Book

Ego Is the Enemy

The instant Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and international bestseller “While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive visionary geniuses who remade the world in their image with sheer, almost irrational force, I’v

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Ryan Holiday (31)

“While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive, visionary geniuses who remade the world in their image with sheer, almost irrational force, I’ve found that if you go looking you’ll find that history is also made by individuals who fought their egos at every turn, who eschewed the spotlig…”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: History, Goals, Self-improvement

“There is a real danger in believing it when people use the word ‘genius’— and it’s even more dangerous when we let hubris tell ourselves we are one. The same goes for any label that comes along with a career: are we suddenly a ‘filmmaker,’ ‘writer,’ ‘investor,’ ‘entrepreneur,’ or ‘executive’ because…”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Genius, Creative Professions

“What is truly ambitious is to face life and proceed with quiet confidence in spite of the distractions.”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Ambitious, What It Means To Be Ambitious

“Make it so you don’t have to fake it— that’s they key. Can you imagine a doctor trying to get by with anything less? Or a quarterback, or a bull rider? More to the point, would you want them to? So why would you try otherwise?”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Don't Fake It, Do It Right

“Work is finding yourself alone at the track when the weather kept everyone else indoors. Work is pushing through the pain and crappy first drafts and prototypes. It is ignoring whatever plaudits others are getting, and more importantly, ignoring whatever plaudits you may be getting. Because there is…”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Greatness, Work, Hard Work, Work Ethic

“Living clearly and presently takes courage. Don’t live in the haze of the abstract, live with the tangible and real, even if— especially if— it’s uncomfortable. Be part of what’s going on around you. Feast on it, adjust for it. There’s no one to perform for. There is just work to be done and lessons…”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Learning, How To Live, Courage

“The question to ask, when you feel pride, then, is this: What am I missing right now that a more humble person might see?”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Humble, How To Fight Against Pride, Pride, Be Humble

“A person who can think long term doesn’t pity herself during short-term setbacks.”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Long Term, The Obstacle Is The Way, Don't Pity Yourself

“If your reputation can’t absorb a few blows, it wasn’t worth anything in the first place.”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Reputation

“It’s a temptation that exists for everyone— for talk and hype to replace action.”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Talk Hype, Hype, Walk the Walk, Don't Just Talk The Talk, Ego

“The only real failure is abandoning your principles.”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Failure, Principles, Betraying Yourself

“Without an accurate accounting of our own abilities compared to others, what we have is not confidence but delusion.”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Power, Reach

“A smart man or woman must regularly remind themselves of the limits of their power and reach.”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Power, Reach

“If you’re not still learning, you’re already dying.”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Learning, Never Stop Learning

“Entitlement assumes: This is mine. I’ve earned it. At the same time, entitlement nickels and dimes other people because it can’t conceive of valuing another person’s time as highly as its own. It delivers tirades and pronouncements that exhaust the people who work for and with us, who have no choice…”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Entitlement

“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 i…”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Learning, student

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

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Diligence, Self-awareness, Confidence

“Greatness comes from humble beginnings; it comes from grunt work.”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Greatness, Humble Work, How To Grow

“Humble in our aspirations. Gracious in our success. Resilient in our failures.”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Failure, Humble, How To Be A Good Person

“Impressing people is utterly different from being truly impressive.”

— Ryan Holiday, amazon.com

Tagged: Impressive, How To Be Impressive