The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

by Ryan Holiday

We have it within us to be the type of people who try to get things done, try with everything we’ve got, and, whatever verdict comes in, are ready to accept it instantly and move on to whatever is next.

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 can be weakness disguised by bluster and ambition. See which lasts longer under the hardest of obstacles.

He was patient because he knew that difficult things took time.

Lincoln’s words went to the people’s hearts because they came from his, because he had access to a part of the human experience that many had walled themselves off from. His personal pain was an advantage.

Acknowledge the pain but trod onward in your task.

Life will cut you open like a knife. When that happens—at that exposing moment—the world gets a glimpse of what’s truly inside you.

In every situation, we can Always prepare ourselves for more difficult times.

Always accept what we’re unable to change. Always manage our expectations. Always persevere. Always learn to love our fate and what happens to us. Always protect our inner self, retreat into ourselves. Always submit to a greater, larger cause. Always remind ourselves of our own mortality.

If thy faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. —Proverbs 24:10

Nobody is born with a steel backbone. We have to forge that ourselves.

(mens sana in corpore sano—sound mind in a strong body).

Many saw themselves as mental athletes—after all, the brain is as active as any other tissue. It can be built up and toned through the right exercises.