The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan

Description: The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday #1 Wall Street Journal BestsellerThe Obstacle is the Way has become a cult classic, beloved by men and women around the world who apply its wisdom to become more successful at whatever they do. Its many fans include a former governor and movie star (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a hip hop icon (LL Cool J), an Irish tennis pro (James McGee), an NBC sportscaster (Michele Tafoya), and the coaches and players of winning teams like the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Cubs, and University of Texas mens basketball team.The book draws its inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience. Stoics focus on the things they can control, let go of everything else, and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, tougher. As Marcus Aurelius put it nearly 2000 years ago: "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." Ryan Holiday shows us how some of the most successful people in history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—have applied stoicism to overcome difficult or even impossible situations. Their embrace of these principles ultimately mattered more than their natural intelligence, talents, or luck.If youre feeling frustrated, demoralized, or stuck in a rut, this book can help you turn your problems into your biggest advantages. And along the way it will inspire you with dozens of true stories of the greats from every age and era. FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Author Biography Ryan Holiday is one of the worlds bestselling living philosophers. His books, including The Obstacle Is the Way, Ego Is the Enemy, The Daily Stoic, and the #1 New York Times bestseller Stillness Is the Key, appear in more than forty languages and have sold over 10 million copies. He lives outside Austin with his wife and two boys ... and a small herd of cows and donkeys and goats. His bookstore, The Painted Porch, sits on historic Main Street in Bastrop, Texas. Review "The book on stoicism thats taking the NFL by storm." –Sports Illustrated"The best one Ive read. Ryan Holiday is brilliant. If I had read The Obstacle Is the Way sooner, a few things might have been different." - Rory McIlroy, 2x PGA Champion"Follow these precepts and you will revolutionize your life. Read this book!"—Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art and Gates of Fire"A book for the bedside of every future—and current—leader in the world."—Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power and Mastery"First came Marcus Aurelius, then Frederick the Great . . . and now theres you. This surprising book shows you how to craft a life of wonder by embracing obstacles and challenges."—Chris Guillebeau, author of The $100 Startup"A very, very good book with lots of examples about people who had to overcome great obstacles to have success." —Nick Saban, head football coach at the University of Alabama "In this tight, engaging book, Ryan Holiday shines a bright, powerful light on the path to living and leading well. Read it, learn from it, and get cracking!"—Nancy F. Koehn, historian and leadership expert, Harvard Business School"My life has been beset with obstacles. It takes practice (and pain) to surmount them and achieve success. Ryans book is a how-to guide for just that."—James Altucher, investor and author of Choose Yourself "Ryan Holiday has written a brilliant and engaging book, well beyond his years. . . . It is invaluable."—Honorable Frederic Block, Judge, U.S. District Court"Even though I was familiar with the basis for this book — the ancient philosophy of stoicism: overcoming obstacles through the practice of wisdom, courage, self-control, and mindfulness — it felt like a revelation when I read it."—Allison K. Hill, Los Angeles Daily News "Tremendous! Go buy every book that Ryan Holiday has written."—John Tesh, host of national radio show Intelligence for Your Life Review Quote "The book on stoicism thats taking the NFL by storm." - Sports Illustrated "The best one Ive read. Ryan Holiday is brilliant. If I had read The Obstacle Is the Way sooner, a few things might have been different." - Rory McIlroy, 2x PGA Champion "Follow these precepts and you will revolutionize your life. Read this book!" -- Steven Pressfield , author of The War of Art and Gates of Fire "A book for the bedside of every future--and current--leader in the world." -- Robert Greene , author of The 48 Laws of Power and Mastery "First came Marcus Aurelius, then Frederick the Great . . . and now theres you. This surprising book shows you how to craft a life of wonder by embracing obstacles and challenges." -- Chris Guillebeau , author of The $100 Startup "A very, very good book with lots of examples about people who had to overcome great obstacles to have success." -- Nick Saban , head football coach at the University of Alabama "In this tight, engaging book, Ryan Holiday shines a bright, powerful light on the path to living and leading well. Read it, learn from it, and get cracking!" -- Nancy F. Koehn , historian and leadership expert, Harvard Business School "My life has been beset with obstacles. It takes practice (and pain) to surmount them and achieve success. Ryans book is a how-to guide for just that." -- James Altucher , investor and author of Choose Yourself "Ryan Holiday has written a brilliant and engaging book, well beyond his years. . . . It is invaluable." -- Honorable Frederic Block , Judge, U.S. District Court "Even though I was familiar with the basis for this book -- the ancient philosophy of stoicism: overcoming obstacles through the practice of wisdom, courage, self-control, and mindfulness -- it felt like a revelation when I read it." --Allison K. Hill , Los Angeles Daily News "Tremendous! Go buy every book that Ryan Holiday has written." --John Tesh , host of national radio show Intelligence for Your Life Excerpt from Book PREFACE In the year 170, at night in his tent on the front lines of the war in Germania, Marcus Aurelius, the emperor of the Roman Empire, sat down to write. Or perhaps it was before dawn at the palace in Rome. Or he stole a few seconds to himself during the games, ignoring the carnage on the floor of the Colosseum below. The exact location is not important. What matters is that this man, known today as the last of the Five Good Emperors, sat down to write. Not to an audience or for publication but to himself, for himself. And what he wrote is undoubtedly one of historys most effective formulas for overcoming every negative situation we may encounter in life. A formula for thriving not just in spite of whatever happens but because of it. At that moment, he wrote only a paragraph. Only a little of it was original. Almost every thought could, in some form or another, be found in the writings of his mentors and idols. But in a scant eighty-five words Marcus Aurelius so clearly defined and articulated a timeless idea that he eclipses the great names of those who came before him: Chrysippus, Zeno, Cleanthes, Ariston, Apollonius, Junius Rusticus, Epictetus, Seneca, Musonius Rufus. It is more than enough for us. Our actions may be impeded . . . but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. And then he concluded with powerful words destined for maxim. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way. In Marcuss words is the secret to an art known as turning obstacles upside down . To act with "a reverse clause," so there is always a way out or another route to get to where you need to go. So that setbacks or problems are always expected and never permanent. Making certain that what impedes us can empower us. Coming from this particular man, these were not idle words. In his own reign of some nineteen years, he would experience nearly constant war, a horrific plague, possible infidelity, an attempt at the throne by one of his closest allies, repeated and arduous travel across the empire--from Asia Minor to Syria, Egypt, Greece, and Austria--a rapidly depleting treasury, an incompetent and greedy stepbrother as co-emperor, and on and on and on. And from what we know, he truly saw each and every one of these obstacles as an opportunity to practice some virtue: patience, courage, humility, resourcefulness, reason, justice, and creativity. The power he held never seemed to go to his head--neither did the stress or burden. He rarely rose to excess or anger, and never to hatred or bitterness. As Matthew Arnold, the essayist, remarked in 1863, in Marcus we find a man who held the highest and most powerful station in the world--and the universal verdict of the people around him was that he proved himself worthy of it. It turns out that the wisdom of that short passage from Marcus Aurelius can be found in others as well, men and women who followed it like he did. In fact, it is a remarkable constant down through the ages. One can trace the thread from those days in the decline and fall of the Roman Empire to the creative outpouring of the Renaissance to the breakthroughs of the Enlightenment. Its seen starkly in the pioneer spirit of the American West, the perseverance of the Union cause during the Civil War, and in the bustle of the Industrial Revolution. It appeared again in the bravery of the leaders of the civil rights movement and stood tall in the prison camps of Vietnam. And today it surges in the DNA of the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley. This philosophic approach is the driving force of self-made men and the succor to those in positions with great responsibility or great trouble. On the battlefield or in the boardroom, across oceans and many centuries, members of every group, gender, class, cause, and business have had to confront obstacles and struggle to overcome them--learning to turn those obstacles upside down. That struggle is the one constant in all of their lives. Knowingly or not, each individual was a part of an ancient tradition, employing it to navigate the timeless terrain of opportunities and difficulties, trial and triumph. We are the rightful heirs to this tradition. Its our birthright. Whatever we face, we have a choice: Will we be blocked by obstacles, or will we advance through and over them? We might not be emperors, but the world is still constantly testing us. It asks: Are you worthy? Can you get past the things that inevitably fall in your way? Will you stand up and show us what youre made of? Plenty of people have answered this question in the affirmative. And a rarer breed still has shown that they not only have what it takes, but they thrive and rally at every such challenge. That the challenge makes them better than if theyd never faced the adversity at all. Now its your turn to see if youre one of them, if youll join their company. This book will show you the way. INTRODUCTION This thing in front of you. This issue. This obstacle--this frustrating, unfortunate, problematic, unexpected problem preventing you from doing what you want to do. That thing you dread or secretly hope will never happen. What if it wasnt so bad? What if embedded inside it or inherent in it were certain benefits--benefits only for you? What would you do? What do you think most people would do? Probably what theyve always done, and what you are doing right now: nothing. Lets be honest: Most of us are paralyzed. Whatever our individual goals, most of us sit frozen before the many obstacles that lie ahead of us. We wish it werent true, but it is. What blocks us is clear. Systemic: decaying institutions, rising unemployment, skyrocketing costs of education, and technological disruption. Individual: too short, too old, too scared, too poor, too stressed, no access, no backers, no confidence. How skilled we are at cataloging what holds us back! Every obstacle is unique to each of us. But the responses they elicit are the same: Fear. Frustration. Confusion. Helplessness. Depression. Anger. You know what you want to do but it feels like some invisible enemy has you boxed in, holding you down with pillows. You try to get somewhere, but something invariably blocks the path, following and thwarting each move you make. You have just enough freedom to feel like you can move; just enough to feel like its your fault when you cant seem to follow through or build momentum. Were dissatisfied with our jobs, our relationships, our place in the world. Were trying to get somewhere, but something stands in the way. So we do nothing. We blame our bosses, the economy, our politicians, other people, or we write ourselves off as failures or our goals as impossible. When really only one thing is at fault: our attitude and approach. There have been countless lessons (and books) about achieving success, but no one ever taught us how to overcome failure, how to think about obstacles, how to treat and triumph over them, and so we are stuck. Beset on all sides, many of us are disoriented, reactive, and torn. We have no idea what to do. On the other hand, not everyone is paralyzed. We watch in awe as some seem to turn those very obstacles, which stymie us, into launching pads for themselves. How do they do that? Whats the secret? Even more perplexing, earlier generations faced worse problems with fewer safety nets and fewer tools. They dealt with the same obstacles we have today plus the ones they worked so hard to try to eliminate for their children and others. And yet . . . were still stuck. What do these figures have that we lack? What are we missing? Its simple: a method and a framework for understanding, appreciating, and acting upon the obstacles life throws at us. John D. Rockefeller had it--for him it was cool headedness and self-discipline. Demosthenes, the great Athenian orator, had it--for him it was a relentless drive to improve himself through action and practice. Abraham Lincoln had it--for him it was humility, endurance, and compassionate will. There are other names youll see again and again in this book: Ulysses S. Grant. Thomas Edison. Margaret Thatcher. Samuel Zemurray. Amelia Earhart. Erwin Rommel. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Richard Wright. Jack Johnson. Theodore Roosevelt. Steve Jobs. James Stockdale. Laura Ingalls Wilder. Barack Obama. Some of these men and women faced unimaginable horrors, from imprisonment to debilitating illnesses, in addition to day-to-day frustrations that were no different from ours. They dealt with the same rivalries, political headwinds, drama, resistance, conservatism, breakups, stresses, and economic calamities. Or worse. Subjected to those pressures, these individuals were transformed. They were transformed along the lines that Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel, outlined when he described what happens to businesses in tumultuous times: "Bad companies are destroyed by crisis. Good companies survive them. Great companies are improved by them." Great individuals, like great companies, find a way to transform weakness into strength. Its a rather amazing and even touching feat. They took what should have held them back--what in fact might be holding you back right this very second--and used it to move forward. As it turns out, this is one thing all great men and women of history have in common. Like oxygen to a fire, obstacles became fuel for the blaze that was their ambition. Nothing could stop them, they were (and continue to be) impossible to discourage or cont Details ISBN1591846358 Author Ryan Holiday Short Title OBSTACLE IS THE WAY Language English ISBN-10 1591846358 ISBN-13 9781591846352 Media Book Format Hardcover DEWEY 158 Year 2014 Publication Date 2014-05-01 Imprint Portfolio Subtitle The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2014-05-01 NZ Release Date 2014-05-01 US Release Date 2014-05-01 Place of Publication New York UK Release Date 1900-01-01 Pages 224 Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:78903668;

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