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927 reviews for:
The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
Ryan Holiday
3.86 AVERAGE
927 reviews for:
The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
Ryan Holiday
3.86 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
reflective
medium-paced
I read it. I finished the entire short book of 184 pages. I was determined to complete the book, though about two-thirds through the repetition became "meh". Ryan Holiday makes ample use of the English language to describe *his philosophy while cheerleading readers to embrace this philosophy.
Make no mistake; this is a self-help book and Holiday is nudging us and pushing us and supporting us through the endeavor. Despite my feeling of "meh", I suspect that anyone needing some encouragement to move through a difficult situation may find this book a helpful pep talk. They might fling it at the wall a few times ("enough with the pep talk!") but might also pick it up eventually and complete the reading.
*His philosophy is based upon the stoics, in particular Marcus Aurelius. As Aurelius is quoted: The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
Ryan sums up his book, which is replete with stories about other people's obstacles and how they overcame them, with this:
Something stands in someone's way. They stare it down, they aren't intimidated. Learning into their problem or weakness or issue, they give everything they have, mentally and physically. Even though they did not always overcome it in the way they intended or expected, each individual emerged better, stronger.
Further along he states:
Perceive things as they are, leave no option unexplored, then stand strong and transform whatever can't be changed. And they all feed into one another: Our actions give us the confidence to ignore or control our perceptions. We prove and support our will with our actions."
And finally:
See things for what they are.
Do what we can.
Endure and bear what we must.
What blocked the path now is a path.
What once impeded action advances action.
The Obstacle is the Way.
I am partial to an approach that has been attributed to Arthur Ashe:
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
Make no mistake; this is a self-help book and Holiday is nudging us and pushing us and supporting us through the endeavor. Despite my feeling of "meh", I suspect that anyone needing some encouragement to move through a difficult situation may find this book a helpful pep talk. They might fling it at the wall a few times ("enough with the pep talk!") but might also pick it up eventually and complete the reading.
*His philosophy is based upon the stoics, in particular Marcus Aurelius. As Aurelius is quoted: The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
Ryan sums up his book, which is replete with stories about other people's obstacles and how they overcame them, with this:
Something stands in someone's way. They stare it down, they aren't intimidated. Learning into their problem or weakness or issue, they give everything they have, mentally and physically. Even though they did not always overcome it in the way they intended or expected, each individual emerged better, stronger.
Further along he states:
Perceive things as they are, leave no option unexplored, then stand strong and transform whatever can't be changed. And they all feed into one another: Our actions give us the confidence to ignore or control our perceptions. We prove and support our will with our actions."
And finally:
See things for what they are.
Do what we can.
Endure and bear what we must.
What blocked the path now is a path.
What once impeded action advances action.
The Obstacle is the Way.
I am partial to an approach that has been attributed to Arthur Ashe:
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Whatever has happened cannot be changed, so we should drop our regrets, keep looking and moving ahead
While overpaid CEOs take long vacations and hide behind email autoresponders, some programmer is working 18 hour days coding the start-up that will destroy that CEO's business
Only in struggling with the impediments that made others quit can we find ourselves on untrodden territory
Failure shows us the way--by showing us what isn't the way
Love everything that happens: Amor Fati
Not the best book on Stoicism. It’s got some good stuff in it, but it’s not all that useful unless you had read other books on the subject. That being said the authors videos on YouTube aren’t a bad intro to the topic.
I would not hold up Margaret Thatcher as an example of Stoicism. She caused a great deal of damage to the UK. Just ask any Scot. I get the feeling that some of the examples were just so stories.
The founder of Stoicism Zeno is the embodiment of the obstacle is the way. He lost everything and then developed Stoicism.
I would not hold up Margaret Thatcher as an example of Stoicism. She caused a great deal of damage to the UK. Just ask any Scot. I get the feeling that some of the examples were just so stories.
The founder of Stoicism Zeno is the embodiment of the obstacle is the way. He lost everything and then developed Stoicism.
Holiday presents an amazing book about Stoicism and the structure of its overall philosophy peppered with tales of individuals who had struggles over the years and how those struggles and obstacles became defining parts of what allowed them to have the successes they did in life. I found the style intriguing and his direct approach to explaining the material and the nature of what can be accomplished if we don't let ourselves and our self-doubt get in our way. I loved this book and will revisit it again.
Just didn't engage me. The idea is good - frame obstacles as opportunities. The book has a huge focus on stoicism, which feels so obvious to me. I don't consider myself a stoic, not have I read any books on stoicism, but the philosophy is everywhere.
Stephen R Covey/Viktor Frankl - "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
Eleanor Roosevelt - "No one can hurt you without your consent."
The psychological concept of Locus of Control also tires into this. Focus on what you can control, not what you cannot. As you focus on what you can control, you generally gain the ability to control more.
Stephen R Covey/Viktor Frankl - "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
Eleanor Roosevelt - "No one can hurt you without your consent."
The psychological concept of Locus of Control also tires into this. Focus on what you can control, not what you cannot. As you focus on what you can control, you generally gain the ability to control more.
Approachable introduction to stoicism and the mental/emotional management techniques used by successful people. It's a 3 for me because while I value all of these concepts, there wasn't much in the way of practical advice on how to apply concepts to work/life. Would be very valuable for someone who has not yet mastered the concept of controlling what you can control and forgetting the rest.
Great book that puts things into perspective as well as provides an impetus to do instead of just sit and mope when things don't go as planned. Great book and will be reading again, I'm sure.