The War of Art Steven Pressfield has a colorful background. I believe that’s why I’m drawn to him and his book‚ The WAR of ART. He has worked as an advertising copywriter‚ schoolteacher‚ tractor-trailer driver‚ bartender‚ oilfield roustabout [I like that word‚ roustabout‚ reminds me of Elvis]‚ attendant in a mental hospital‚ fruit-picker in Washington State‚ author and screenwriter. As author he has written many fiction and non-fiction books‚ but the non-fiction book I want to talk about is‚ The
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Reading the works of Machiavelli and Lao-Tzu in succession highlight how truly at opposition the messages are. Though both pieces express the desired way to govern a people‚ the “Tao-te Ching” speaks of peace‚ simplicity‚ and letting the universe work its will‚ while “The Qualities of the Prince” emphasizes the necessity for war‚ and the natural wickedness of men. There are no particular reasons that these two ways of thought should be in harmony‚ one written in the 6th century‚ and the other the
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Comparison of Lao Tzu and Machiavelli It is obvious to most people the differences between black and white‚ light and darkness‚ or Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Many people have different preferences for each of these things‚ as well as different views about them. While one person may argue that Pepsi is the ultimate cola beverage‚ another person may claim that Coca-Cola is the best by far. This is such the case with many different people in this world‚ on many different topics. A prime example of contrasting
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The artwork I have chosen for this week is Woman with Mirror‚ Canvas #13 (p. 78). At first glance this artwork shows bold beautiful colors with varying line patterns‚ geometric shapes with varying masses‚ with implied motion‚ which seems to break the picture down into five vertical sections. Each section is unique it is characteristics of visual elements. The first section with the lime green and yellow lines and geometric rectangles appear to be static‚ stopping just at the yellow line before
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Option #2 D Hart Dr. King And Lao-Tzu King and Lao-Tzu both had the same views but different actions. Their views consisted of eagerly wanting the world to become a better place. They wanted equal rights and righteous leaders. Their believes did not consist of taking sides. To them what really mattered was to have everyone be equally content. Even though King and Lao-tzu did not ever meet‚ there is thought to be a possibility that Dr. King could have read Lao-tzu’s writting. Thus they both
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Taoism originated in China around 500 b.c Taoist thought is based on the writings of Lao-Tzu in the poetic stanzas of the Tao Te Ching. Lau Tzu translates as the ’Old Man ’ or the ’Old Teacher ’. It is 5‚000 characters in length and comprises of two books. The Tao Te Ching is the second most printed book in the world next to the Bible. The Tao Te Ching represents Philosophical Taoism at its purest as it was to develop through the centuries into a more institutionalised religion and into branches
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General Petraeus both put the “Art” back into the “Art of War” using Commander-centric leadership. Casey attempted to refine the operational approach by progressively reducing the U.S. footprint in a three-phased plan to stabilize‚ restore Iraqi government authority‚ and inject Iraqi self-reliance. Although unknown‚ it is possible that this approach would have worked had the Iraqi Sunni population learned of the withdrawal and been faced with a 20% Sunnis 80% Shiite civil war. Without U.S. stabilization
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In the World of Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli Even though Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli were both advisors there was still many differences of the two’s views on how a government should be. A leader is a person who leads or commands a group‚ organization‚ or a country. It does not matter what state‚ country‚ or city someone lives in they are guaranteed to have a leader. Leaders have been around in every era. If considered to be a leader‚ people wanted to be great and admired for what they had done or were
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In comparing and contrasting the governmental philosophies of the great thinkers Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli‚ I have found a pleasant mix of both of their ideas would be the best for America today. Lao-Tzu’s laisse-faire attitude towards the economy‚ as well as his small scale military is appealing to my liberal side‚ while Machiavelli’s attitude towards miserliness which causes low taxes appeals to the right wing. These great thinkers contradict the popular saying "all great thinkers think alike." They
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Political Stand-off Both Lao-tzu and Machiavelli seem to have a clear-cut view on how they believe the government should run. In some ways‚ both men have very similar ideas; more often‚ though‚ they couldn’t be more opposed. A few similarities brought forth are that people in power must not strive to make everyone happy‚ nor must they be considered unmerciful and they should avoid being despised. The final view they both share is that they believe if the common people think they are happy
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