--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Slay that dragon once, and he will never…" description: "\"Slay that dragon once, and he will never have power over you again.\" — Steven Pressfield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/steven-pressfield-696_dragon_slay-that-dragon-once-and-he-will-never_2891426.jpg" --- # Slay that dragon once, and he will never have power over… ![“Slay that dragon once, and he will never have power over you again.” quote by Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/steven-pressfield-696_dragon_slay-that-dragon-once-and-he-will-never_2891426.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/steven-pressfield-696_dragon_slay-that-dragon-once-and-he-will-never_2891426.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/steven-pressfield-696_dragon_slay-that-dragon-once-and-he-will-never_2891426.jpg) > “Slay that dragon once, and he will never have power over you again.” [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Defeating personal dragons removes their power over us, granting lasting freedom. **In simple terms:** Kill your dragon, stay free. Key Takeaway Confront inner fears. Themes self‑discipline overcoming obstacles personal power psychology mythology Mood determined encouraging Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - career challenges - habit change - creative blocks Key Concepts hero’s journey inner conflict empowerment Questions to Reflect On - What personal dragons haunt you? - How can you maintain victory over them? A Different Perspective Some dragons reappear later. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dragon/) [Dragon Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dragon-power-4063385/) [Dragons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dragons/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Over you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/over-you/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Slay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slay/) [Slay Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slay-dragon-516594/) [You again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you-again/) ## Related quotes > [“It is no easy thing to slay a dragon, but it can be done.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/it-is-no-easy-thing-to-slay-a-dragon-but-it-can-be-done/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [You can rescue a woman from a dragon - because you can go slay the dragon - but you can't rescue a woman from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-can-rescue-a-woman-from-a-dragon-because-you-can-go-slay-the/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [“I would never slay the dragon, because the dragon was also me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-would-never-slay-the-dragon-because-the-dragon-was-also-me/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“If you wish to slay a dragon you must charm it first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-attia/if-you-wish-to-slay-a-dragon-you-must-charm-it-first/) [Stephan Attia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-attia/) > [“Better a sword than an empty hand when you set off to slay the dragon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryk-brown/better-a-sword-than-an-empty-hand-when-you-set-off-to-slay-the-dragon/) [Ryk Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryk-brown/) > [“Give that man what he doesn’t even know he wants—which is everything that’s you—and you’ll be just fine. Now, get going. Put that armor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-march/give-that-man-what-he-doesn-t-even-know-he-wants-which-is-everything/) [Meghan March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-march/) > [On the field of The Self stand a knight and a dragon. You are the knight. Resistance is the dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/on-the-field-of-the-self-stand-a-knight-and-a-dragon-you-are-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“You can’t just hope for happy endings. You have to believe in them. Then do the work, take the risks. Slay the dragon—though I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-t-just-hope-for-happy-endings-you-have-to-believe-in-them-2/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“You have to slay the dragon to be the hero. Not easy to do, but at least you know what you're dealing with... 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Its stature heightens day to day, Imposing dread and deep dismay.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/a-dragon-grows-in-leaps-and-bounds-like-troubles-mounting-by-the/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“I wanted to help him but I guess ultimately you can only slay the dragon yourself. All that I could do was help him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/i-wanted-to-help-him-but-i-guess-ultimately-you-can-only-slay-the/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [Take it from a guy: If you're in love with somebody, you will swim the stream, you will climb the mountain, you will slay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-mcgraw/take-it-from-a-guy-if-you-re-in-love-with-somebody-you-will-swim-the/) [Phil McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-mcgraw/) > [Anyone can slay a dragon, he told me, but try waking up every morning and loving the world all over again. That's what takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/anyone-can-slay-a-dragon-he-told-me-but-try-waking-up-every-morning/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) ## More by Steven Pressfield > [Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/most-of-us-have-two-lives-the-life-we-live-and-the-unlived-life/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“The artist and the fundamentalist both confront the same issue, the mystery of their existence as individuals. Each asks the same questions: Who am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-artist-and-the-fundamentalist-both-confront-the-same-issue-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The professional arms himself with patience, not only to give the stars time to align in his career, but to keep himself from flaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-professional-arms-himself-with-patience-not-only-to-give-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The Kabbalah describes angels as bundles of light, meaning intelligence, consciousness. Kabbalists believe that above every blade of grass is an angel crying "Grow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-kabbalah-describes-angels-as-bundles-of-light-meaning/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [To labor in the arts for any reason other than love is prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/to-labor-in-the-arts-for-any-reason-other-than-love-is-prostitution/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“that of dealing death, of loosing another man’s soul and sending it down to hell. You want to savor it, to twist the blade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/that-of-dealing-death-of-loosing-another-man-s-soul-and-sending-it/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-is-experienced-as-fear-the-degree-of-fear-equates-to-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us... Ideas come. Insights accrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/when-we-sit-down-each-day-and-do-our-work-power-concentrates-around/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Anything that draws attention to ourselves through pain-free or artificial means is a manifestation of Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/anything-that-draws-attention-to-ourselves-through-pain-free-or/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The Gnostics believed that exile was the essential condition of man. Do you agree? I do. The artist and the addict both wrestle with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-gnostics-believed-that-exile-was-the-essential-condition-of-man/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The soul that rises with us, our life's star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting-the-soul-that-rises-with-us/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [You are a writer when you tell yourself you are. No one else's opinion matters. Screw them. You are when you say you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/you-are-a-writer-when-you-tell-yourself-you-are-no-one-else-s-opinion/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Resistance outwits the amateur with the oldest trick in the book: It uses his own enthusiasm against him. Resistance gets us to plunge into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-outwits-the-amateur-with-the-oldest-trick-in-the-book-it/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“I don't need to read nothing,' said the New Zealander. 'I was there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/i-don-t-need-to-read-nothing-said-the-new-zealander-i-was-there/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) [Explore all 404 Steven Pressfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## More Dragon quotes > [ “Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus \[ never tickle a sleeping dragon \]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/draco-dormiens-nunquam-titillandus-never-tickle-a-sleeping-dragon/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [Arouse a bee and it will come at you with the force of a dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takeda-shingen/arouse-a-bee-and-it-will-come-at-you-with-the-force-of-a-dragon/) [Takeda Shingen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takeda-shingen/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“If you banish the dragons, you banish the heroes...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/if-you-banish-the-dragons-you-banish-the-heroes/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I especially like the songs Hurry Up and The Curse Of Castle Dragon, and I often include them in my live show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gilbert/i-especially-like-the-songs-hurry-up-and-the-curse-of-castle-dragon/) [Paul Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gilbert/) > [“You must see her pucker when she’s a dragon.” “This pucker can light your ass on fire, missy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-woods/you-must-see-her-pucker-when-she-s-a-dragon-this-pucker-can-light/) [Adrienne Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-woods/) > [“I will always be within reach if you need me, little one...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-von/i-will-always-be-within-reach-if-you-need-me-little-one/) [A.R. Von](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-von/) > [“Unable to help herself, she traced the tat, startled by the black and red ink mixed together. But it was the dragon design itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-grant/unable-to-help-herself-she-traced-the-tat-startled-by-the-black-and/) [Donna Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-grant/) > [The Soyuz is probably only slightly smaller than the Dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-walker/the-soyuz-is-probably-only-slightly-smaller-than-the-dragon/) [Shannon Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-walker/) > [Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fairy-tales-are-more-than-true-not-because-they-tell-us-that-dragons/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes--courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, etc.--can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/in-the-alchemy-of-man-s-soul-almost-all-noble-attributes-courage/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [To have dragons one must have change; that is the first principle of dragon lore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/to-have-dragons-one-must-have-change-that-is-the-first-principle-of/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [I know how the birds fly, how the fishes swim, how animals run. But there is the Dragon. I cannot tell how it mounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/i-know-how-the-birds-fly-how-the-fishes-swim-how-animals-run-but/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [It was always that detail that drove me. Ever since I was a little kid, I used to get into the nitty gritty... when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-base/it-was-always-that-detail-that-drove-me-ever-since-i-was-a-little-kid/) [Graeme Base](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-base/) > [Holly is alive,' thought Foaly 'My princess lives,'exulted Orion. 'And we're chasing a dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/holly-is-alive-thought-foaly-my-princess-lives-exulted-orion-and-we/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) [Browse all 704 Dragon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dragon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Slay that dragon once, and he will never have power over you again.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pressfield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/slay-that-dragon-once-and-he-will-never-have-power-over-you-again/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dragon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/slay-that-dragon-once-and-he-will-never-have-power-over-you-again/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/steven-pressfield-696_dragon_slay-that-dragon-once-and-he-will-never_2891426.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/steven-pressfield-696_dragon_slay-that-dragon-once-and-he-will-never_2891426.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/steven-pressfield-696_dragon_slay-that-dragon-once-and-he-will-never_2891426.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Slay that dragon once, and he will never have power over you again.” — Steven Pressfield", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Steven Pressfield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Slay that dragon once, and he...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/slay-that-dragon-once-and-he-will-never-have-power-over-you-again/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/slay-that-dragon-once-and-he-will-never-have-power-over-you-again/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```