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

Philosophy is a discipline often viewed by people (myself included) as academic, stilted, and irrelevant to real life. But stoicism, the central theme of this book, is not that sort of philosophy. Ryan has written a book that cuts through all of that and goes straight to the heart of everyday problems. This is not your average business or self-help book: this is a manual to turn to in troubling times. It's infinitely practical and applicable in your life now, tomorrow, and for the next 50 years. The title The Obstacle Is The Way refers to a quote by the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who in the second century AD wrote "The impediment to action advances action. What's in the way becomes the way." A perfect metaphor for this is a raging fire: whatever is put in its way becomes fuel for the fire. This book shows you how to do that. The book is split into 3 sections: - perception - action - will Each section has 8-12 short chapters filled with historical stories from Ulysses S. Grant to Marcus Aurelius, from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart. Ryan has previously been a researcher on Robert Greene's books, and it shows, both in the depth and breadth of his research for this book - the bibliography alone is probably as useful as the book itself. Ryan is also clearly influenced by both Robert Greene and Marcus Aurelius in terms of his writing style for this book - it is simple, clear, direct and practical. I found myself highlighting and marking numerous passages which I will turn to again and again in the future. Some choice quotes from the book: Perception: "what matters most is not what these obstacles are but how we see them, how we react to them, and whether we keep our composure...this reaction determines how successful we will be in overcoming - or possibly thriving because of - them." Action: "No one is saying you can't take a minute to think, Dammit, this sucks. By all means, vent. Exhale. Take stock. Just don't take too long. Because you have to get back to work." Will: "Certain things in life will cut you open like a knife. When that happens...the world gets a glimpse of what's truly inside you. So what will be revealed when you're sliced open by tension and pressure? Iron? Or air?" Even if you've read Marcus Aurelius, Seneca or Epictetus, you will find something useful in here. This is an excellent book that I will be keeping close to me, reading and re-reading at every opportunity.

Loved it !! Read it twice ! Love Ryan’s hooray books their are all very motivating and inspiring

In the bibliography, at the end of this book, the author mentions the Essays of Montaigne, but rather than the unabridged work, the edition cited is that of the "selected essays". This is an odd choice for a book on writers - the fact that we are not recommended the full version of one of the best books ever written, but a mere selection of its content. Yet it fits with the author's goal: this is an introduction to stoicism, a long essay itself for those starting with the Greeks (or with philosophy). And it is its biggest sin. The book is well written, even if in some parts it slips and let the reader down with some all too vulgar expressions: "the Greeks were smart". It works as a guide for stoicism (on-and-off in vogue for a long time already). It doesn't pontify nor speak from above, which is good. It tries to make accessible a whole ancient school of thought, and pass the test. Some stories used as examples are too vague - Rockefeller deciding on oil deals, Edison on how to react before a fire in a factory. It somehow reduces to a caricature indeed big men. It should have stayed more to what it claims is the true greatness of the said school: its written works. The books, the words, of Virgil, Aurelius, Cato, et al., have been seldom surpassed, yet we do not see them here as much as we expect. So the book looks for a younger audience and, thus, it has most unnecessary lowered the bar (and the version of Montaigne Essays it recommends). Fair enough. To repeat, a good book which seeks too much to gain the reader's attention - it should have stayed at another, higher, level, following the maxim that a writer should not give its readers what they want - they deserve better.

This is an intelligent self-help book packed with examples from history of people who made it through adversity into greatness. It also offers a system for approaching life as a more average person, turning obstacles into advantages, and using relentless persistence to achieve what you want. We all face obstacles in our lives, what matters is how we perceive them and work with them to move on. "When we aim high, pressure and stress obligingly come along for the ride," so we have to find ways of dealing with them, as well as the aspects of life that may blindside up with randomness. Holiday uses Stoicism as a basis for the book, but it's not a dry philosophy book by any means. He makes the words from thousands of years ago come alive through modern example. As someone who studied Greek and Latin at school, I appreciated the 21st century take on the subject. Through perception, action and will, we can achieve despite obstacles. I particularly liked the chapter on 'amor fati,' love of fate.

Unfortunately, life doesn't come with an instruction manual. You’ve had to work out how to live successfully by yourself. You’ve learnt to find your own ways to adapt to the difficulties it presents. You’ve found ways to deal with the warped or ill-informed opinions of others, to get what you want in spite of the difficulties you face and if you’re lucky… The whole experience has made you a stronger person. However, it can be hard to deal with the unfairness or disadvantage we all experience from time to time. If you’ve sometimes found yourself wondering “why me?” then it simply means you’re human, it happens to all of us. It’s very easy to let your obstacles define you. I’ve often wished there was an instruction manual to teach you how to live your life meaningfully and successfully, how to use the experience to make yourself stronger, a better person or simply to get the things you want. It turns out there is such a book called “The Obstacle Is The Way: The Timeless Art Of Turning Adversity Into Advantage” and it is, in my opinion, the guidebook for life I’ve always wanted. Ryan’s book explains a practical process, broken down into three disciplines, for responding to life’s challenges in a way that will empower you to turn your obstacles into opportunities. Unlike most books on philosophy, the writing is enthusiastic and clear so even if you’ve never read anything like it before, it should be accessible and engaging. You won’t find gushing motivational rants, self-indulgent “success stories” or self-help clichés. Instead, you’ll find practical advice and the honest truth about what it takes to turn your circumstances to your advantage. Sometimes the tone can sound harsh, but its always truthful so… If you long to be in control of your life, to prove your worth to the world or even just to be at peace with circumstances you cannot change then its my humble opinion that you MUST read this book.

This book has some good messages, especially for Millennials. It does labour over them though, the prose is stodgy and hard work when it could have been much lighter. It isn't trying to convey difficult concepts after all. This book also claims to be the "only" book that provides these insights. However, there are many excellent books on success and mindset that are better reads or more comprehensive. Just take "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People" as an example. It doesn't dress it's message up as stoicism, but the message on how to gain perspective, focus on the things you can control and to be proactive are essentially the same. Having said that, this book does give some interesting pointers to Stoicism that I am currently following up on.

A thoughtful and interesting read

In The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holiday provides advice on how to deal with difficulties in our private and professional lives. This advice is informed by Stoic philosophy but focuses more on mindset and practical aspects rather than a philosophical discussion of general principles. I hit a bit of a hard time recently and picked up the book to gain some perspective. The book did what I hoped it would do. It helped me to reframe my difficulties and envision a way to deal with them. The book was motivating but without empty promises. Instead, it delivered a clear-minded approach that got me to stop feeling sorry for myself and think about solutions instead. I even copy down the main principles and revisit them regularly. If you are in a similar situation or want to improve your mindset to reach your potential, I highly recommend this book.

Muy buen libro sobre estoicismo y cómo afrontar los obstaculos en el día a día. Escrito muy bien y en capítulos cortos que no se extienden innecesariamente.

But (way) better is to actually read the books, author is basing on.

Questo libro è incredibile. E' stato il mio primo contatto con il mondo dello 'stoicismo' e Ryan Holiday scrive egregiamente. Si tratta di un libro che va letto ed elaborato, meglio se più di una volta. Quando mi trovo ad affrontare una nuova sfida o delle difficoltà lo rispolvero per trovare nuovi consigli o spunti di riflessione

Really one of the best books I've read and will make you see setbacks and struggle in a completely different/empowering way!

Excellent book with sound advice echoing through the ages.