The Omnipresent and Indifferent Enemy

Posted on January 27, 2025


A scene from "The Office" where the character Michael Scott is seated in front of a whiteboard featuring the quotation "'You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.' - Wayne Gretzky - Michael Scott" written on it.

Today’s Morning Buzz is brought to you by Matt Horn, Director of Strategic Growth and Development for MRB Group; and recently-crowned “Horn Household Champion” of Trivial Pursuit:The Teen Edition. For non-Bieber information on Matt, check out LinkedIn.

  • What I’m watching: “Landman” — great new series on Paramount+. Nerding out on every, single, possible local government reference and absolutely judging the poor land development practices.
  • What I’m reading: “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. More on that in a minute.
  • What I’m listening to:Crooked City: Dixon IL” on Apple Podcasts. Oh baby…if you know, you know…if not, check it out.

From my perspective (for all that it’s worth), two adjectives that describe a great leader (public or private) are “creative” and “entrepreneurial.” As a city manager, ACM, and department head, I always strived to create the kind of environment that fostered creative problem solving, and didn’t rest on what “we’ve always done.”

Creators and entrepreneurs are agents of change. Change is probably on a lot of readers’ minds (New Year’s resolution much?). Whether you’re aspiring to shed that last 65 pounds, up your retirement savings game, or finally write that sitcom pilot for a spinoff of “Parks and Recreation” titled “Public Hearings,” you’re likely experiencing an eerie force in the universe. Something so sinister that its only mission in life is to derail your aspirations.

That force has been labeled as RESISTANCE.

In the first of a series of life-coaching works, author Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art” provides a roadmap to recognize, mitigate, and live beyond RESISTANCE. In short, RESISTANCE is that feeling in the dark recesses of your mind, or deep in your belly that tells you, “This is going to be hard…I should try it later…or try something else…”

Every human being (and probably some other carbon-based life forms) experiences RESISTANCE at some point in their life — in fact, at many points. Most often, RESISTANCE appears when you are stepping outside of your comfort zone. In other words — wherever creativity is bubbling, RESISTANCE is lurking.

Pressfield suggests that the ability to manage and deal with RESISTANCE is one of the things that separates professionals from amateurs. Some aspects of your relationship with RESISTANCE include:

  • RESISTANCE is experienced as fear — Fear is good. Renowned paper industry quality control guru Creed Bratton suggested that “…you don’t get as old as me without having a healthy fear of snakes…” Fear keeps us out of trouble. Being able to recognize irrational fear as RESISTANCE expands our comfort zone, and gets us into the realm of creativity.
  • RESISTANCE never sleeps — Even while you are sleeping, RESISTANCE is hard at work — anyone else have Sunday night anxiety? Tossing and turning about that big project you’ve been working on? RESISTANCE pursues relentlessly. Even when you’ve delivered on your goal, it is there asking whether your end product was really good enough…
  • RESISTANCE loves rationalization — You had an egg white and cauliflower rice omelet for breakfast, and sparkling water with three drops of cranberry juice for lunch — so, of course you should order the large meat lover’s pizza with triple pepperoni and a side of chocolate sauce for dinner. You’ll work on that agenda item extra hard on Sunday morning, so it’s OK to duck out of the office at 10 a.m. on Friday. RESISTANCE enjoys that break from the office too, and will be waiting for you on Sunday morning. With the chocolate sauce.
  • RESISTANCE is most powerful at the finish line — Pressfield shares the myth of Odysseus; who led a crazy-long expedition at sea, away from home, and returned triumphantly — almost. When he caught sight of the coast of his homeland, his old pal RESISTANCE suggested that he take a snooze to be refreshed for the welcome home parties. A series of on-deck shenanigans resulted in a big wind carrying him waaaay back out to sea. When your project is in the homestretch, don’t let RESISTANCE give you permission to downshift…
  • RESISTANCE can be beaten — If it couldn’t, serial entrepreneur Jean Ralphio would never have mustered the courage to jump in front of that Lexus and cash those insurance checks. We’d still be using rotary phones (don’t fit very well into your cargo shorts), and you’d be getting Morning Buzz via Western Union. Feeling RESISTANCE means you are getting ready to do something great. You’ll see that on the other side.

Amateurs rationalize — professionals push through.

Creators, artists, entrepreneurs, great leaders — we need you. RESISTANCE is out there, and it ain’t going away. Your charge is to know that — to expect it; and to show it the door as you deliver your very best work. Consistently. Every Dang Day.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to grilling these delicious lentil burgers and carrot fries.

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