"Add a Step to It."

Ancient Spartans were some of the greatest warriors the world has ever known, notorious for their fearlessness. It was nothing for them to get within kissing distance of their enemies, watching death's darkness fill their dying eyes as their souls escaped them. In fact, dealing death that particular way was by design. Each Spartan carried a blade longer than a dagger, but not nearly the length of what you and I would consider a sword, called a Xiphos.

"Add a step to it." The Spartans would say, encouraging each other to make up for what the Xiphos lacked in length by getting danger-close to their enemies before sending them to Hell.

You and I aren't Spartans, we're Artistic Warriors. We don't deal death, but we must be just as fearless when dealing with our art and athletics. If we're going to publish our first book or set a personal record on the deadlift, we can't shy away from the work or look for shortcuts. We must take our Xiphos, (our keyboard, our chalk or straps) and add a step to it, getting within kissing distance of our enemy, the feat not yet forged, watching our fear escape us instead of our souls as we do what Artistic Warriors do.