Ryan Holiday

A modern guru who shows the way to turn problems into opportunities - in business and marketing, Ryan Holiday has done it all, seen it all, and now he's here to show you the way.

The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage

The Obstacle Is the Way

Rina

Christian Bager Bach Houmann

A must read. I highly recommend this book.

Reframing advice from icons throughout history, including Ulysses S. Grant, Amelia Earhart and Steve Jobs, for today's world, this motivational guide shows readers how to overcome obstacles and turn them into advantages.

The Timeless Art of Turning Trials Into Triumph

The Obstacle is the Way

Haikal Satria

Lighter reading than Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, The Obstacle Is The Way is a very accessible pathway to the school of Stoicism. Using a combination of amusing anecdotes and understandable vernacular, Holiday makes a thousand year old concept interesting for the masses, and I am very thankful to him for that.

My favorite passage is in a chapter about preparing for intervention and disruption, in which Holiday says that we must always prepare ourselves by asking ourself 'What if?'

But sometimes, the answer to 'What if?' is simply: It will suck, but we'll be okay.

Anton

This books is a good introduction into stoicism as well as a brief collection of stories about modern day stoics. 

I give it too stars just because I feel like it’s overrated here. There are much better stoic books on Goodreads with rating below this one. Little Book of Stoicism, for example. Or, as the author suggested, read the originals that also have worse reviews.

Akeisha

Breakthrough capable book. Essential and timeless messages made accessible to the modern layman (me) haha. Just really good advice.

Jacob Medure

Breakthrough capable book. Essential and timeless messages made accessible to the modern layman (me) haha. Just really good advice.

Important read imo.

An OK book, but certainly not anything new or life altering.  It was obvious that the author was a student of Robert Greene (whose books I LOVE), because it followed a similar format of telling a lesson, then sharing a historical example that underscores the lessons, but it was unmemorable.

Dylan Stewart 

Charlotte Dann

Update March 2018:
I've really loved re-listening to this book, it's made me realise how far I've come since I first read it in terms of choosing to approaching problems stoically. Six months ago I cried a lot from putting myself in risky/stressful situations and felt very helpless, and now I'm still doing those things (lol), but my response to them is unceasing positivity and confidence. I'm actually living the wisdom of this book! It'll be interesting to come back to it in a year or so and check in on my progress.

Original review (October 2017):
a) This is really good and if you keep the sentiment present in your mind whenever you face adversity it will be immensely helpful.
b) it's just a collection of aphorisms, bastardised stoicism, and 'YOU CAN DO IT' cheer.

Julien Sobczak

Start seeing obstacles as not so bad, but simply as good.

A good book, the first one in the author’s trilogy, but probably the less mind opening. I doubt many readers will be surprised by the importance of obstacles on the road to success. What I found interesting, however, is the use of ancient philosophy, mainly Stoicism, to illustrate how persistence and ingenuity has always being keys to overcoming any obstacle – mental, physical, emotional.

As outlined by the author, this book is not a replacement for classic books on Stoicism, often quoted by the author. But you don’t need to read these books first, even if like me, I bet you will add more than one title on your reading list.

You will hear a lot about Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, key figures in ancient Rome, but also about people closer to us. Ryan Holiday did a lot of research in books, especially biographies, to share collective wisdom illustrated with true stories, a perfect mix between pragmatism and history.

I strongly recommend the whole trilogy, not just this book. There are many powerful insights in Stoicism, and Ryan Holiday is the best author to present old recipes from antics in a modern and engaged way.

This is the second time I've read this book and it was my introduction to Stoicism several years ago.  The title is taken from Marcus Aurelius' Meditations and Ryan Holiday does a good job of modernization a lot of these principles.

Benjamin Harrison

Cams Campbell

I was so excited to read this after going through Ryan's 7-day email sequence. I got as far as P75 before I couldn't read any more. It reads like it's written for high school kids, which is fine. I'm just not one of them. I think I'll head straight to Aurealias' Meditations and learn about stoicism that way.

Emily Medic

I read it for the focus on stoicism, but was pleasantly surprised about all the real-time examples. Jumping through history was quite enjoyable, and I’d definitely re-read it. 

Ivaylo Durmonski

Probably you won’t find anything new in this book in terms of handling obstacles – spot the opportunity in every tough situation, break the challenge into pieces to handle it, etc. However, you’ll get something much more valuable – motivation.

The stories shared inside The Obstacles is The Way, and how key players in our history coped with adversity, will help you find solutions in your daily life.

The way Ryan Holiday structured this book is exceptionally good. Instead of long chapters with a never-ending resolution, you get short sections each covering one story and each offering one specific lesson.

If you’re trying to run a business in tough conditions or you’re baffled every time a challenge arises, you should definitely consider this book.

Key takeaway?

Obstacles never cease to exist. Deflecting them or trying to hide from them will only cause you harm. When times are good, improve yourself. This way you’ll be better prepared when bad things actually start to take place.

Read full summary:
https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/...

Christina Wells

If you want to read a really long and trite motivational poster, then this book is for you.

Lucas Coelho

This book did nothing to me. But it was me, not the book I feel. Having read Meditations many times and Seneca's Letters and other stoicism books I believe it is so much you can gather from this simple life philosophy by just reading it, especially when the book is so superficial or 'entry-level' like The Obstacle is the Way. 

Also, the anecdotes feel more like survivorship bias to me than actually adding to the philosophy. 

I can see what Ryan was aiming here and the public so I am still giving 3 stars as the read in itself was not unpleasant, but if you are already into stoicism you can easily skip this book.

Randy Robbins

This book is one of those that you read one chapter a day and take wisdom you can apply immediately. I got this at the library but I will be purchasing a copy to keep on my main bookshelf and revisit often. If I had pursued a dream of teaching high school, I would require this book as reading. Everyone in the world can find value in this book.

Luca Conti

Yasmin S.

Adam

When reading about modern stoicism, this one kept coming up as a book recommendation. The focus is on resiliency and growth mindset when it comes to opposition. This may seem like common advice, but it's sometimes most difficult to remember when in the worst positions.

The Obstacle Is the Way The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage

Reviews

Highlights