A review by itsybitsydino
The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials Into Triumph by Ryan Holiday

hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.5

I would say this is a good intro to Stoicism. I'd bought the Daily Stoic (a different book) before but couldn't connect with it because of its brevity. This provides a more structured 'guide' that's easier to digest than the Daily Stoic and, say, Aurelius or Epictetus whose advice were compiled rather than written by themselves for an audience. I would think that the originals have more depth surrounding more themes, but this is a good start. Probably. For me, it was. I certainly needed a structure. That said, I started reading Epictetus alongside and I'm enjoying it.

In my opinion, all the self-help books and philosophy at this point has already been reworked, restated, and rephrased many times over and in many different cultures and contexts. Anyone that says a self-help book is the same regurgitated and repeated advice is either correct or just haven't found one that resonates with them.  I'm not trying to be a leader or leave some sort of legacy, this one resonated with me (even as I say that the examples were too far from my experiences to be relatable) as someone who struggles to be active and would rather wait for what's to come. At the end, it's the three principles that are the core of this book: Perception, Action, and Will which I found the easiest to carry with me.