Ryan Holiday

It's wrecked the careers of promising young geniuses. It's evaporated great fortunes and run companies into the ground. It's made adversity unbearable and turned struggle into shame. Every great philosopher has warned against it, in our most lasting stories and countless works of art, in all culture and all ages. Its name? Ego, and it is the enemy - of ambition, of success and of resilience. In Ego is the Enemy, Ryan Holiday shows us how and why ego is such a powerful internal opponent to be guarded against at all stages of our careers and lives, and that we can only create our best work when we identify, acknowledge and disarm its dangers. Drawing on an array of inspiring characters and narratives from literature, philosophy and history, the book explores the nature and dangers of ego to illustrate how you can be humble in your aspirations, gracious in your success and resilient in your failures. The result is an inspiring and timely reminder that humility and confidence are our greatest friends when confronting the challenges of a culture that tends to fan the flames of ego, a book full of themes and life lessons that will resonate, uplift and inspire.

The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent

Ego is the Enemy

The instant Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and international bestseller "While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive visionary geniuses who remade the world in their image with sheer, almost irrational force, I've found that history is also made by individuals who fought their egos at every turn, who eschewed the spotlight, and who put their higher goals above their desire for recognition." --from the prologue Many of us insist the main impediment to a full, successful life is the outside world. In fact, the most common enemy lies within: our ego. Early in our careers, it impedes learning and the cultivation of talent. With success, it can blind us to our faults and sow future problems. In failure, it magnifies each blow and makes recovery more difficult. At every stage, ego holds us back. Ego Is the Enemy draws on a vast array of stories and examples, from literature to philosophy to history. We meet fascinating figures such as George Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Katharine Graham, Bill Belichick, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who all reached the highest levels of power and success by conquering their own egos. Their strategies and tactics can be ours as well. In an era that glorifies social media, reality TV, and other forms of shameless self-promotion, the battle against ego must be fought on many fronts. Armed with the lessons in this book, as Holiday writes, "you will be less invested in the story you tell about your own specialness, and as a result, you will be liberated to accomplish the world-changing work you've set out to achieve."

Josephina Lucke

The best quotes from this book are not from the author himself. 

„Ein Dichter“, schrieb Paul Valéry 1938, „hat nicht die Aufgabe, den dichterischen Zustand zu empfinden; dies ist eine Privatangelegenheit. Seine Aufgabe ist es, ihn in anderen zu erschaffen.«

The instant Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and international bestseller “While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive visionary geniuses who remade the world in their image with sheer, almost irrational force, I’ve found that history is also made by individuals who fought their egos at every turn, who eschewed the spotlight, and who put their higher goals above their desire for recognition.” —from the prologue Many of us insist the main impediment to a full, successful life is the outside world. In fact, the most common enemy lies within: our ego. Early in our careers, it impedes learning and the cultivation of talent. With success, it can blind us to our faults and sow future problems. In failure, it magnifies each blow and makes recovery more difficult. At every stage, ego holds us back. Ego Is the Enemy draws on a vast array of stories and examples, from literature to philosophy to his­tory. We meet fascinating figures such as George Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Katharine Graham, Bill Belichick, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who all reached the highest levels of power and success by con­quering their own egos. Their strategies and tactics can be ours as well. In an era that glorifies social media, reality TV, and other forms of shameless self-promotion, the battle against ego must be fought on many fronts. Armed with the lessons in this book, as Holiday writes, “you will be less invested in the story you tell about your own specialness, and as a result, you will be liberated to accomplish the world-changing work you’ve set out to achieve.” From the Hardcover edition.

Ego Is the Enemy

Piet Terheyden

It's so refreshing to see a perspective that doesn't romanticized ambition and narcissism. Too many, I mean too many self-help books or 'success' books that told you to claim all, be all, and be confident even when you don't. 

catto fishu

Timeo Williams

"It's a temptation that exists for everyone- for talk and hype to replace action. Blank spaces, begging to be filled with thoughts, with photos, with stories. With what we're going to do, with what things should or could be like, what we hope will happen. Technology, asking you, prodding you, soliciting talk. "(24)

" We don't like thinking that someone is better than us. or that we have a lot left to learn. We want to be done. We want to be ready. For this reason, updating your appraisal of your talents in a downward direction is one of the most difficult things to do in life- but it is almost always a component of mastery. The pretense of knowledge is our most dangerous vice, because it prevents us from getting any better."

" It tends to surprise people how humble aspiring greats seem to have been. What do you mean they weren't aggressive, entitled, aware of their own greatness or their destiny? The reality is that, though they were confident, the act of being an external student kept these men and women humble."(41)

" It's a common attitude that transcends generations and societies. The angry, unappreciated genius is forced to do stuff she doesn't like, for people she doesn't respect, as she makes her way in the world. "(52)
" It doesn't matter how talented you are, how great your connections are, how much money you have. When you want to do something- something big and important and meaningful- you will be subjected to treatment ranging from indifference to outright sabotage."(63)

"Make it so you don't have to fake it- that's the key. Everytime you sit down to work, remind yourself: I am delaying gratification by doing this. I am making an investment in myself instead of my ego."(83)

"Each of us faces a threat as we pursue our craft. Like sirens on the rocks, ego sings a soothing, validating song- which can lead to a wreck. The second we let the ego tell us we have graduated, ;earning grinds to a halt. 
The solution is as straightforward as it is initially uncomfortable: Pick up a book on a topic you know next to nothing about. Put yourself in rooms where you're the least knowledgeable person. That uncomfortable feeling, that defensiveness that you feel when your most deeply held assumptions are challenged- what about subjecting yourself to it deliberately?"(105)

"That it's admirable to want to be better businessmen or businesswomen, better athletes, better conquerors. But no less impressive an accomplishment: being better people, being happier people, being balanced people, being content people, being humble and selfless people. And what is most obvious but most ignored is that perfecting the personal regularly leads to success as a professional, but rarely the other way around. "(216)

Jaiden Ratti

Nenad Nikolic

Very poorly written, looks like a collection of blog posts. Too repetitive without any substance. No research whatsoever, just a collection of stories with a little meaning. Classic case of self-help book that helps only the author’s bank balance. 
Author tried to explain Stoic philosophy with a hint of Zen Buddhism. I gave this book a second star for going in the right direction. The problem - it does not add anything to the original.

This book is for Donald Trump or Elon Musk, not for us „normal“ people. My grandma could tell me the quintessence in on of her old saws. Thanks for wasting my time. 

Emma

While there were some interesting ideas put forward in this book, some of the examples felt quite hyperbolic and seemed to undermine the argument itself.

Had a lot of interesting stories and POV. I did really appreciate Ryan’s notions on ego. 

Danielle Rose

farah

pretty lacklustre book. seems like just another modern-day repackaging of stoicism, which wouldn't be a bad thing if it actually contributed something new and original

I never finished the book tho so if I'm wrong let me know

carlos

I really enjoyed read this book, the author is very clear and is very easy to read and understand what he’s trying to communicate, I hope to apply this to my life!

As in The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holiday delivers practical and inspiring philosophy, this time exploring a powerful concept that runs back centuries, across borders and schools of thought: ego.Ego is our biggest enemy. Early in our careers, it can prevent us from learning and developing our talents. When we taste success, ego can blind us to our own faults, alienate us from others and lead to our downfall. In failure, ego is devastating and makes recovery all the more difficult. It is only by identifying our ego, speaking to its desires, and systematically disarming it that we can create our best work.Organised into bite-sized observations featuring characters and narratives that illustrate themes and life lessons designed to resonate, uplift and inspire, Ego is the Enemy shows how you can be humble in your aspirations, gracious in your success and resilient in your failures. It is an inspiring and timely reminder that humility and confidence are still our greatest friends when confronting the challenges of a culture which tends to fan the flames of ego and encourage the cult of personality at all costs.

Love the hints on some important perspectives to avoid having a too big ego. 

Patrick Ludewig

Arturo Hernández

It’s not common to think about the consequences of “the quest for success” and this book paints it beautifully through the ego canvas. It’s got an interesting framework to understand the impact it has and the forms the ego takes throughout our lives. I would just love to have something else as closure outside the main framework, it’s like a chapter or two are missing for it to feel “complete”. It’s a nice read though.

Kuba Milcarz

I loved Stillness is the Key. But this book sucked! I thought I’d learn some valuable insights on humility and value of controlling ego. I couldn’t finish it honestly…

Dave Perkins

Yeah, solid, I'll be reading this again. Super rich in content and real life examples. It's a good way to get a deeper, slightly more long form, hit if you're into the Daily Stoic.

Alexandra Sergeychik

Agree with this although because of my not so high self-confidence. Nonetheless it is gold words:

“We can be sure of a few fundamental realities:
1) You are not nearly as good or as important as you think you are
2) You have an attitude that needs to be re-adjusted
3) Most of what you think you know or most of what you’ve learned in books or in school is out of date or wrong”

Ivan Vega

I was gonna go with 3 stars, as the first thirds of the book I didn't feel spoke to me at all. But then i devoured the last third. It got more down to earth for me and spoke to my current struggles.

Bryan Maniotakis

Ryan Holiday puts forward a strong case on how self-awareness truly dictates our outcome, and an inflated ego can drive us into the ground. Examples are vast, and range from the mentality of UFC and football coaches, to modern and ancient military commanders.

No matter who he references, you have, are, or will eventually go through the things he cites or warns about. I highly recommend this book.

Jeremy Anderberg

"Imagine if for every person you met, you thought of some way to help them, something you could do for them? And you looked at it in a way that entirely benefited them and not you. The cumulative effect this would have over time would be profound: You’d learn a great deal by solving diverse problems. You’d develop a reputation for being indispensable. You’d have countless new relationships."

At first glance, it can seem like this book is geared towards people who are already quite successful, or who dream of climbing some sort of ladder to get to that point — towards folks who are restlessly and relentlessly ambitious. Like Holiday himself. Is this just a series of admonitions to his own ego?

But then you get a little deeper, and you realize this book is about more than just tamping down that "unhealthy belief in our own importance." It's really about finding out your purpose, and more importantly, the why behind that purpose. Is it ego driving your actions? Or something greater?

"It’s time to sit down and think about what’s truly important to you and then take steps to forsake the rest."

I've read a lot of Ryan's work over the years, and I think this is my favorite of the bunch. It's remarkably quotable, and is sure to make you ponder the direction of your projects and goals and life in general. Ego Is the Enemy definitely did that for me.

What's truly important in my life? At the end of the day, what do I want to be remembered for? It's clear to me that the answer to those questions lies far more with the my family and my community than with making a name for myself. As Ryan so aptly writes near the end (and the quote that really stuck with me the most):

"it’s admirable to want to be better businessmen or businesswomen, better athletes, better conquerors. We should want to be better informed, better off financially . . . We should want, as I’ve said a few times in this book, to do great things. I know that I do. But no less impressive an accomplishment: being better people, being happier people, being balanced people, being content people, being humble and selfless people. Or better yet, all of these traits together."

Lucas Coelho

I’ve been reading the stoics and following Ryan’s work for years now, so I thought that this book was going to be a light read. It was not. But in a good way.

I read this book slower than I usually read, stopping in every story to write about my own stories and learnings. I used this book almost as therapy to help me learn more from my aspirations, successes and failures in the past. Sometimes it was harder than I thought to admit and acknowledge my ego while reading this book, as ego fights back and it’s not pretty. But I guess I came out better after this read and I think that was what Ryan maybe intended after all. 

Love, be prepared and expect. adversity, learn from your mistakes and remember this all will pass and you will survive. This is all bigger than yourself. And for everything that comes next...ego is the enemy. 

Cheers again Ryan.

Mike Gregory

This book is good, it gives great examples of people who have set their ego aside and have accomplished great things because of it. It will also make you rethink yourself. I found it somewhat depressing because in some sense in order to not have an ego, you almost have to not enjoy anything. Either way, you will get some good things from this book and it is definitely worth the read.

Anyaconda

Eihab Khan

I've enjoyed Ryan's previous work (The Obstacle is The Way). In fact i've read it during a tough time in my life, and It was an eye opener.
Here I am again in a tough time again, this time I've read Ego is The Enemy and it is really the read the I've needed.
This book gave me an insight on what Ego is, what tools it utilizes to stop us from achieving and how it slithers itself in our lives.

Jose Quaresma

Wonderful book. One of those to keep and revisit!

Mohsen Moradishad

Just finished the intro. Already amazed how ego is shaping my life and I thought working on ego is not my thing, like a monk or a sufi would need to work on it, but not me. Wrong! Liking it.

Jesper Bylund

This book is strangely enough a productivity book. It's the swift kick in the ass so many of us need, to stop us shooting ourselves in the foot. I had never thought I had an ego problem, and in the colloquial sense I might not. But after reading Ego Is the Enemy it's clear that I have an ego problem, I'm holding myself back from growth, and from success, to protect my frail ego.

If you've ever passed up a chance, or failed in a project, this book might very well help you improve. Can't recommend it enough.

Ego is the Enemy The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent

Reviews

Highlights