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931 reviews for:
The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
Ryan Holiday
3.86 AVERAGE
931 reviews for:
The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
Ryan Holiday
3.86 AVERAGE
A nice intro to stoic views, for anyone totally new to the topic (such as myself).
Other than that, not really much more than a collection of select anecdotes, whose only goal is to prove a specific point, which is:
"whatever the obstacle is, embrace it and be happy for it. Find a way to use it to your advantage."
Sounds cool and innovative, doesn't it?
Granted, I did find some of those stories to be inspiring, but the book comes nowhere near offering a universally applicable recipe for overcoming obstacles and achieving goals.
The biggest problem I found with the book was the fact that it only mentioned success stories, and thus missed the opportunity to offer an objective view, which anyone used to critical thinking would highly appreciate.
All in all, don't take it too seriously, don't have high expectations, and you won't be disappointed.
Other than that, not really much more than a collection of select anecdotes, whose only goal is to prove a specific point, which is:
"whatever the obstacle is, embrace it and be happy for it. Find a way to use it to your advantage."
Sounds cool and innovative, doesn't it?
Granted, I did find some of those stories to be inspiring, but the book comes nowhere near offering a universally applicable recipe for overcoming obstacles and achieving goals.
The biggest problem I found with the book was the fact that it only mentioned success stories, and thus missed the opportunity to offer an objective view, which anyone used to critical thinking would highly appreciate.
All in all, don't take it too seriously, don't have high expectations, and you won't be disappointed.
Ryan Holiday is a young-ish American marketing executive who seems to have stumbled upon stoicism and turned the philosophy of the ancient Greeks into a real money spinner. His books are fast reads and mega-best-sellers, But they are under-researched (one imagines that much of the 'research' was done on the Wikipedia). Holiday wants people to stop complaining, denounces notions of victimhood (as if there are no actual victims in the world), and wants to restore America to its former (I hesitate to type this) greatness. This 10-year-old book has aged badly; Holiday wrote it at a time when the worst thing that could happen to someone might be losing their business. But today, when we live in a truly dark age, one can imagine far greater 'obstacles'. Oh, and one of Holiday's heroes is Margaret Thatcher and another is Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Yes, the Desert Fox. Hitler's greatest general. Ouch.
It was an interesting overview of stoicism at the "101" level.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Surprisingly good, though there ares sentences and paragraphs in the text that are atrociously written.
A modern primer on the allure of stoicism.
A modern primer on the allure of stoicism.
Solid book of advice, looking at life through the lens of the Stoics.
Some nice quotes, generally good layman's introduction to stoic philosophy and nice author's nice attempt to provide us some easily digestible emotional education and development. On the other hand, that "you can do it, don't give up" oversimplified self-help approach and survivorship bias anecdotes left me with bad taste. So, three stars from me.
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced