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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Ryan Holiday
Read between
June 6 - June 11, 2024
In life our first job is this, to divide and distinguish things into two categories: externals I cannot control, but the choices I make with regard to them I do control. Where will I find good and bad? In me, in my choices. —EPICTETUS
Focus on the moment, not the monsters that may or may not be up ahead.
The implications of our obstacle are theoretical—they exist in the past and the future. We live in the moment. And the more we embrace that, the easier the obstacle will be to face and move.
We live in the moment. And the more we embrace that, the easier the obstacle will be to face and move.
Genius is the ability to put into effect what is in your mind. There’s no other definition of it. —F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
Our perceptions determine, to an incredibly large degree, what we are and are not capable of. In many ways, they determine reality itself. When we believe in the obstacle more than in the goal, which will inevitably triumph?
A good person dyes events with his own color . . . and turns whatever happens to his own benefit. —SENECA
It’s one thing to not be overwhelmed by obstacles, or discouraged or upset by them. This is something that few are able to do. But after you have controlled your emotions, and you can see objectively and stand steadily, the next step becomes possible: a mental flip, so you’re looking not at the obstacle but at the opportunity within it.
Everything can be flipped, seen with this kind of gaze: a piercing
Now the things that other people avoid, or flinch away from, we’re thankful for. When people are:
—rude or disrespectful:
—conniving:
—critical or question our abilities:
—lazy:
obstacle. Decide to tackle what stands in your way—not because you’re a gambler defying the odds but because you’ve calculated them and boldly embraced the risk.
Everything must be done in the service of the whole. Step by step, action by action, we’ll dismantle the obstacles in front of us.
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.
No. No excuses. No exceptions. No way around it: It’s on you.
We must all either wear out or rust out, every one of us. My choice is to wear out. —THEODORE ROOSEVELT
He says the best way out is always through And I agree to that, or in so far As I can see no way out but through. —ROBERT FROST
Remember and remind yourself of a phrase favored by Epictetus: “persist and resist.” Persist in your efforts. Resist giving in to distraction, discouragement, or disorder.
Persist in your efforts. Resist giving in to distraction, discouragement, or disorder.
It’s okay to be discouraged. It’s not okay to quit.
Failure shows us the way—by showing us what isn’t the way.
Replace fear with the process. Depend on it. Lean on it. Trust in it.
Everything we do matters—whether
Everything is a chance to do and be your best.
Wherever we are, whatever we’re doing and wherever we are going, we owe it to ourselves, to our art, to the world to do it well. That’s our primary duty. And our obligation.
Because all we need to do is those three little duties—to try hard, to be honest, and to help others and ourselves. That’s all that’s been asked of us. No more and no less.
all we need to do is those three little duties—to try hard, to be honest, and to help others and ourselves.
Think progress, not perfection.
Often those trials are frustrating, unfortunate, or unfair. They seem to come exactly when we think we need them the least. The question is: Do we accept this as an exclusively negative event, or can we get past whatever negativity or adversity it represents and mount an offensive? Or more precisely, can we see that this “problem” presents an opportunity for a solution that we have long been waiting for?
Perceptions can be managed. Actions can be directed.
Will is our internal power, which can never be affected by the outside world.
We must prepare for adversity and turmoil, we must learn the art of acquiescence and practice cheerfulness even in dark times.
True will is quiet humility, resilience, and flexibility; the other kind of will is weakness disguised by bluster and ambition.
If Perception and Action were the disciplines of the mind and the body, then Will is the discipline of the heart and the soul.
Will is fortitude and wisdom—not just about specific obstacles but about life itself and where the obstacles we are facing fit within it. It gives us ultimate strength. As in: the strength to endure, contextualize, and derive meaning from the obstacles we cannot simply overcome (which, as it happens, is the way of flipping the unflippable).
he also embodied the Stoic maxim: sustine et abstine. Bear and forbear. Acknowledge the pain but trod onward in your task.
The will is what prepares us for this, protects us against it, and allows us to thrive and be happy in spite of it.
These lessons come harder but are, in the end, the most critical to wresting advantage from adversity. In every situation, we can
The path of least resistance is a terrible teacher. We can’t afford to shy away from the things that intimidate us. We don’t need to take our weaknesses for granted.
Offer a guarantee and disaster threatens. —ANCIENT INSCRIPTION AT THE ORACLE OF DELPHI
No one has ever said this better than Mike Tyson, who, reflecting on the collapse of his fortune and fame, told a reporter, “If you’re not humble, life will visit humbleness upon you.”
Because sometimes the only answer to “What if . . .” is, It will suck but we’ll be okay.
Common wisdom provides us with the maxims:
It’s better to meditate on what could happen, to probe for weaknesses in our plans, so those inevitable failures can be correctly perceived, appropriately addressed, or simply endured.
But the person who has rehearsed in their mind what could go wrong will not be caught by surprise. The person ready to be disappointed won’t be. They will have the strength to bear it. They are not as likely to get discouraged or to shirk from the task that lies before them, or make a mistake in the face of it.
We can resist going to pieces if things didn’t go as planned. With anticipation, we can endure. We are prepared for failure and ready for success.
