The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
- Downloads：2298
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-02 13:59:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ryan Holiday
- ISBN：1591846358
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
“The impediment to action advances action。 What stands in the way becomes the way。” — Marcus Aurelius
We are stuck， stymied， frustrated。 But it needn’t be this way。 There is a formula for success that’s been followed by the icons of history—from John D。 Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S。 Grant to Steve Jobs—a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities。 Faced with impossible situations， they found the astounding triumphs we all seek。
These men and women were not exceptionally brilliant， lucky， or gifted。 Their success came from timeless philosophical principles laid down by a Roman emperor who struggled to articulate a method for excellence in any and all situations。
This book reveals that formula for the first time—and shows us how we can turn our own adversity into advantage。
We are stuck， stymied， frustrated。 But it needn’t be this way。 There is a formula for success that’s been followed by the icons of history—from John D。 Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S。 Grant to Steve Jobs—a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities。 Faced with impossible situations， they found the astounding triumphs we all seek。
These men and women were not exceptionally brilliant， lucky， or gifted。 Their success came from timeless philosophical principles laid down by a Roman emperor who struggled to articulate a method for excellence in any and all situations。
This book reveals that formula for the first time—and shows us how we can turn our own adversity into advantage。
Reviews
Renee Butler
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I listened to this as an audiobook while walking。 For that purpose， it’s awesome。 If you were reading it as a book， especially if you are a voracious reader， I could see it being repetitive or derivative。。。 but put this on and walk the dog or go for a run and it is perfect。 I loved hearing about business successes and receiving encouragement while being active。 5/5 for that purpose。
Jeronimo S
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Excelent and short book with timeless advice。 A great first intro to stoicism。
Autum Williams
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#bible
Kin Paquibo
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SB
Samy
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Favourite quotes:"Too often people think that will is how bad we want something。 In actuality， the will has a lot more to do with surrender than strength。 Try “God willing” over “the will to win” or “willing it into existence，” for even those attributes can be broken。 True will is quiet humility， resilience， and flexibility; the other kind of will is weakness disguised as bluster and ambition。 See which lasts longer under the hardest of obstacles。” “John Glenn， the first American astronaut to o Favourite quotes:"Too often people think that will is how bad we want something。 In actuality， the will has a lot more to do with surrender than strength。 Try “God willing” over “the will to win” or “willing it into existence，” for even those attributes can be broken。 True will is quiet humility， resilience， and flexibility; the other kind of will is weakness disguised as bluster and ambition。 See which lasts longer under the hardest of obstacles。” “John Glenn， the first American astronaut to orbit the earth， spent nearly a day in space still keeping his heart rate under a hundred beats per minute。 That’s a man not simply sitting at the controls but in control of his emotions。 A man who had properly cultivated， what Tom Wolfe later called， “the Right Stuff。” But you 。 。 。 confront a client or a stranger on the street and your heart is liable to burst out of your chest; or you are called on to address a crowd and your stomach crashes through the floor。 It’s time to realize that this is a luxury， an indulgence of our lesser self。 In space， the difference between life and death lies in emotional regulation。”“The extent of the struggle determines the extent of the growth。” 。。。more
Jinan
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The audiobook lacks soul。 The words， and the narrator both。That said， its a pretty good introduction to stoicism for someone not neck deep in it。
Shannon Callahan
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Different kindI would admittedly that this book brings in a different perspective。 In comparison to most of the bunch of self-help books in the market。 All of them are junk but not this one。 It may sound like a cliche of me but this book made the most sense of all。 I did touch in with some of the stoics in past but nothing concrete。 I’m glad that I had a chance to read this book。 Short but on point。
Quentin Wolfe
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A quick， good read， even for people who aren't typically interested in "self help" books。 I wasn't in a self help mood， but the stories in every chapter of famous historical characters & their parallels was what kept me going。 Even if they won't be completely applied， it's interesting to learn about different mindsets & how to reframe an unfortunate circumstance。 Might even check out a book on Stoicism at some point（29） A quick， good read， even for people who aren't typically interested in "self help" books。 I wasn't in a self help mood， but the stories in every chapter of famous historical characters & their parallels was what kept me going。 Even if they won't be completely applied， it's interesting to learn about different mindsets & how to reframe an unfortunate circumstance。 Might even check out a book on Stoicism at some point（29） 。。。more
Vahid
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Solid message on Stoicism， but I found the book very shallow in depth。 One can say that Stoicism has found its way into the self-help/success business which is quite unfortunate， but I'm glad that it has found more audience after thousands of years。 Solid message on Stoicism， but I found the book very shallow in depth。 One can say that Stoicism has found its way into the self-help/success business which is quite unfortunate， but I'm glad that it has found more audience after thousands of years。 。。。more
Ashnil Dixit
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I was pleasantly surprised by this。 Had low expectations after reading the reviews and the first few chapters， but it turned me around。 There isn't anything original in here， but it doesn't hurt to be reminded of how we can and should respond to obstacles。 Its also a really quick and light read I was pleasantly surprised by this。 Had low expectations after reading the reviews and the first few chapters， but it turned me around。 There isn't anything original in here， but it doesn't hurt to be reminded of how we can and should respond to obstacles。 Its also a really quick and light read 。。。more
Dorothy
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I loved this book。 So many passages highlighted。 Stoicism holds an appeal for me， and I appreciated the author’s updated take on it。
Hamad Hamdi
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Such an incredible reading。 I’m very much enjoying the references as well。
Evan Moran
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A book full of tweets。 Don’t waste your time
Eileen
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Great book about turning obstacles on their heads， making them into opportunities。
Ignacy
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Modern repacking of classic stoic literature together with specific examples sprinkled with some emotional intelligence content。 The book is a pretty quick read which I would rather recommend as a guidance around what could be else read around the topic of stoicism acompanied by a bit superficial advices。 The book gathered some interesting points around the topic of perseverance and life-hardships though all of this is drenched with silicon-valley-like-hustling vibe。 If you do not expect anythin Modern repacking of classic stoic literature together with specific examples sprinkled with some emotional intelligence content。 The book is a pretty quick read which I would rather recommend as a guidance around what could be else read around the topic of stoicism acompanied by a bit superficial advices。 The book gathered some interesting points around the topic of perseverance and life-hardships though all of this is drenched with silicon-valley-like-hustling vibe。 If you do not expect anything revolutionary and you rather treat is as a possible source of interesting ideas and points of view， not as an ultimate source of truth， then it is worth reading。 Otherwise， I wouldn't sweat that much。 。。。more
Solakidis Panagiotis
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Definitely， definitely one the greatest books I ever read。It helped me to realise that I need to worry about things I can control。 The real problem it is not the problem itself but my reaction to it。 I also realised that I have already dealt with many obstacles without really considering them as obstacles just because I had a plan B' in readiness。 Last but not least it helped see the things different。 How losing your job， house or the person you love my not be the end of the road but just the be Definitely， definitely one the greatest books I ever read。It helped me to realise that I need to worry about things I can control。 The real problem it is not the problem itself but my reaction to it。 I also realised that I have already dealt with many obstacles without really considering them as obstacles just because I had a plan B' in readiness。 Last but not least it helped see the things different。 How losing your job， house or the person you love my not be the end of the road but just the beginning of a new one。Honestly there were so many lessons that my notes are over 20 pages。 You really have to read that book 。。。more
Yash Malviya
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Can't do this book justice with this review， I will keep it brief as I still am processing a lot of what is in here。The author presents a collection of past philosophical works on Stoicism， with some of the theories applied to modern examples。 The main theme of the book is how to not lose oneself in situations with unfavourable odds。 The book is divided into 3 sections - perception， action and will。It talks about how fear of the obstacles is often more debilitating than the obstacle itself。 Perc Can't do this book justice with this review， I will keep it brief as I still am processing a lot of what is in here。The author presents a collection of past philosophical works on Stoicism， with some of the theories applied to modern examples。 The main theme of the book is how to not lose oneself in situations with unfavourable odds。 The book is divided into 3 sections - perception， action and will。It talks about how fear of the obstacles is often more debilitating than the obstacle itself。 Perception of the obstacle is the key， embrace it and keep moving forward。 A lot of emphases is put on acceptance of setbacks and starting again with what you have。 Although having commonalities with perception's section this is more from the perspective of action。 Actions don't have to be constrained by perception。An analogy given for will is - If perception and action are disciplines of mind and body， then will is the discipline of the heart and the soul。 One can try to mitigate harmful perceptions， give their 100% energy to actions。 These attempts can be inhibited and thwarted。 But will isn't something that is affected by external factors。 This is something one has full control over， it becomes the strength I was quite unclear on the big picture for the book before writing the review。 I will elaborate on this after 2nd go through （reading）。 。。。more
Pevebe
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This book is completely interesting。
Mipaad
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The book is really fantastic。
LuAnPe
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This book is actually great。
Metean
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The book is really fantastic
Mel Cote
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This book was transformative in the way I look at life's challenges and is especially relevant in today's world。 This book was transformative in the way I look at life's challenges and is especially relevant in today's world。 。。。more
Taylor Ellwood
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This book explores how to turn the obstacles in your life into opportunities by learning how to work through them and define them instead of being defined by them。 The historical tales the author shares are helpful for understanding the concepts and practices he shares。 I found this book helpful in my approach to working through obstacles because it helped me see how I could turn those obstacles into a path， instead of letting them stop me。
Kathleen Duffy
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You can tell a white man wrote this based on the lack of diversity in the historical examples。 Privilege， and its roll in success， is largely ignored。 But otherwise the author makes some good points。
Govind Shenoy
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Lot of motivational stuff。
Gonzalo Cordova
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Ryan Holiday presents in this book timeless wisdom to deal with challenges。 In particular， the author provides a framework to deal with adversity， which involves perception， action， and will。 Every section of the book develops the three elements of the framework with well-researched sources。This book motivates its readers to find a way to overcome challenges while learning from the experience。 I really liked the mix of historical and contemporary examples to support the different premises throug Ryan Holiday presents in this book timeless wisdom to deal with challenges。 In particular， the author provides a framework to deal with adversity， which involves perception， action， and will。 Every section of the book develops the three elements of the framework with well-researched sources。This book motivates its readers to find a way to overcome challenges while learning from the experience。 I really liked the mix of historical and contemporary examples to support the different premises throughout the book。 Also， I appreciated the effort to distill the essence of very complex concepts in simple terms。 Finally， I valued the practicality of the advice presented in the book。 In short， this book is a great resource for anyone facing adversity or preparing to face future trials with more wisdom。 。。。more
Wil Spillane
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This was hard to read， if only because of the overused stereotypes of winning and success from military， political， and sports related stories。 It was difficult to understand the difference between a real story of trial and triumph and just another macho rewriting of moments in history。 There is nothing glorious about war。 History is always rewritten by the winners。 And there is little to learn with rewriting other peoples words over and over again。
Lost and Found Life Coaching And
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https://www。creativebug。com/lib/idaho。。。 https://www。creativebug。com/lib/idaho。。。 。。。more
Mary-ann Owens
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Really liked this book， took notes because the lessons are important ones。
Weam Hneesh
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