The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage

The Way, The Enemy, and The Key #1

by Ryan Holiday

We give up too easily. With a simple change of attitude, what seem like insurmountable obstacles become once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Ryan Holiday, who dropped out of college at nineteen to serve as an apprentice to bestselling 'modern Machiavelli' Robert Greene and is now a media consultant for billion-dollar brands, draws on the philosophy of the Stoics to guide you in every situation, showing that what blocks our path actually opens one that is new and better.

If the competition threatens you, it's time to be fearless, to display your courage. An impossible deadline becomes a chance to show how dedicated you are. And as Ryan discovered as Director of Marketing for American Apparel, if your brand is generating controversy - it's also potentially generating publicity.

The Stoic philosophy - that what is in the way, is the way - can be applied to any problem: it's a formula invented more than 2,000 years ago, whose effectiveness has been proven in battles and board rooms ever since. From Barack Obama's ability to overcome obstacles in his election races, to the design of the iPhone, the stoic philosophy has helped its users become world-beaters.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Self Help, Business, Personal Development, Psychology, Leadership

224 pages, ebook

First published May 1, 2014

About the author

Ryan Holiday is media strategist for notorious clients like Tucker Max and Dov Charney. After dropping out of college at 19 to apprentice under the strategist Robert Greene, he went on to advise many bestselling authors and multi-platinum musicians. He is the Director of Marketing at American Apparel, where his work in advertising was internationally known. His strategies are used as case studies by Twitter, YouTube, and Google, and have been written about in AdAge, the New York Times, Gawker, and Fast Company. He is the author is *Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator*, which is due out in July. He currently lives in New Orleans, with his rebellious puppy, Hanno.

Reviews

[Lenny D · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great advice, everyone: overcome adversity. Just do it! For example, if you have a contract from Penguin to write a self-help book but you have absolutely nothing to say, don't fret. This is an opportunity. You interned for a guy who wrote an anecdote-based guide to being powerful. No need to reinvent the wheel!

Aside from some of the facts within the actual anecdotes—on which I don't trust he's done appropriate research since each of them are presented perfunctorily and exclusively to evince his successful-people habits (and not to interject any complications of reality)—there is little in this book you couldn't get from Dove chocolate wrappers. It's not bad advice, just banal.

I would be shocked if Holiday, a so-called media manipulator, put his heart into this drivel. The pacing, tone, and almost computer-generated writing give the effect of a student trying to meet a page requirement the night before a due date. Here's a sampling:

No one is saying you can't take a minute to think, Dammit, this sucks. By all means, vent. Exhale. Take stock. Just don't take too long. Because you have to get back to work. Because each obstacle we overcome makes us stronger for the next one.

But...

No. No excuses. No exceptions. No way around it: It's on you.

This wouldn't be especially egregious if it weren't the whole book, but it is. That's it, folks. There's no point at which it transcends to advice that will move your life forward.

Flip to any page; if it isn't an anecdote about how some famous person got famous by exhibiting a given virtue, it's just more of this run-on about how you have to find the way in which your obstacle is the way. There are no specifics about how exactly one is supposed to tackle "obstacles," which is a ludicrously broad concept. Rather than actionable instructions, these platitudes are vast like oceans: They run into each other, have no discernible borders, and are so huge as to be unwieldy, so unwieldy as to be pointless. The only real linkage here is the classical Stoic advice to maintain equanimity. This could have been conveyed in a much more powerful way. Like by the Stoics, for example. (He admits as much in the intro.)

The book revolves around dozens of small, unrelated and intellectually unlinked anecdotes. Seemingly anyone who's ever done something well is an example, contradictions be damned. Nowhere is a cogent theory of perseverance mentioned. The most hilarious thing is how poorly-rendered Holiday's history is.

One can trace the thread of [Stoicism] from those days in the decline and fall of the Roman Empire to the creative outpouring of the Renaissance to the breakthroughs of the Enlightenment. It's seen starkly in the pioneer spirit of the American West, the perseverance of the Union cause during the Civil War, and in the bustle of the Industrial Revolution. It appeared again in the bravery of the leaders of the civil rights movement and stood tall in the prison camps of Vietnam. And today it surges in the DNA of the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley.

No word on whether the Native Americans just got out-stoic'd by the "pioneer spirit." The next time you'll read such a vacuous, half-lidded recitation of Western History, it'll be when your sixth-grader is preparing a report he didn't research enough. I have a feeling that's the case here.

It's vaguely insulting to be told that all obstacles are just a bunch of Oedipal Sphinxes. That's easy to say when your career began with a chance encounter with your favorite author, who announced he was really looking for a research assistant to hire, and would you be interested? Probably harder for the kids in sub-Saharan Africa to really leverage their malnutrition into a fierce and fulfilling career in PR. Fuck this book.

[Jazzmin Hunter · Rating 1 out of 5]

About as useful as starting with a list of amputees, picking out only the successful ones, getting their stories, and then writing a book called "Having a Limb Chopped Off is the Way".

[Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't much more than a superficial repackaging of stoicism combined with some semi-interesting anecdotes and a whole lot of trite motivational affirmations. The book is written in the style of Holiday's mentor, Robert Greene, but where Greene does something rare and surprising by compensating for his lack of personal experience with deep and compelling research, The Obstacle is the Way falls flat. The anecdotes are common and superficial and their ties to Stoicism feel tenuous at best. Then, to make it worse, rather than allowing the stories and quotes from the stoics to speak for themselves, they are always followed by explicit and repetitive advice that just constantly restates the one idea that yes, the obstacle is the way.

I really like Ryan. I think he's done some great work elsewhere. I have heard him interviewed and he is a sincere and positive guy. This book feels rushed and incomplete though.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a fucking obstacle. Now I can share the way: Don't bother.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stoicism: the ancient philosophy that teaches mental endurance in the face of hardship. Ryan Holiday explores this outstanding philosophy and how it can help us in our everyday lives in The Obstacle is the Way: The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage.

So: I flat out loved this book! Stoicism, to paraphrase Holiday, is hard-won wisdom forged in the crucible of human experience, and its lessons are enormously valuable. In brief, they are: to do what is within our power and to accept what isn’t; to find the right action, you must find the right perspective - this is almost always to find the positive in everything that happens to us; learn from mistakes - failure is instructional; not to get overwhelmed by the bigger picture, to focus on the here and now, and to persevere; to be calm and resilient when faced with problems - be objective before acting.

I was surprised to discover that a lot of ways of thinking I already use in my own life are traced back to Stoicism. Maybe I liked this book so much because of bias confirmation? Or maybe such ideas are ubiquitous because they make so much sense - live each day like it’s your last, don’t worry about what others are doing and focus on yourself, think positively, etc.

There’s more obviously but it comes down to: it’s all in your head. And I couldn’t agree more with the idea that philosophy should be practical rather than the preserve of academics only interested in sniffing each other’s farts. The best thing about this very humanist worldview is that it spurs you on to be the best possible you who then goes on to do things, rather than stagnate in fear, depression, sybaritic behaviours, etc.

Holiday relates these lessons through the lives of some of history’s most famous adherents to the philosophy from the Ancients, like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, and Demosthenes, to the modern day, like Tom Hanks, Steve Jobs and Barack Obama. I had no idea that former US presidents Andrew Johnson and James Garfield started their careers as a tailor and school janitor respectively but it makes where they got to eventually all the more impressive, and they used stoicism to get themselves there.

I won’t run through the list of other famous names and their stories or the more nuanced takes on the philosophy here - if you’re interested, read the book itself - but suffice it to say that I enjoyed it all. The Obstacle is the Way is a fantastic overview of and introduction to a remarkable philosophy that has impressed itself on me completely - genuinely helpful and inspiring stuff! This is rocket fuel for the mind.

[CanadianReader · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a trite, flippant book that does a great disservice to the deep philosophy of the stoics. Replete with references to tycoons and millionaires, it is largely self-help in perky, upbeat, you-can-do-it, rah-rah language. The essential premise of stoicism--that sometimes the only choice you have when you are faced with a dire situation is the attitude or philosophy of acceptance that you can bring to it--has been warped into "there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Just because Hamlet makes this statement, it doesn't mean that Shakespeare was a moral relativist, or that he was advocating that we should be. The hard things that happen in the world do not occur for our own personal growth and "journeys".

Ryan Holiday is apparently known for another popular work (which some have found a bit chilling) Trust Me, I'm Lying. I didn't trust Holiday for a minute here with his Tony Robbins-like exhortations and his superficial glossing over in chipper staccato prose of life's real hardships and injustices. One's attitude and perception do need to be wrestled with in times of great pain and hardship, but such events don't occur to make us better people.

I do not recommend this formulaic piece of self-help schlock. Avoid it!

[Krishna Chaitanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a short and powerful read.

The problem or limitation I should say with the most of the self-help books is that they try to cover many subjects in a single book and because of this the quality is compromised, but not this one.

The author in his book only tried to cover one important subject or challenge which most people scared of, obstacles, how to turn them upside down and use them to your advantage.

It is apparent from this book that the author is a great admirer of stoicism, philosophy and Marcus Aurelius. Their preachings are sprinkled in each of the chapters which is deeply inspiring.

The author provides 3 facets - Perception, Action and Will namely to embrace/accept obstacles and turn them to an advantage, draw momentum to keep moving forward and face the next challenge.

[Eric Gardner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Early in the book Holiday writes, “This is not a book of gushing, hazy optimism…There will be no folksy saying or cute but utterly ineffectual proverbs.”

He is partially right. There aren't many folksy sayings, but the next 200 pages features a mixture of ineffectual proverbs and utterly incomplete historical rehashes. Holiday is an accomplished thinker and writer, but this book will not give you a comprehensive insight into success or stoicism, but rather a foolishly short-sided view of the world.

If Holiday analyzed the European theatre of WW2 he would forget to mention America's supply chain advantages or Germany's lack of oil. Instead he would focus on Eisenhower's unique ability to "find the opportunity" and see that the solution to the German strategy "was found inside the strategy itself."

That is, by the way, almost exactly the childish and sophomoric analysis he provides.

[Pedro Vasconcelos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much vaporware. Some interesting ideas, some nice stoic quotes, but overall it's more like a very long, feel good, bland, blog post. Also, most examples of historic figures or famous people, suffer greatly from selection or confirmation bias. Life is complex and most of the time you cannot pick examples of successful people and attribute their success to specific causes. A lot of the real life examples in this book felt like they were shaped and distorted to fit the autor's narrative and to sit nicely in the few lines each was given. Sometimes I like to pick up one of these books that sit squarely in the self-help category.. they make you feel good, motivated and can be a source of very interesting characters, perspectives and ways of doing things.. this book was not one of them. Cannot recommend it.

[J.F. Penn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an intelligent self-help book packed with examples from history of people who made it through adversity into greatness. It also offers a system for approaching life as a more average person, turning obstacles into advantages, and using relentless persistence to achieve what you want.

We all face obstacles in our lives, what matters is how we perceive them and work with them to move on. "When we aim high, pressure and stress obligingly come along for the ride," so we have to find ways of dealing with them, as well as the aspects of life that may blindside up with randomness.

Holiday uses Stoicism as a basis for the book, but it's not a dry philosophy book by any means. He makes the words from thousands of years ago come alive through modern example. As someone who studied Greek and Latin at school, I appreciated the 21st century take on the subject. Through perception, action and will, we can achieve despite obstacles. I particularly liked the chapter on 'amor fati,' love of fate.

[Liong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Ego Is the Enemy by the same author, Ryan Holiday. I rated it 3 stars.

This time I rated this book 4 stars because I learned something new especially when I don't know how to react smartly when I face obstacles in my life.

This book mentions many tools to handle and solve the problems that we are facing every day.

I like his words:

"While others are excited or afraid, we will remain calm and imperturbable. We will see things simply and straightforwardly, as they truly are-neither good nor bad. This will be an incredible advantage for us in the fight against obstacles."

We should focus on what can be controlled and look for opportunities within the obstacles.

We defeat emotions with logic. We try not to perceive but to observe simply what is there.

The author recommends reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by Gregory Hays.

[Dave Ricchiazzi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked this up after I heard the author speak on a podcast, and thought it would be worth looking into, at the very least for a refresher on the upshots of stoicism. This book contradicts itself, leaves gaping holes in its practical advice, and is yet another apology for the idea that "successful people are successful because they're better people than everyone else".

The author recognizes that there are many factors in life which are out of a person's control, but takes pains to ignore that those factors can contribute wildly to the outcomes of peoples lives. Yes, people can and do bounce back from setbacks. They can dig in, take things in stride and make something out of their loss. Perseverance is a good thing after all. But sometimes those setbacks are timed in such a way, or happen in a set of circumstances which all but destroys hope of regaining lost ground within the span of a lifetime, or whatever lifetime remains for some. Sure, trying to see the best way forward isn't bad advice necessarily, but it does little to acknowledge the systemic issues that may have been the cause of such setbacks.

Holiday's practical advice is pretty much all over the place. Stay calm and judge a situation objectively is the first bit, and that's fine. But his section on action is essentially this: when a situation calls for action x, do action x. Be aggressive when you need to be, be patient when you need to be, be decisive when you need to be and things will work out...or they won't. No clue as to how to learn when aggression is called for over inaction, patience or speed or vice versa. You're supposed to learn that as you go, life being a trial by error experiment, in which any failure is short-term can be simply overcome (note for author: Life doesn't always work like that). Once you overcome those setbacks, repeat the process. Or...don't repeat the process but instead realize that this obstacle is not going to be moved, and you need to find a different way. When is it appropriate to do that? Again, no help.

The end result of all this is that what is required by the stoic is perfect wisdom, and even that is insufficient in the face of uncontrollable variables. Even if you knew when to strike and when not to, things can still get in your way, and if they do, well the least you can do is help others or learn something virtuous. And this is yet another problem.

Helping others and learning virtue are apparently consolation prizes to being deterred from your personal goals. Obstacles in your way causing failure? Well, if you can't overcome it, help others. If you can't overcome it, learn some humility and move on. What about the successes? Are they excused from helping people? Do they not need to learn virtue? Because again, just as uncontrollable circumstances can cause failure, they can also cause success, a point which appears nowhere in the text. His use of Rockefeller as a shining example of stoicism is enough to tell you just how much the stoic values "the good".

His use of Grant and Eisenhower are particularly telling. These were men in control of themselves and therefore were successful. They had to make serious decisions in which countries/the world hinged. What about the people they commanded? What about those little soldier stoics on the front lines of North Africa who were dying while the generals were "learning from their mistakes". What is the advice for the grunt, who is serving their country, but has to follow orders? What advice to those whose obstacles are bullets to the brain?

In other parts of the book, he seems dangerously close to blaming students for their student loan debt, or bemoaning the "safety nets" of our modern lives which have softened his generation. The sad truth of it is, even if everyone was a stoic, greatness would still elude the same amount of people. To do otherwise would destroy the entire notion of greatness. It may make people more resilient, more determined, less inclined to complaining, but it also would make them easily manipulated. Not achieving your goals? Work harder, for however long, at the rate your betters have set for you, and don't complain, because that's useless and doesn't get you anywhere. Except of course, when it will get you somewhere because you should've seen that you needed to zig instead of zag.

This yet another volume like The Secret, which wants to instill the idea that people are successes solely because of their attitudes and their work ethic. Sure, sometimes that is absolutely the case. Sometimes unflappable determination and grit gets you somewhere. But sometimes being in the right set of circumstances in the right time also gets you somewhere.

If you take anything from this book, take that being resilient, being persistent, and having a good work ethic will help you more than not having those things. Any stronger statement falls apart. This was a rant and all over the place, my apologies.

[Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for work. Nothing that original, which the author disclaims in the beginning…a lot of trite platitudes. Still, it was decent, with a lot of good well-known points and reminders.

[Peter Goutis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this. Ryan seems like a smart guy. But I just found it tedious to get through. It was very repetitive and "cheerleady" (okay, I know that's not a word).

I can summarize this book in a few words:

Put on your big boy pants.
Push on.
And do the right thing.

Toward the end of the book, in the recommended reading, Ryan states not to read the books about Stoicism but to read the originals. The books about Stoicism aren't worth checking out (and he knows because he's read all of them). I'd take his advice on this one and stick to the original works by Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, etc.

[Brad Feld · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know Ryan Holiday, but I heard of this book from Tim Ferriss and was intrigued by the description so I decided to dose myself in some stoicism. Dynamite book – I’m glad I put the time in. Holiday covers the topic well in a very accessible way.

[Hamad · Rating 2 out of 5]

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“Think progress, not perfection.”

A book that sold more than a million copies, has ~50K ratings and an average rating of 4.15 should be great right? Nah and the top reviews are mostly disappointed people with one stars which should have told me something about it. I came upon this book when I was looking for more Non-Fiction to read and expand my horizons. Matt D’Avella who is one of my favorite YouTubers at this time once recommended it in one of his videos, I knew I was gonna read it then. Also I wanted to learn more about Stoicism which I discovered recently (Not the biggest fan of philosophy) and I thought this book would be helpful, unfortunately it wasn’t!

The problem with this book is that it does provide a few good points but it does so in 200 pages more than it should have been. The points I can take from this book can be summed in a blog post, to be honest I mentioned this book to a friend of mine who is a huge philosophy nerd and we talked about stoicism a bit and I felt it was more helpful than this book.

The language is “Preachy” and the author lets you feel that he discovered a secret of the universe and he wants to share it with us just like the tone used in the book “The Secret” which -I hated- you probably have heard of.

Also the author has a huge problem with Selection Bias when it comes to this book. The examples mentioned are A) the same ones picked by all authors writing about productivity/ Success … etc and B) aren’t really the best examples because if I was in a debate with the author I would have easily won countering those same exact examples. The funny thing is how each book mentions Bill Gates for example from a different angle, Outliers tells us about his 10K hours of expertise he had before becoming huge, The Unfair Advantage is self explanatory and explains the advantages he had over people, The Happiness Advantage tells us how it is always group work and never an individual!

“After all, the brain is a muscle like any other active tissue. It can be built up and toned through the right exercises. Over time, their muscle memory grew to the point that they could intuitively respond to every situation. Especially obstacles.”

This quote also irked me because it shows the author has zero knowledge in the medicine field, “The brain is a muscle??!?!?!” how the heck was that even published? I even tried to think it may not be literal but if it was the case then it shows how the writing is weak!

Also at the end of the book the author mentions that Stoicism is best learned from the older original texts because they are easy to understand and most of the modern adaptations are not that great, this book was actually a proof of that!

“The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.”

Summary: I think the book has a few good points but it is not the best place to learn about stoicism. I expected to learn how to use obstacles to move forward too but it did not help with that, it was just example after example of people who did that, it may give a small motivational push and it may not given the fact how the examples were nitpicked in a biased way. The writing may be borderline on the toxic positivity side and for that reason, I think I am not gonna recommend this book for people interested in the subject. Maybe just take the author’s own advice and read some of the original texts like Meditations by Marcus Aurelius!

[rahul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would suggest a rereading of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations instead of this.

P.S. Also I am tired of examples about what Generals did during wars.

[Vadims · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book contains superficially interpreted and simplified ideas of the Stoic philosophy and interconnects them with the anecdotes and modern life examples. Thats it. You will not find there any original idea or even analysis of the Stoicism. Author repeats the same things again and again seasoned with the names and quotes of the great philosophers.

[Tim Nowotny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I got into it with too much background of the author.
Knowing and linking much of the Tim Ferris stuff I had read the blog post of "How to do a bestseller" which this applies without shame. That in itself would be no bad thing. The bad thing for me starts when there is no depth in this book. It is like having heard a good quote and repeating it over and over and over again.
I like the author and I like stoism. But there is so much more than "It is not important what life throws at you, you still can make it"

[Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Curriculum: School of Hard Knocks (Highly Practical; No Dr. Phil's Hogwash or Powdery Puff like that of Eckhart Tolle)
A Largely Practical Self-Help Book of Advice from the Ages for Those of Us Who have Come to Hate Contemporary Self-Help Bullshit

I'm not being coy when I say this should be required reading before being awarded a college diploma: a synopsis/collection of philosophy (from the Greeks to the leaders of today) and inspiring stories of triumphs in the face of the trials of life. It could be immensely helpful to the bright-eyed, the bubbly, the go-getters, et al., in coping with the coming obstacles that will surely come his/her way, some of which could even be so devastating that it shatters (or seems to) the personal myth most of us hold so tightly upon entering the working world: a big house, a perfect marriage, 2 straight A kids, and a well-planned career you love and that makes you tons of money.

This is a new perspective coming from many different angles on turning obstacles over, around and about into positives, and maybe to a better way than that shattered myth of me. I go back to this book often and always find a treasure I really need and that I'd forgotten from my first reading.

This is not a feel-good, power of positive thinking, Dr. Phil Hogslappery or Eckhart Tolle Powder of Now Puffery.

It's real and it's really practical.

[Kamal · Rating 5 out of 5]

الدنيا جارحة ومتعبة وناس كتير متعذبة، وبرضه ولا بيشغلها هتفضل تتمادى في الغشامة طول ما إحنا بنتقدم في العمر أو النجاح أو التطور، ممكن تشوف إن الدنيا ماشية بضهرها وحطت عليا أو تعتبرها مدرب قاسي بيختبر قوتك طول الوقت عشان يشوف هل تستحق الحجات اللي عايزها ولا بطنك فاضية وبتتكلم وخلاص؛ فهتدوس على وشك أكتر.

عم الرواقيين كلهم وعين أعيان التاريخ وشمعة الإمبراطورية الرومانية المتوهجة (ماركوس أوريليوس) بيقول في تأملاته: "إن العقل ليتكيف ويدور حول أيِّ عائقٍ للفعل لكي يخدم هدفه؛ فيُحوِّل ما هو عائقٌ عن عملٍ مُعيَّنٍ إلى مُعِينٍ على ذلك العمل، ويُحوِّل العقبة في طريقٍ ما إلى تقدُّمٍ على تلك الطريق."

الأستاذ (Ryan Holiday) بقى خد الفكرة دي وبنى عليها الكتاب ده، اللي استنبط فيه ثلاثة التزامات أساسية لعصر العقبات تنزّل منها دروس مُغيّرة:

1. التصوّر: عشان تتعامل مع عدو لازم تبقى شايفه كويس، شايفه صح، والحقيقة إن كل مشكلة هي عدو مهمته يعطّلك ويجيبك على وشك.

لو شوفت المشكلة أكبر منك وعمرك ما هتعرف تتعامل معاها فأنت رميت الفوطة وحكمت على نفسك بالفشل قبل ما تبدأ أساسًا.

الطريقة اللي بنستقبل بيها الدنيا عمومًا ممكن تبقى مصدر قوة أو نقطة ضعف، فلو كل مرة بتحصل مشكلة بنتقِمص ونقعد ندبدب في الأرض ونقول "كل حاجة بتبوظ، أنا حظي وحش، أنا ليه بيحصل لي كده؟..." فهنبقى بنحمِّل نفسنا فوق اللي عندنا، واللي عايزينه مش هيحصل برضه وهنفضل في وحل المشكلة.

زي اللي وقع في رمال متحركة فقعد يرفّص، مع إنه بس محتاج يهدأ، يركز، ياخد نفس عميق ويشوف هيعمل إيه.

2. التصرّف: الفعل، الخطوة اللي هتتعمل، طريقة الهندلة، نزول ساحة المعركة.

خلينا نتفق إن فيه حجات في إيدنا وحجات لأ. بعد ما شوفنا المشكلة بوضوح ومن غير أي تصورات خاطئة هنفصصها، نشوف

هل لنا من الأمر شيء؟ فنشتغل عليه.
مش بغشومية وفتحة صدر، بل بشجاعة وذكاء وجرأة وإبداع وصبر ومثابرة.

اللي بنعمله هو اللي بيحدد إحنا مين. ومافيش حل تاني أو بديل، لا التفكير الزيادة ولا البحث عن حد تاني يحل مشاكلنا ولا الهروب والانغماس في نشاطات مبددة للوقت والطاقة والصحة.

والموضوع مش هيبقى سهل وهتتسحل وهتجرب حجات كتير وممكن برضه الموضوع مايتحلش وهنقوم ونكمل عشان هي دي قوانين الكون ومافيش علاج لأي حاجة غير إننا ناخد خطوات ونحاول.

بس إحنا اتفقنا إن مش كل الحجات في إيدنا صح؟

3. الإرادة: إذا "المرء يومًا أراد النجاة" فلابد أن يستجيب القدر، عارفين ده من ابتدائي بس بعتبره كلام حماسي، والجماعة بتوع التخرية البشرية انتهكوه وصبغوه برخصهم فبقى مادة للسخرية، الناس بتخاف تصدق فيه يبقوا كرينچ، بس ابقى خليهم ينفعوك لما ڤولدمورت يعشش بضلمته في خبايا روحك وتبقى عايش ومش عايش ومتنيل على خيبتك.

الإرادة -أخي في الله- هي قوتك، وقودك اللي ماحدش له تأثير عليه غيرك، الإرادة هي اللي بنعتمد عليها لما بتبقى كل حاجة بتنهار وكل الطرق مسدودة وكل المشاكل غير قابلة للحل. فنستخدم الإرادة عشان نفضل على رِجلنا ونسندل، طبعًا ده مش سهل ومابيتعملش في ساعتين جد وما بيتعملش بغشومية برضه، بل بهدوء وروية ومرونة وثبات.

الإرادة هي فن التسليم لربنا، تغليب فكرة ما يشاء الله على ما نشاء نحن. عشان -مش هنحوّر على بعض- الحياة مش هتبقى سهلة أبدًا ومعظم اللي بيحصل مش في إيدنا، والإرادة الحقيقية في قبول اللي مش في إيدنا والمرونة والاستمرار في اللي بنعمله بعد الفشل والوقوع.

النوع الآخر من الإرادة هو الضعف المتنكر في الطموح والجمدان وده فالصو، الإرادة الحقيقية المفيدة تخليك تفرّق بين اللي في إيدك فتشتغل عليه وبين اللي خارج إيدك فتقبله وتقول الحمد لله وتروح تكمل شغل على اللي في إيدك.

معظم أبطال الدنيا ما عندهمش حاجة أكتر مننا، أو حاجة إحنا ما نقدرش نعملها، كلنا بشر في النهاية ممكن نتعلم ونعمل زيهم، اللي عملوه بسيط (بس مش سهل) وهي دي الفكرة، إن مافيش جديد؛ شوف الحجات على حقيقتها، اعمل اللي في إيدك بأفضل طريقة، اقبل اللي مش في إيدك، وتحمّل قدرك من المعاناة الحتمية. و(الكتاب مهم لا يفوتك)

وتذكر أن العقبات هي طريقة الحياة لتجهيزك وصقلك، وأن ما يُعيق هو الطريق.

خُد حضن.

[Lee Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this after googling "The Process" during a highly caffeinated Sixers-related research session one day. The Process refers to Sixers GM Sam Hinkie's plan to pull the team out of mediocrity by clearing cap space, developing unheralded young players, establishing a hardworking, fun, trusting culture/environment, and accumulating draft picks by trading current established veterans (and MCW, the previous season's Rookie of the Year) for future picks, using aforementioned cap space to absorb overpaid/underperforming veterans plus picks in exchange for helping teams bail out from bad contacts (eg, Javale McGee's $20 million/year), and most importantly/infamously running out on the floor a team of young nobodies -- guys like Hollis Thompson, Brandon Davies, Henry Sims, undrafted free agents (TJ McConnell), a D-league MVP (Robert Covington), super-bouncy athletic second-rounders who can't shoot (Jerami Grant, Jakarr Sampson), and former first-round players who hadn't panned out (James Anderson, Thomas Robinson) -- and have them compete hard without the stabilizing veteran rotation player presence (formerly Tony Battie, Elton Brand, et al.), all in order to secure a top-5 pick in the draft, ideally the one thing all great teams throughout NBA history have had, something the Sixers hadn't had since Allen Iverson, something teams can only acquire through the draft or free agency (before they built their new world-class luxury home-base in Camden, no one wanted to come to Philly and practice at the Philadelphia Osteopathic College of Medicine on City Avenue, the only team in the league without their own training facility/headquarters): a superstar or two.

A few years after The Process began (with the trade of Jrue Holiday for Nerlens Noel and a future first-round pick that became Dario Saric and their own future first-round pick that had been lost in a bad trade to draft Arnett Moultrie two years before and that ultimately netted the Sixers the #1 overall pick in the 2016 draft, Ben Simmons, two years after they added the #3 overall pick in the 2014 draft, Joel Embiid), the Sixers now have two likely superstars (Embiid is already an all-star starter and Simmons should win Rookie of the Year and develop into a perennial MVP candidate), last year's #1 pick Markelle Fultz (currently injured/bizarrely jacked shooting form), next year's Lakers pick (currently around #10), and enough cap space to add a difference-making small forward, maybe someone like Lebron James. As a Sixers fan since the days of Darryl Dawkins (pre-Moses, I mean), I was very much in favor of The Process, following its intricacies more closely than I had regular season games in the past, in part because it was such a rational, analytics-driven, longest-view-type plan that ultimately had as its goal not making the playoffs every year (and losing in the first or second round, thereby drafting in the middle teens and getting stuck every year with very good players like Thaddeus Young) but drafting and developing game-changing players who can ignite the city and lead the team to the finals at least. But I think I was also attracted to it because it was about rationally overcoming the OBSTACLE of mediocrity (losing in the first round of the playoffs or just missing out each year) and winning championships (multiple NBA titles, ideally). And so the Sixers turned their obstacle (losing) into the way (losing intentionally/pragmatically in the short term, all to increase their long-term chances of winning).

So I've been a little bit interested in The Process over the years -- and then last week googled "The Process" and for the first time considered that Kafka's "The Trial" is actually called "Der Process" in German -- and also I read something about college football coach Nick Saban's "Process," which led me to this book, which I ordered on a whim. I also like reading things like this (pop science/psych, self-help, etc) every once in a while, gleaning whatever the lesson is that will be repeated a hundred times and seeing how the authors go about structuring a book like this. This one takes Stoicism and Aurelius's Meditations and delivers it like "Stoicism for Dummies" but in updated, attractive, readable form. It's structured into three parts (perception, action, will), with each part having between nine and twelve short chapters, each beginning with a quotation, followed by an anecdote from some famous person (Edison, U.S. Grant, Lincoln, Earhart, Gandhi, MLK, Richard Wright, George Clooney, etc), followed by some abstraction on the topic, followed by more quotations, followed by second-person coach-like clipped encouragement-type sentences, often ending with a bulleted list of summarized tactics to help us deal with the obstacle ahead of us, whatever it is. It's a quick, painless, at times thought-provoking read (again, it's basically a collection of quotations and anecdotes), a great model for anyone interested in reducing a classical philosophy to cherry-picked historical stories and aphorisms followed by vernacular translation directly addressing the reader.

I also now know that when confronted by an obstacle, as long as I proceed with complete attention and energy, all my armies deployed, I can choose to go around it, go in the opposite direction, use the obstacle's energy against it, confront it head on with persistence and try to outlast it -- that is, for every obstacle there's like fifteen different contradictory responses possible. But it's interesting to think about in terms of the Sixers' Process and Kafka's "Before The Law" parable, where the traveler wants to gain access to the Law but the door is blocked by a guard with a huge Tartan beard who talks about dozens of other doors beyond his, each blocked by more terrifying guards, and so the traveler begs, pleads, bribes, and then falls silent and waits patiently for the guard to let him in until one day he realizes that he's grown old and somehow no one else has ever come also seeking entry to The Law and so he asks the guard about this and the guard says because this door was only for you and now I'm going to shut it.

The guy seeking entry to The Law in Kafka's tale maybe should've read this book. Sam Hinkie, however, could probably write a better version of it.

Anyway, an atypical read that's made me want to find that copy of "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius I have somewhere and that seems more valuable as a model for how to write something like this than a self-help obstacle-overcoming handbook in itself.

[Isaiah Hankel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Obstacle is the Way digs into how knowledge and reason are in fact the highest good, as well as how to stay indifferent to pleasure and pain and how to respond to the vicissitudes of fortune objectively. The key is to not let your emotions color your perception of the world.

Ryan not only provides a great review of stoicism, he does an excellent job at articulating exactly how this school of thought can be applied to any problems that you might be facing now as you try to advance your career or transition from academia into a new career. He also provides an ample number of takeaways in the book. The Obstacle is the Way goes beyond the philosophy of stoicism simply by making the philosophy actionable. Reading this book will make you take action. Rational action.

If you're looking to:

-Take your career to the next level by getting a promotion (even though someone else is standing in your way)
-Transition out of academia and into a new career to finally get paid what you're worth (even though you don't have any business connections)
-Quit your job and start your own business so you never have to work for anyone again (even though you don't know how to run a business)

...then this book is for you. The Obstacle is the Way is rooted in concrete, everlasting principles, not processes or fads that come and go with the wind. By reading this book, you will understand these principles and you will be able to make use of them to get what you want.

If you want to get ahead, the Obstacle is the Way is highly recommended.

[Alex Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The formula: repackage a lot of great quotes, mostly from stoic philosophy. Tie together in a small, convenient carry-along parcel that will appeal to a strategically selected customer base. Add annotation of little value to the works of other writers and great men. Throw in the single beat of a drum with the same message over and over, so that we get it. Perform the aforementioned feat of reverse prestidigitation without bringing the material to life in any way or providing significant insight. The result? A document that does not come close to living up to its hype.

I like the guy that Ryan Holiday used to work for, Robert Greene; an author who is controversial, has broken some new ground and takes risks which often result in forging vibrancy, meaning and life into what he writes about. Unfortunately, and this isn't meant to be an armchair-kill-the-bum-judgemental in any way, but I just can't help it because it's so damn obvious: Holiday has stolen some of his mentor's moves without assimilating any of his strengths.

I was really ready to love this work, truly I was. I didn't even get as far as liking it, and as may be evident, I feel bamboozled. The ideas that this book promotes resonate profoundly with those of us who choose, or have no other choice, than to march to the tune a different drummer: use the rough terrain as an opportunity to build resilience, obstacles are stepping stones and disasters can be opportunities to up your game. This mindset exemplifies so much of what some of us spend a large portion of our lives locked in training mode and do battle with ourselves to accomplish. My first emotional response was to throw a 1* rating at this book, this action would perhaps have captured more attention of curious readers looking for a sign of whether to buy this book or not (my theory is that most potential readers look only at extreme ratings of either 5* for brilliance or 1* for crap and don't bother with the inbetweeners) but that would have seemed churlish. It is worth only a 1* rating, but will double that just in the off chance that this work of crass opportunism might be of some small use to someone. Perhaps it will be of some help to start a fire in a lonely fireplace on a cold winter’s night.

So let's cut to the chase, waste no more time, get the review over with and put a pathetic literary creature out of its misery:

This book is simply haggis dressed as filet mignon.

Mr. Holiday's talents potentially lie in other directions, in other job categories, most likely marketing and sales. Don't get me wrong, these qualities don't necessarily preclude good writing.

Good writing just requires something more.

[Andrew McMillen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know whether the author intended it to be read as such, but to me this is nothing if not a motivational book. Rooted in actionable philosophy that seeks to flip readers' perception of any problematic event into an opportunity, 'Obstacle''s inner message is that, ultimately, the only thing standing between success and failure is yourself. His writing style here is sharp, succinct and authoritative, and clearly influenced by the approach of Holiday's mentor – and another favourite author of mine – Robert Greene ('The 48 Laws of Power', 'Mastery'). By drawing on notable historical examples and showing the strategies these well-known figures used to overcome challenges in their lives, the reader is shown a clear path between intent, action and outcome.

A short read at around 200 pages presented in a small 'pocketbook' format, this is a huge and ballsy departure from Holiday's first book, 'Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator'. 'The Obstacle is the Way' is a must-read for any thinking human. It's a text that I can easily see myself returning to in times of need, just as I do with 'The 48 Laws of Power' and 'Mastery'.

[Matt Lillywhite · Rating 5 out of 5]

“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.”

The Obstacle Is The Way is one of my favorite books.

It helped me to see a light at the end of the tunnel during one of the darkest periods of my life. I also love Ryan Holiday's engaging writing style and the way he incorporates historical anecdotes into each chapter. Very grateful to have a personalized copy signed by Ryan.

5 stars.

[Kingshuk Mukherjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone has written excellent reviews so I'll keep mine short.

This book is stoicism 101, and resiliency 101. When you feel fear, doubt, lost- this is a book that will remind you that your problems are not unique- plenty of people have suffered worse, and flourished because of it.

It may be difficult to wrap our minds around some of these ideas in today's coddled, soft, comfortable society. But cultivating grit, strength, resilience has never been more important.

A quick read, and Ryan's writing style is easy to digest. Very actionable, very instructive.

A large part of the value of his book also lies in how many people he exposes you to through stories and anecdotes.

If you want to explore any of the characters or topics deeper- he has already given you an excellent starting point through the bibliography.


I will refer to this book often.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite agreeing with the overall message of the book, the way the book presents that message is dreary, tiresome and perfunctory. The book relies primarily on anecdotal evidence, which interpreted by Holiday, becomes explicitly romanticised. It becomes hard to believe that all the examples in the book were motivated purely by stoicism and were originally perfect examples of the lessons of stoicism attempts to depart, which throws the authority of the book out of balance. Every example becomes idealised and perfect and repetitious, which in turn makes all the anecdotes tiresome to sit through. Despite the criticism, there were moments or sentences in the book that related and had a certain affect to them, however, these were far and few between and not worth the price of admission. The audio book was even harder to get through as Holiday narrates it himself and sounds permanently like he has a cold and stuffed nose for the entire reading.
It was okay, but spend your time elsewhere.

[Mohammad · Rating 2 out of 5]

سالها پیش یک دوره آموزشی در مورد تندخوانی رو نگاه می‌کردم. از خود مجموعه چیز زیادی یاد نگرفتم. به درد نمی‌خورد. اما در کنار این محصول چند تا مصاحبه به عنوان اشانتیون (بونس) گذاشته بود. یکی از این مصاحبه‌ها با یک آقایی بود که در مورد اصل بنیادی کسب ثروت حرف می‌زد. می‌گفت روش‌هایی که برای ثروتمند شدن آموزش داده می‌شن معمولا برای همه افراد کارایی ندارن. روشی وجود نداره که بخواد قدم به قدم راه رو مشخص کنه و با اجرا کردنش همه ثروتمند بشن. اصل بنیادی اینه که حرکت کنیم و متوقف نشیم. مهم نیست که تصمیم به انجام چه کاری می‌گیریم، مهم اینه که وقتی تصمیم گرفتیم، انجامش بدیم. نذاریم ذهنمون شلوغ بشه. باید ذهن رو خالی کنیم. برای چیزهایی که فکرمون رو مشغول می‌کنه سریع تعیین تکلیف کنیم؛ یا انجامش بدیم، یا بذاریمش کنار و فراموشش کنیم، یا به یک نفر دیگه بسپریم که انجامش بده یا هر کار دیگه‌ای که اون رو از سیستم ما خارج کنه. نذاریم مشکلات و مسائل دائم فکرمون رو مشغول کنن. یک بار باهاش رو به رو بشیم و تمومش کنیم. به تاخیر انداختن، اجتناب از مواجهه با افراد و مشکلات، نادیده گرفتن وعده‌هایی که دادیم و بدقولی‌ها و چیزهایی که باید به یاد داشته باشیم و فراموش نکنیم، باعث می‌شه تا فکرمون مشغول باشه. وقتی فکرمون مشغول باشه نمی‌تونیم به چیزهایی که هدف ما هستن فکر کنیم و کاری براشون انجام بدیم. این اصل توی چهار مرحله خلاصه می‌شه: تعیین هدف، تعیین گام بعدی برای رسیدن به هدف، انجام گام بعدی و وقتی که وقتش رسید، درخواست چیزی که می‌خوایم از فرد مقابل.
یارو یک کتاب کوتاه هم نوشته بود که توی گوودریدز هم نیست. یکی از تاثیرگذارترین و ساده‌ترین مسائلی که در مورد کسب ثروت یاد گرفتم. که البته منحصر به این موضوع هم نیست و می‌تونه برای چیزهای دیگه هم به کار بره.
این کتاب هم همین رو می‌گه. البته با داستان و نقل قول و مثال ها و مطالب انگیزشی بیشتر. می‌گه هر مشکلی که سر راهمون قرار گرفته یا فکر می‌کنیم سر راهمون هست، دقیقا همون چیزیه که باید باهاش رو به رو بشیم و مسیرمون از همون جا می‌گذره. این موضوع نه تنها بد نیست بلکه در دل خودش یک فرصت برای رشد و شکوفایی به ما می‌ده که در غیر این صورت وجود نمی‌داشت..
با ارفاق بد نبود

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Obstacle is the Way is a quick overview of Stoicism, how the author applies that philosophy to his life, and how folks throughout history have used Stoicism to surmount obstacles in their way. I rather liked it but I haven't read the originals (yet) or know much about the topic beyond this book. I would be interested to see what close friends of mine, who claim to be Stoics, have to say about it. Nudge, nudge, Brad Wagnon.

Like other philosophy books, I found this one to be heavy on the stories and light on the practical application, but that's. My incredibly overactive imagination fills in the blanks.

If you enjoyed The Obstacle is the Way, I'd suggest Creativity: The Perfect Crime by Philippe Petit or What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam.