Ego Is the Enemy

by Ryan Holiday

I just spent four hours talking about this. Doesn’t that count for something? The answer is no.

A true student is like a sponge. Absorbing what goes on around him, filtering it, latching on to what he can hold. A student is self-critical and self-motivated, always trying to improve his understanding so that he can move on to the next topic, the next challenge. A real student is also his own teacher and his own critic. There is no room for ego there.

Receive feedback, maintain hunger, and chart a proper course in life.

But as Merkel supposedly said, “You can’t solve . . . tasks with charisma.” She is rational. She analyzes. She makes it about the situation, not about herself, as people in power often do.