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

by Ryan Holiday

The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way

Objective judgment, now at this very moment. Unselfish action, now at this very moment. Willing acceptance—now at this very moment—of all external events. That’s all you need.

There is no good or bad without us, there is only perception. There is the event itself and the story we tell ourselves about what it means.

Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant. — VIKTOR FRANKL

ta eph’hemin, ta ouk eph’hemin.

Focus on the moment, not the monsters that may or may not be up ahead.

Don’t waste a second looking back at your expectations. Face forward, and face it with a smug little grin.

Life is not about one obstacle, but many. What’s required of us is not some shortsighted focus on a single facet of a problem, but simply a determination that we will get to where we need to go, somehow, someway, and nothing will stop us.