it often as I think it will also help others who want to create legacy. In relation to your comment – it’s really surreal, I know ‘The Dip’ very well and as it so happens I had already written a long series of blog posts about it for this blog – the first post of the series will appear on this blog tomorrow
Maybe another instance of great minds thinking alike 
Thank you again for your very kind comment and suggestion, I am very touched by the thought that you have visited and commented on my blog – it is definitely a great motivation for me to keep going full steam ahead.
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