“Our greatest internal obstacle is our ego.” -Ryan Holiday
Ego: an unhealthy feeling of one’s own importance, arrogance.
Ryan Holiday, #1 bestselling author, writes on the topic of ego to address our addiction to the drug-like effects of buying into our own awesomeness.
Why would you pick this book off the shelves? This book gives practical applications to individuals interested in maintaining their success and avoiding failure due to ego.
We consistently find ourselves in three stages in life, aspiring, succeeding, or failing. In chapter 32, Holiday concludes a thought, “…ego makes all three stages harder, but it has the potential to make failure permanent.”
Holiday’s writing is highly influenced by stoic thinkers like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. From a Christian perspective, this book is spot on, and Holiday points it out in chapter 9. He says that Christians approach the topic of ego by simply labeling it pride… and then agrees that you don’t have to be a Christian to agree that it is a bad idea all around. Over 2500 years ago King Solomon wrote,
Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 18:12
He gets it.
In this week’s book review video, I point out that the idea that “you can be lesser, but still do more” is foreign to our culture and is worth reclaiming.
If you choose to read this book, you will be regaled with stories from throughout history of ego hindering the success of great men and women. Check out the three links below for a sample of the book: the first is the introduction and Ryan Holiday’s personal story; the second is a recording of a chapter entitled “What’s Important to You” one of the best of the book; the third is a review from Derek Sivers because he has 200 high quality book summaries on his site and he loves this book.
Derek Sivers on Ego is the Enemy: ” I wish everyone would read this”
I hope you choose to pick this book as your next read, I put it in the top 7 books I’ve read this year and will likely read it again.
Until Next Time!
Keep Reading Friends.
Jon
Why Should I Read That: Blog 
This is a great review. I listened to the audiobook version of Ego is the Enemy this summer and I loved it as well. The concept of doing instead of being blew my mind. As someone who also tries to put out content through writing and on Youtube, I definitely agree that Holiday’s advice is super critical. Every day I have to remind myself that it’s what I do that matters, not the made up labels I can give myself.
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I agree Myles, our obsession with labels is approaching ridiculous. I see Instagram bios that say “adventure blogger” or “lifestyle journalist” and unless they’ve proven it with content, it’s all ego.
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