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Ryan Holiday has had quite the decade. Ten years ago, he decided school wasn’t for him, so he dropped out at age 19. He became the mastermind behind the media outrage surrounding Tucker Max’s controversial book series. In his early-20s he took a job as head of marketing and as an advisor to the founder and former president of American Apparel, Dov Charney. In 2012, at age 24 he wrote a bestselling book called Trust Me I’m Lying, about the art of media manipulation. He’s gone on to write five more bestselling books, including The Obstacle Is The Way, which has sold nearly a quarter million copies and was supposedly read by the entire Patriots organization in 2014, prior to their Super Bowl victory over the Seahawks.
After reading The Obstacle Is The Way about a year ago I developed a deep appreciation for Ryan’s work. In this book, Ryan masterfully articulates the principles of Stoic Philosophy through stories of historic figures and events. Now I’m about to make a bold claim:
The knowledge within the pages of this book are the definitive cure for your Sunday Scaries.
You can mask your problems with Xanax and rom coms or you can cure yourself forever with this ancient Greek philosophy distilled for the 21st century. Your move, Will.
To give you a taste, here are a few great quotes from the book:
“There is no good or bad without us, there is only perception. There is the event itself and the story we tell ourselves about what it means.” ― Ryan Holiday
“We forget: In life, it doesn’t matter what happens to you or where you came from. It matters what you do with what happens and what you’ve been given.” ― Ryan Holiday
“Focus on the moment, not the monsters that may or may not be up ahead.” ― Ryan Holiday
“Choose not to be harmed—and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed—and you haven’t been.” ― Ryan Holiday
“For all species other than us humans, things just are what they are. Our problem is that we’re always trying to figure out what things mean—why things are the way they are. As though the why matters. Emerson put it best: ‘We cannot spend the day in explanation.’ Don’t waste time on false constructs.” ― Ryan Holiday
“Blessings and burdens are not mutually exclusive.” ― Ryan Holiday
“The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.” ― Ryan Holiday
Everyone needs to read this book. Do it.
Respond
Madison Wickham
#CoolDad / Husband | Founder / CEO of Grandex Inc
@madisonwickham
@madisonwickham
madisonwickham
Ego is the enemy is a great read also! Dude definitely knows shit.
Agreed. That’s another great book.
Not gonna lie, I was first introduced to Marcus Aurelius and stoicism via Gladiator. I’m glad I was, because it’s 100% been my answer to all the existential concerns that pop up in life so far.
Ryan Holiday is a beast. I have so much respect for that guy.