Ryan Holiday stays true to the style that made his previous book Obstacle is the Way so successful. Illustrating actionable philosophical concepts by using concrete examples from history, we arrive at a broad understanding of the deleterious effects of an unchecked ego.
The book was a great compliment to my own personal exploration of the subject, which tends to focus on the experiential and core philosophical issues surrounding the ego. The book is filled with unforgettable stories and moments in history that will serve as guide rails to help us when we invariably fall off course. Moments like when the great Persian king Xerxes ordered the water that demolished his bridges to be punished by lashings of the whip, or Hearst declined an invitation from Orson Welles to view Citizen Kane because he was obsessed with the idea that the story was about him.
This book would have saved me a lot of money and a lot of torture if I had read it earlier in my life, and I highly recommend you get a jumpstart, no matter what your profession or passion may be.
I sat down with Ryan to discuss this book on my podcast: #76 EGO IS THE ENEMY WITH RYAN HOLIDAY
