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Ego is the Enemy [Book]

    Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
    By: Ryan Holiday

    Book Overview: 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.

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    28 Quotes ➜
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      “All great men and women went through difficulties to get to where they are, all of them made mistakes.  They found within those experiences some benefit – even if it was simply the realization that they were not infallible and that things would not always go their way.  They found that self-awareness was the way out and through – if they hadn’t, they wouldn’t have gotten better and they wouldn’t have been able to rise again.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy

        “Almost universally, the traits or behaviors that have pissed us off in other people – their dishonesty, their selfishness, their laziness – are hardly going to work out well for them in the end.  Their ego and shortsightedness contains its own punishment.  The question we must ask ourselves is: Are we going to be miserable just because other people are?” ~ Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy

          “Hate at any point is a cancer that gnaws away at the very vital center of your life and your existence.  It is like eroding acid that eats away the best and the objective center of your life.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr., via Ego is the Enemy

            “Attempting to destroy something out of hate or ego often ensures that it will be preserved and disseminated forever.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy

              “Your potential, the absolute best you’re capable of – that’s the metric to measure yourself against.  Your standards are.  Winning is not enough.  People can get lucky and win.  People can be assholes and win.  Anyone can win.  But not everyone is the best possible version of themselves.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy

                “If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way.” ~ Emile Zola, via Ego is the Enemy

                  “The more you have and do, the harder maintaining fidelity to your purpose will be, but the more critically you will need to.  Everyone buys into the myth that if only they had that – usually what someone else has – they would be happy.  It may take getting burned a few times to realize the emptiness of this illusion.  We all occasionally find ourselves in the middle of some project or obligation and can’t understand why we’re there.  It will take courage and faith to stop yourself.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy

                    “Too often, convinced of our own intelligence, we stay in a comfort zone that ensures that we never feel stupid (and are never challenged to learn or reconsider what we know).  It obscures from view various weakness in our understanding, until eventually it’s too late to change course.  This is where the silent toll is taken.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy

                      “Do you know how you can tell when someone is truly humble?  I believe there’s one simple test: because they consistently observe and listen, the humble improve.  They don’t assume, ‘I know the way.'” ~ Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy

                        “Success is intoxicating, yet to sustain it requires sobriety.  We can’t keep learning if we think we already know everything.  We cannot buy into myths we make ourselves, or the noise and chatter of the outside world.  We must understand that we are a small part of an interconnected universe.  On top of all this, we have to build an organization and a system around what we do – one that is about the work and not about us.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy

                          “Why is success so ephemeral? Ego shortens it.  Whether a collapse is dramatic or a slow erosion, it’s always possible and often unnecessary.  We stop learning, we stop listening, and we lose our grasp on what matters.  We become victims of ourselves and the competition.  Sobriety, open-mindedness, organization, and purpose – these are the great stabilizers.  They balance out the ego and pride that comes with achievement and recognition.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy