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nicosierra's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
I found it alright, there are some really good points but (this is me) I didn't like the celebrity worshipping and name dropping. It was trying a little too hard to be inspiring.
timverbergt's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliantly written on a topic that will last throughout the ages.
rscottm182gmailcom's review against another edition
4.0
Not much in the way of new insight, but a useful reminder to stay positive, and to see obstacles as opportunities.
jasperburns's review against another edition
3.0
I've been reading Stoicism for a couple of years now, from the ancient texts (Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius) to the modern ones (Admiral Stockdale). In this book, Holiday compiles much of the wisdom of stoicism in a simple, easy-to-read handbook. He incorporates not just the classic texts but many stories from the modern day to develop a useful and practical way of living.
This is an excellent primer if you are new to Stoicism. However, I don't personally feel like I learned much new. I did value reinforcement of many of the classic ideas, and the techniques he suggests for viewing the world.
My Key Takeaways:
GENERAL STOICISM:
• Holiday splits overcoming obstacles into three steps: perception, action, will. We must look at our problems with objectivity, act as best we can, and struggle through defeat and difficulty when they arise.
• The phrase “This happened and it is bad” is actually two impressions. The first—“This happened”—is objective. This is an observation. The second—“it is bad”—is subjective. This is perception.
• Focusing exclusively on what is in our power magnifies and enhances our power. But every ounce of energy directed at things we can’t actually influence is wasted—self-indulgent and self-destructive.
• "Choose not to be harmed—and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed—and you haven’t been." —MARCUS AURELIUS
• "Don’t let the force of an impression when it first hit you knock you off your feet; just say to it: Hold on a moment; let me see who you are and what you represent. Let me put you to the test." —EPICTETUS
• "Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble. (Quidvis recte factum quamvis humile praeclarum.)" —SIR HENRY ROYCE
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES:
• Demosthenes locked himself away underground—literally—in a dugout he’d had built in which to study and educate himself. To ensure he wouldn’t indulge in outside distractions, he shaved half his head so he’d be too embarrassed to go outside. And from that point forward, he dutifully descended each day into his study to work with his voice, his facial expressions, and his arguments.
• Half the companies in the Fortune 500 were started during a bear market or recession. It is possible to succeed in bad conditions.
THE PROCESS:
• Nick Saban, the head coach of the University of Alabama football team, teaches The Process. “Don’t think about winning the SEC Championship. Don’t think about the national championship. Think about what you needed to do in this drill, on this play, in this moment. That’s the process: Let’s think about what we can do today, the task at hand.” This is a useful heuristic for working on small things to accomplish bigger goals.
• Similarly: Nineteenth-century pioneer of meteorology, James Pollard Espy, was unable to read and write until he was eighteen. Espy attended a rousing speech by the famous orator Henry Clay. Afterword, Clay grabbed one of his posters, which had the word CLAY written in big letters. He looked at Espy and said, “You see that, boy?” pointing to a letter. “That’s an A. Now, you’ve only got twenty-five more letters to go.” Espy had just been gifted the process. Within a year, he started college.
THE MEANING OF LIFE:
• The great psychologist Viktor Frankl, survivor of three concentration camps, found presumptuousness in the age-old question: “What is the meaning of life?” As though it is someone else’s responsibility to tell you. Instead, he said, the world is asking you that question. And it’s your job to answer with your actions.
MISC:
• The Greeks word "apatheia" is the kind of calm equanimity that comes with the absence of irrational or extreme emotions.
• Marcus Aurelius had an exercise where he’d describe glamorous or expensive things without their euphemisms—roasted meat is a dead animal and vintage wine is old, fermented grapes. The aim was to see these things as they really are, without any of the ornamentations. This reminds me personally of the concept of Emotive Conjugation.
View my best reviews and a collection of mental models at jasperburns.blog.
This is an excellent primer if you are new to Stoicism. However, I don't personally feel like I learned much new. I did value reinforcement of many of the classic ideas, and the techniques he suggests for viewing the world.
My Key Takeaways:
GENERAL STOICISM:
• Holiday splits overcoming obstacles into three steps: perception, action, will. We must look at our problems with objectivity, act as best we can, and struggle through defeat and difficulty when they arise.
• The phrase “This happened and it is bad” is actually two impressions. The first—“This happened”—is objective. This is an observation. The second—“it is bad”—is subjective. This is perception.
• Focusing exclusively on what is in our power magnifies and enhances our power. But every ounce of energy directed at things we can’t actually influence is wasted—self-indulgent and self-destructive.
• "Choose not to be harmed—and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed—and you haven’t been." —MARCUS AURELIUS
• "Don’t let the force of an impression when it first hit you knock you off your feet; just say to it: Hold on a moment; let me see who you are and what you represent. Let me put you to the test." —EPICTETUS
• "Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble. (Quidvis recte factum quamvis humile praeclarum.)" —SIR HENRY ROYCE
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES:
• Demosthenes locked himself away underground—literally—in a dugout he’d had built in which to study and educate himself. To ensure he wouldn’t indulge in outside distractions, he shaved half his head so he’d be too embarrassed to go outside. And from that point forward, he dutifully descended each day into his study to work with his voice, his facial expressions, and his arguments.
• Half the companies in the Fortune 500 were started during a bear market or recession. It is possible to succeed in bad conditions.
THE PROCESS:
• Nick Saban, the head coach of the University of Alabama football team, teaches The Process. “Don’t think about winning the SEC Championship. Don’t think about the national championship. Think about what you needed to do in this drill, on this play, in this moment. That’s the process: Let’s think about what we can do today, the task at hand.” This is a useful heuristic for working on small things to accomplish bigger goals.
• Similarly: Nineteenth-century pioneer of meteorology, James Pollard Espy, was unable to read and write until he was eighteen. Espy attended a rousing speech by the famous orator Henry Clay. Afterword, Clay grabbed one of his posters, which had the word CLAY written in big letters. He looked at Espy and said, “You see that, boy?” pointing to a letter. “That’s an A. Now, you’ve only got twenty-five more letters to go.” Espy had just been gifted the process. Within a year, he started college.
THE MEANING OF LIFE:
• The great psychologist Viktor Frankl, survivor of three concentration camps, found presumptuousness in the age-old question: “What is the meaning of life?” As though it is someone else’s responsibility to tell you. Instead, he said, the world is asking you that question. And it’s your job to answer with your actions.
MISC:
• The Greeks word "apatheia" is the kind of calm equanimity that comes with the absence of irrational or extreme emotions.
• Marcus Aurelius had an exercise where he’d describe glamorous or expensive things without their euphemisms—roasted meat is a dead animal and vintage wine is old, fermented grapes. The aim was to see these things as they really are, without any of the ornamentations. This reminds me personally of the concept of Emotive Conjugation.
View my best reviews and a collection of mental models at jasperburns.blog.