The Obstacle Is The Way: The Ancient Art Of Turning Adversity To Advantage

This broke apart after opening it for the second time! The glue completely came away and all the pages have fallen out ! So shocked and disappointed

Have you ever seen those ads on the internet? “Change your life today for only all of your money”. And you are taken to some badly written course outline that reeks of a pyramid scheme. The self help world is riddled with cons and Ryan Holiday is the latest addition.The man is a tv marketer by background - he knows how to fool the masses. And he has somehow managed to get his online badly written life changing course printed.He basically takes a few basic stoic concepts - don’t worry about what you can’t control, work hard, remain positive etc - and spin a book out of it. Throw in the names of Marcus Aurelius and Seneca along with some modern anecdotes and you are deemed a genius, according to a few people on the back (who clearly haven’t read the book or are part of the self help pyramid scheme)The anecdotes themselves are horribly cliché. Just name drops people that everyone will know such as Edison, Lincol, Eisenhower, the Lakers (marketing 101 - don’t lose your audience). The bits and bobs of history are so basic and sometimes just wrong - I’m not sure he even bothered to google some of it.The attempts at motivation amount to little other than “are you ready to go to work? Let’s get to work!”The writing is blatantly dreadful and nauseating “Lincoln possessed an inner mental fortress that girdered him” Jesus.It might seem like a good book if you are under 20 and haven't read any self help books before but if you’ve ever read any few before this, you will be quite disappointed with this.

I have both the audio book and the paper copy of this book. I first got the audio book and thought somehow the content sounded just plain repetitive - different words same message; so thought I'd read the book instead so that I can follow it with more attention. But it transpired that page after page after page may have been filled by the author with words but it is repetition, repetition, and yet more repetition of the message behind the content. If that was deliberate then well done to the author, he nailed it. For those readers and seekers of wisdom (or better understanding of stoicism) find and stick to a good translation of Meditations book of Marcus Aurelius instead; that's where you'll find the originality.

This book is God's gift to US where US =Unity Over Self. The obstacle is an advantage, not adversity. The enemy is any perception that prevents us from seeing this. Demosthenes locked himself away underground - literally - in a dugout he’d had built in which to study and educate himself. To ensure he wouldn’t indulge in outside distractions, he shaved half his head so he’d be too embarrassed to go outside. When he did venture out, it was to learn even more. Every moment, every conversation, every transaction, was an opportunity for him to improve. Marcus Aurelius and his meditations are still read by US and Chinese Presidents daily. Obstacles and adversity are no different. Though it would be easier to sit back and enjoy a cushy modern life, the upside of preparation is that we’re not disposed to lose all of it—least of all our heads—when someone or something suddenly messes with our plans.It’s almost a cliché at this point, but the observation that the way to strengthen an arch is to put weight on it—because it binds the stones together, and only with tension does it hold weight—is a great metaphor.“The path of least resistance is a terrible teacher. We can’t afford to shy away from the things that intimidate us. We don’t need to take our weaknesses for granted.

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.

Incredible book. You have to read it to appreciate it. I have learned so much from it. Some paragraphs are hard to understand because is quite philosophical. I had to read it a few times and think about it. But, it was a joyful journey completing the book. One chapter got my tears out as if it was talking about me. Gave me such a thrill and a push to move forward in my life. Thank you so much to the author Mr. Ryan Holiday. With his recommendation, bought a few books to help myself further. God bless you. I highly recommend this book for anyone who doesn’t know how to move forward in their lives. 👍👍👍