Ego Is the Enemy
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- Create Date：2021-04-19 11:57:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Ryan Holiday
- ISBN：1591847818
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Summary
“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。
The Ego is the Enemy draws on a vast array of stories and examples， from literature to philosophy to history。 We meet fascinating figures like Howard Hughes， Katharine Graham， Bill Belichick， and Eleanor Roosevelt， all of whom reached the highest levels of power and success by conquering their own egos。 Their strategies and tactics can be ours as well。
But why should we bother fighting ego in an era that glorifies social media， reality TV， and other forms of shameless self-promotion？ 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。”
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。
The Ego is the Enemy draws on a vast array of stories and examples， from literature to philosophy to history。 We meet fascinating figures like Howard Hughes， Katharine Graham， Bill Belichick， and Eleanor Roosevelt， all of whom reached the highest levels of power and success by conquering their own egos。 Their strategies and tactics can be ours as well。
But why should we bother fighting ego in an era that glorifies social media， reality TV， and other forms of shameless self-promotion？ 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。”
Reviews
Melissa
，
While I agree with some of the insights in this book， there were far too many instances where the author's arrogance and bias was off-putting。 His writing reeks of elitism and classism。 Not to mention the subtle sexism of his infatuation with mostly male figures from the military， sports， and the business worlds。 I've given Mr。 Holiday more than a fair shake， and I am not impressed with what he's selling。 While I agree with some of the insights in this book， there were far too many instances where the author's arrogance and bias was off-putting。 His writing reeks of elitism and classism。 Not to mention the subtle sexism of his infatuation with mostly male figures from the military， sports， and the business worlds。 I've given Mr。 Holiday more than a fair shake， and I am not impressed with what he's selling。 。。。more
Simba
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It was a quick read， and honestly very intriguing。 I think at the end of the day it is a great book to read to lead to a better future， especially with all the complications the ego creates in our lives that many continue to overlook。 The ego is difficult issue to tackle as it its power varies through all individuals， but growth always is growth。
Leonardo Suarez
，
actually a great book。 people may be skeptical about its title and genre but Ryan does a good job of touching such a pervasive aspect of the human experience in a riveting way。 a very， very thought-provoking book。 I'll definitely keep its insights around for whenever my ego surges from the grave actually a great book。 people may be skeptical about its title and genre but Ryan does a good job of touching such a pervasive aspect of the human experience in a riveting way。 a very， very thought-provoking book。 I'll definitely keep its insights around for whenever my ego surges from the grave 。。。more
Nikotta
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Ryan Holiday knows how to compile stories， how to select the most important of situations and show us a lesson， what an amazing compiler he is。This book was filled with too many U。S。 history for my liking， although it is important and interesting i have my limits。
Sadia Hiraj
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Very interesting book。 I thought myself as an egoistic person and chose this book to read。 Amazingly written。
Salman Anjum
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The book is a reminder of various concepts similar books had already taught。 However， the idea of Ego is presented in a different manner which gives the reader a better understanding of themselves and t
Joe Wabe
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If you need a book to make you understand that the one thing that stands between you and a happier， more successful and wiser life is your Ego， then this is the one。 It's clear， direct and insightful。 If you need a book to make you understand that the one thing that stands between you and a happier， more successful and wiser life is your Ego， then this is the one。 It's clear， direct and insightful。 。。。more
Khushboo Gadda
，
I believe that as much it’s my responsibility to give my time and attention to reading a book， it’s as much the responsibility of a book to capture my attention and make it worth my time。 Whatever stories and examples have been mentioned in this book did not really interest me so much as they should have been。 The same theme is repeated again and again throughout the book。 For me this was a self help book which should be just skimmed over。 It was honestly a disappointment for me。 However one goo I believe that as much it’s my responsibility to give my time and attention to reading a book， it’s as much the responsibility of a book to capture my attention and make it worth my time。 Whatever stories and examples have been mentioned in this book did not really interest me so much as they should have been。 The same theme is repeated again and again throughout the book。 For me this was a self help book which should be just skimmed over。 It was honestly a disappointment for me。 However one good thing that came out from this book was that I now have a clear idea about Ego。 How to easily spot it in someone else and how to keep mine under control as well。 。。。more
Thaissa Padovan
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Extremely necessary to every human being。
Angelica Moreno
，
Todos tenemos una temporada de autoreconocimiento。 Es decir， evaluamos nuestra vida， nuestras ideas y nuestras acciones。 Es en este momento， para mí， el mejor para leer este tipo de libros。 Ryan a través de este libro nos lleva a evaluar nuestras acciones y analizar sobre qué idea están sustentadas y de pronto por qué no， modificarlas y darles una nueva resignificación。 Asi que si usted al igual que yo se encuentra en el autoreconocimiento， no dude en el leer este libro
Kevin Tumlinson
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Deep thought， easy readThis is a book that every soul should read， and particularly in light of everything humanity has faced and is facing during a time of pandemic， economic crisis， political insanity， and social upheaval。 Success is one outcome of overcoming ego， but the point is the broad spectrum that success occupies。What I enjoyed most about this book was how accessible it was， and how easy it was to work into a daily reading practice。 The chapters are full of brilliant content and though Deep thought， easy readThis is a book that every soul should read， and particularly in light of everything humanity has faced and is facing during a time of pandemic， economic crisis， political insanity， and social upheaval。 Success is one outcome of overcoming ego， but the point is the broad spectrum that success occupies。What I enjoyed most about this book was how accessible it was， and how easy it was to work into a daily reading practice。 The chapters are full of brilliant content and thought， but remain digestible in a morning’s reading。 Usually each chapter breezes by in under 15 minutes， but leaves lessons that stay with you all day， and hopefully beyond。This is one of my top 10 highly recommended books。 。。。more
Mohsen Shad
，
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 needs to work on it， but not me。 Wrong！ Liking it。
Lev
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A great book with insights on how to deal with sucess， faliure， and the time in between。 It displayed some great stoic advice in an accesible way， but I feel as if it was too short for what its worth。 Ryan Holiday is an amazing author but not a man of words and articulation。
Michal Guzowski
，
Trzeba dobrać filozofię życia do swojej tożsamości i charakterologii。 Książka była kolejną cegiełką do mojego przekonania， że moją filozofią życia musi stać się stoicyzm。 Pełen pokory， dystansu， dojrzałości i cierpliwości。Co ciekawe autor pisząc książkę miał ~30 lat。 Nie trzeba mieć siwej brody do pasa by mówić mądre rzeczy。 Wystarczy mieć stos książek， ciekawość i umysł pełen refleksji。Mam 3 kartki A4 notatek， ale zostawię tutaj jedną sentencję autora:Aleksander Wielki do Diogenesa: co ja， najp Trzeba dobrać filozofię życia do swojej tożsamości i charakterologii。 Książka była kolejną cegiełką do mojego przekonania， że moją filozofią życia musi stać się stoicyzm。 Pełen pokory， dystansu， dojrzałości i cierpliwości。Co ciekawe autor pisząc książkę miał ~30 lat。 Nie trzeba mieć siwej brody do pasa by mówić mądre rzeczy。 Wystarczy mieć stos książek， ciekawość i umysł pełen refleksji。Mam 3 kartki A4 notatek， ale zostawię tutaj jedną sentencję autora:Aleksander Wielki do Diogenesa: co ja， najpotężniejszy człowiek świata， moge dla takiego biedaka zrobic？Diogenes odpowiedzial: "Przestań zasłaniać mi słońce"Tak trzeba żyć。O Aleksandrze Wielkim niewielu pamięta， a jeszcze mniej zna jego żywot。 Więc nie ma co się napinać - żyć po swojemu。 Z szacunkiem do innych i bez wywyższania się。Whatever float your boat。 。。。more
Angela Castro
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“A book to re- read every year “
Jeronimo S
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Ego is the enemy is probably one of the most accurate phrases one will ever hear。 Great book， great advice。。。 Ryan's tone can be somewhat arrogant at some points。 Ego is the enemy is probably one of the most accurate phrases one will ever hear。 Great book， great advice。。。 Ryan's tone can be somewhat arrogant at some points。 。。。more
mariam
，
the concept was cool and definitely thought provoking but was v repetitive。 also - my guy said the n word ？？？？？ he interwove a lot of anti-racist stories into the book but ur still a white dude saying the n word？ nat cool
Faiza
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This book makes one Humble！
Marek
，
In general， the book started very well。 I read it with interest， slowly and carefully。 I kept taking pauses to think。 I can't agree with everything （maybe not yet？）， but anyway it's a different and fresh point of view – and I like that。 However， I had a feeling that the further it went the weaker it got。 All the time I had the impression that the author moves on the top layer of the problem and never gets to the bottom of it。 It's a bit like stoicism: we operate only on the rational surface and In general， the book started very well。 I read it with interest， slowly and carefully。 I kept taking pauses to think。 I can't agree with everything （maybe not yet？）， but anyway it's a different and fresh point of view – and I like that。 However， I had a feeling that the further it went the weaker it got。 All the time I had the impression that the author moves on the top layer of the problem and never gets to the bottom of it。 It's a bit like stoicism: we operate only on the rational surface and say how things should be， but we completely ignore how to get there。 You can try to think in a particular way， but emotions can't be fooled。 The author， instead of trying to find the golden mean， often goes from extreme to extreme。 E。g。 not being assertive and setting boundaries is making yourself a victim – if we allow ourselves to be treated that way， we will be treated that way。 And suffering for it is unlikely to give us nobility。 I also didn't like the applause for perfectionism， not enjoying successes， and looking for mistakes and things to improve。 This is something I struggle with myself， and I completely disagree that this is the right stance。 It doesn't serve anything。 。。。more
Sannah
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Dnf at 32%It feels like this is the first draft of many; the author has no clue what he’s talking about and is just throwing things at a wall to see what’ll stick， except in literary format。 This ain’t the one folks
Leonardo Longo
，
Rya Holiday shows how ego can cloud ambition and hinder personal and professional growth， particularly when accomplishments are tied to self-worth， as ego often prevents us from being rational， objective and clear headed。What I liked the most Is that the author uses philosophy’s central tenets and links it to tales from people’s lives citing numerous historical and contemporary figures including George Marshall， Larry Page， Paul Graham and Steve Jobs。The book is organized into three parts: aspir Rya Holiday shows how ego can cloud ambition and hinder personal and professional growth， particularly when accomplishments are tied to self-worth， as ego often prevents us from being rational， objective and clear headed。What I liked the most Is that the author uses philosophy’s central tenets and links it to tales from people’s lives citing numerous historical and contemporary figures including George Marshall， Larry Page， Paul Graham and Steve Jobs。The book is organized into three parts: aspire， success and failure; with the author making the point that you might be in one of those three moments。 。。。more
Artur Jegesi
，
Ego is the enemy is an intricate explanation of a very impactful idea: The conflict between how we see ourselves and how others see us。 The book does a good job at contrasting the ego’s need for validation from the outer world with our true self that can only find peace when we become content with our own efforts。 The book has a logical structure， although more detailed real-life examples would have aided its communication。3 most impactful ideas from this book:1。 Actions are louder than words。 T Ego is the enemy is an intricate explanation of a very impactful idea: The conflict between how we see ourselves and how others see us。 The book does a good job at contrasting the ego’s need for validation from the outer world with our true self that can only find peace when we become content with our own efforts。 The book has a logical structure， although more detailed real-life examples would have aided its communication。3 most impactful ideas from this book:1。 Actions are louder than words。 Too often we can trick ourselves into thinking that we have achieved something that we haven’t。 This is an easy path and is extremely gratifying for our ego。 Through talking about excessively about our goals or creating a successful narrative of our past or future， we fool ourselves into becoming someone instead of having achieved something。 We must let go of our pride and arrogance and remember to act before seeking outer validation。2。 Your potential， the absolute best you’re capable of， that’s the metric to measure yourself against - Warren Buffet。 Make a distortion between your own inner scoreboard of standards and the outer scoreboard of everyone’s expectations。 Fulfilling our own standards of effort will fill us with self-respect while rewards and recognition for outcomes only fuels our ego。 Therefore being aware of your own specific purpose threatens our ego’s desire to just more ‘more’。 Moreover when our image is threatened by someone， we must rely on our own sense of completeness and resist the temptation to indulge in anger or resentment towards the threat。3。 Appeal other people’s ego。 After learning of our inclination to want to be desired， praised and applauded， why not take advantage of such human traits and make other feel and look good。 The book highlights a perfect opportunity for this， being an apprentice。 Apprenticeship is just one example of a situation that can be both in a business or personal setting where we can benefit from making others feel better about themselves。 。。。more
Jonathan Perlin
，
Be humble and yet be noticed。
Austra
，
what an excellent book with so many great quotes and examples of successful and failed leaders， their egos and the aftermath of it all。«If I am not for myself who will be for me？ If I am only for myself， who am I？»
Vijayshree Menon
，
Of the three parts Aspire， Succes， and Failure， I liked the part that involves success and failure。 The first part was a bit dull for me。
Bach Truong Gia
，
This book just， you know， worked for me。Although someone will find the writing style a bit monotonic， it's felt effective and comfortable for me personally。 And its lessons are surprisingly comprehensive too。Ego is The Enemy impressively surpassed my expectations so， give it a try。 This book just， you know， worked for me。Although someone will find the writing style a bit monotonic， it's felt effective and comfortable for me personally。 And its lessons are surprisingly comprehensive too。Ego is The Enemy impressively surpassed my expectations so， give it a try。 。。。more
Liam
，
An enjoyable self help book for the ambitiousMy girlfriend bought this for me because I mark every book I see as a want to read in goodreads， so I had no idea what this was really about or even what genre。 This was a pleasant surprise。 As a general overview， Ego is the enemy features snip bits from all over history， whether military generals， businessman， sports coaches， etc。 and extrapolates stoic values these （mostly men） figures practiced。 The first part is called "Aspire"。 It focuses on how An enjoyable self help book for the ambitiousMy girlfriend bought this for me because I mark every book I see as a want to read in goodreads， so I had no idea what this was really about or even what genre。 This was a pleasant surprise。 As a general overview， Ego is the enemy features snip bits from all over history， whether military generals， businessman， sports coaches， etc。 and extrapolates stoic values these （mostly men） figures practiced。 The first part is called "Aspire"。 It focuses on how to "rise the ranks" and be happy while doing so。 The next section is called "Success" and the last is "Failure"。The 27 chapters are between 4 and 10 pages and each contain common sense values; however， reading these things we know we should do was helpful。 Since the reading can be done in quick bursts， it makes for an ideal book to pick up and put down。 There are moments， for me， where the advice ran counter to my Ego and caused genuine tension and reflection。 Some of the lessons will be obvious and followed already， but even nabbing a few makes it a worthwhile read。 The book does focus primary on 'Masculine' things and reads casually so if that is a turn off this may not be for you。 I was adverse to the use of Ego。 I felt that it was totalizing and sometimes shoe horned into different situations it didn't need—kinda like repeating the same thing differently for an English paper。 By the end， I didn't mind the "Ego" too much and was just enjoying the anecdotes。 7/10。 Good book 。。。more
Krystal
，
This was SUCH a great read， and so easy to digest！ And then Boyd concluded with words that would guide that young man and many of his peers for the rest of their lives。 "To be or to do？ Which way will you go？" There are so many brilliant words of wisdom backed by the lives lived by many famous people throughout history and through to today。 All of these ideas are so relevant and adaptable to every story。 The notion is simple: The only thing holding you back from being great is your Ego。I love This was SUCH a great read， and so easy to digest！ And then Boyd concluded with words that would guide that young man and many of his peers for the rest of their lives。 "To be or to do？ Which way will you go？" There are so many brilliant words of wisdom backed by the lives lived by many famous people throughout history and through to today。 All of these ideas are so relevant and adaptable to every story。 The notion is simple: The only thing holding you back from being great is your Ego。I love the way this book talks about greatness and purpose - how you don't have to have great ideas， you don't have to be a genius， you don't have to be inspired to change the world。 You just have to find what YOUR purpose is。 If your purpose is being an accountant， go for it - but do it to the best of your ability， and embrace everything that comes with it。 Do things for the right reasons。 At the core of everything， be a good person。It will be hard to swallow for some - particularly super successful people having trouble getting out of their own way。 To be honest， this is another one of those books where the people who don't appreciate what its saying are the people who probably need it most。 This book just sums everything up so intelligently。 I want to talk about what the ego is and why its our enemy to give you an idea， but this book does it so well that my paraphrasing would hardly do it justice。I loved reading this。 I loved challenging my own thoughts and actions。 I loved thinking about the ways I could overpower my own ego and further grow myself。 I loved sharing paragraphs on Instagram （lol）。This was a mind-expanding book。 I loved every second of it。It's relatively short， too， and the chapters are brief， to the point， and use brilliant， interesting anecdotes to highlight some very insightful points。Highly recommend， and likely to be a 2021 fave。 。。。more
Test of Stoicism
，
Aristoteles defined 3 types of friendship: pleasure， utility and grace， if we apply this to books to define Ego is the enemy， I think it would be a book that has these 3 characteristics and must be re-read from time to time。
Abdul Raheem
，
Ego is NOT the enemy。 If it hadn't been written by Ryan Holiday， I would not have read it; instead， I would have probably just read the summary。Rather than reading a summary and drawing my own conclusions， I wanted to read the entire book and fully comprehend the author's point。 I knew the book would be anti-ego and have stories to back it up， but it was actually better than I expected （my expectations were quite low btw:3）。 With that being said， I will repeat the first words of my review， EGO I Ego is NOT the enemy。 If it hadn't been written by Ryan Holiday， I would not have read it; instead， I would have probably just read the summary。Rather than reading a summary and drawing my own conclusions， I wanted to read the entire book and fully comprehend the author's point。 I knew the book would be anti-ego and have stories to back it up， but it was actually better than I expected （my expectations were quite low btw:3）。 With that being said， I will repeat the first words of my review， EGO IS NOT THE ENEMY。 But why is that？ I mean Ego creates a delusion， ego makes you entitled， makes you indecisive， makes you foolish， long story short ego makes you an asshole， but still， Ego is not the enemy because it's a part of YOU， it's a part of human nature， Ego is a portion of the human personality which is experienced as the “self” or “I” and is in contact with the external world through perception。 We often think of ego as only the dressed up conditionings of how we observe ourselves from the viewpoint of others， but the egoistic mind is larger than that。The part of how we see ourselves has proven to be very important for our survival and our progress。 when we lived in tribal communities If others thought of us as being low in status， we would be in trouble during the hunger season。 We could either die from hunger or even get killed in that "you scratch my back， I scratch yours" way of living in ancient tribes。We learned to identify ourselves as to how we personally believe others see us and also try to change that for the better。 All for our own survival。The Ego is involved in a very crucial aspect of human nature， The ability to outshine others。 Many anthropologists believe one of the central reasons for "Homo sapiens" survival vs other sapiens， was the intensity of the drive to outshine others。The reason why a writer or a poet writes， filmmaker produces a movie， an artist does art， or simply a person is ambitious is because the ego is involved in it too somewhat。But besides that ego is very detrimental because it creates a delusion of success primarily when we want to achieve a great goal it will create a bubble that makes the small goals big。 It damages our ambitions through instant gratification， instant gratification is very fatal when you want to achieve something。The thing I like about the book is that it is trying to say that the ego becomes a barrier， the more you are， the less the improvement can be; the less you are， the more you are available for the improvement。 If you are totally empty the improvement becomes the guest， and it can become the guest only when you are totally empty， not even a fragment of you is left。 all your progress is in the danger of going in vain if you are full of ego。 We shouldn't shun ego rather accept it， embrace it， and more importantly "transcend it "。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Ego Is the Enemy
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Ego Is the Enemy&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Ego Is the Enemy&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0