About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Obstacle Is The Way is a modern take on Stoicism, which helps you endure life’s struggles with grace and resilience by drawing lessons from ancient heroes, former presidents, modern actors, and athletes, and how they turned adversity into success through the power of perception, action, and will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might wonder if there is a way to turn problems into opportunities. Ryan Holiday demonstrates in this book that there is a way for us to convert seemingly hopeless situations into successes. And all of this while employing various philosophical ideas.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Notable quotes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

• \u201cIt is no good or bad without us, there is only perception. There is the event itself and the story we tell ourselves about what it means.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cChoose not to be harmed\u2014and you won\u2019t feel harmed. Don\u2019t feel harmed\u2014and you haven\u2019t been.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cThink progress, not perfection.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cThe obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cWe forget: In life, it doesn\u2019t matter what happens to you or where you came from. It matters what you do with what happens and what you\u2019ve been given.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cFocus on the moment, not the monsters that may or may not be up ahead.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cIf an emotion can’t change the condition or the situation you’re dealing with, it is likely an unhelpful emotion. Or, quite possibly, a destructive one. But it’s what I feel. Right, no one said anything about not feeling it. No one said you can’t even cry. Forget “manliness.” If you need to take a moment, by all means, go ahead. Real strength lies in the control or, as Nassim Taleb put it, the domestication of one’s emotions, not in pretending they don’t exist.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cWherever we are, whatever we\u2019re doing and wherever we are going, we owe it to ourselves, to our art, to the world to do it well.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cWhere the head goes, the body follows. Perception precedes action. Right action follows the right perspective.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cFor all species other than us humans, things just are what they are. Our problem is that we\u2019re always trying to figure out what things mean\u2014why things are the way they are. As though the why matters. Emerson put it best: \u201cWe cannot spend the day in explanation.\u201d Don\u2019t waste time on false constructs.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cThe only guarantee, ever, is that things will go wrong. The only thing we can use to mitigate this is anticipation. Because the only variable we control completely is ourselves.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cIt\u2019s okay to be discouraged. It\u2019s not okay to quit. To know you want to quit but to plant your feet and keep inching closer until you take the impenetrable fortress you\u2019ve decided to lay siege to in your own life\u2014that\u2019s persistence.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cIn life our first job is this, to divide and distinguish things into two categories: externals I cannot control, but the choices I make with regard to them I do control. Where will I find good and bad? In me, in my choices.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cWe\u2019ve all done it. Said: \u201cI am so [overwhelmed, tired, stressed, busy, blocked, outmatched].\u201d And then what do we do about it? Go out and party. Or treat ourselves. Or sleep in. Or wait. It feels better to ignore or pretend. But you know deep down that isn\u2019t going to truly make it any better. You\u2019ve got to act. And you\u2019ve got to start now.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cAndrew Carnegie famously put it. There\u2019s nothing shameful about sweeping. It\u2019s just another opportunity to excel\u2014and to learn. But you, you\u2019re so busy thinking about the future, you don\u2019t take any pride in the tasks you\u2019re given right now. You just phone it all in, cash your paycheck, and dream of some higher station in life. Or you think, This is just a job, it isn\u2019t who I am, it doesn\u2019t matter. Foolishness. Everything we do matters\u2014whether it\u2019s making smoothies while you save up money or studying for the bar\u2014even after you already achieved the success you sought.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cIn every situation, life is asking us a question, and our actions are the answer.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cFailure shows us the way\u2014by showing us what isn\u2019t the way.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cYou know what\u2019s better than building things up in your imagination? Building things up in real life.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cRemember that this moment is not your life, it\u2019s just a moment in your life. Focus on what is in front of you, right now. Ignore what it \u201crepresents\u201d or it \u201cmeans\u201d or \u201cwhy it happened to you.\u201d<\/li>
• \u201cTo argue, to complain, or worse, to just give up, these are choices. Choices that more often than not, do nothing to get us across the finish line.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  About The Obstacle Is The Way is a modern take on Stoicism, which helps you endure life’s struggles with grace and resilience by drawing lessons from ancient heroes, former presidents, modern actors, and athletes, and how they turned adversity into success through the power of perception, action, and will. You might wonder if there is… <\/p>\n

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