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48 Steven Pressfield
It is pure hell to
answer this question.
More books, movies, new businesses, etc. get screwed up (or
rather, screw themselves up) due to failure to confront and
solve this issue than for any other reason. It is make-or-break,
do-or-die.
Paddy Chayefsky famously said, “As soon as I figure out the
theme of my play, I write it down on a thin strip of paper and
Scotch-tape it to the front of my typewriter. After that, nothing
goes into that play that isn’t on-theme.”
Have that meeting twice a week. Pause and reflect. “What is this
project about?” “What is its theme?” “Is every element serving
that theme?”
Fill in the Gaps, Part Two
Ask yourself, “What’s missing?”
Then fill that gap.
What’s missing in the menu of your new restaurant? What have
we left out in planning our youth center in the slums of São
Paulo?
