Ego Is the Enemy

by Ryan Holiday

The ego we see most commonly goes by a more casual definition: an unhealthy belief in our own importance. Arrogance. Self-centered ambition.

What is rare is not raw talent, skill, or even confidence, but humility, diligence, and self-awareness.

There’s a weak side to each of us, that—like a trade union—isn’t exactly malicious but at the end of the day still wants to get as much public credit and attention as it can for doing the least. That side we call ego.

“Never give reasons for what you think or do until you must. Maybe, after a while, a better reason will pop into your head.”

Talking and doing fight for the same resources. Research shows that while goal visualization is important, after a certain point our mind begins to confuse it with actual progress. The same goes for verbalization.

“To be or to do? Which way will you go?”

An education can’t be “hacked”; there are no shortcuts besides hacking it every single day. If you don’t, they drop you.

we only seem to hear about the passion of successful people, we forget that failures shared the same trait.

If the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results, then passion is a form of mental retardation—deliberately blunting our most critical cognitive functions.

What humans require in our ascent is purpose and realism. Purpose, you could say, is like passion with boundaries. Realism is detachment and perspective.

Passion is form over function. Purpose is function, function, function.

you can forget credit. You can forget it so hard that you’re glad when others get it instead of you—that was your aim, after all. Let the others take their credit on credit, while you defer and earn interest on the principal.

the person who clears the path ultimately controls its direction, just as the canvas shapes the painting.