The Obstacle Is the Way
The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
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Narrated by:
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Ryan Holiday
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Written by:
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Ryan Holiday
About this listen
#1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller
The Obstacle is the Way has become a cult classic, beloved by men and women around the world who apply its wisdom to become more successful at whatever they do.
Its many fans include a former governor and movie star (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a hip hop icon (LL Cool J), an Irish tennis pro (James McGee), an NBC sportscaster (Michele Tafoya), and the coaches and players of winning teams like the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Cubs, and University of Texas men’s basketball team.
The book draws its inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience. Stoics focus on the things they can control, let go of everything else, and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, tougher. As Marcus Aurelius put it nearly 2000 years ago: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
Ryan Holiday shows us how some of the most successful people in history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—have applied stoicism to overcome difficult or even impossible situations. Their embrace of these principles ultimately mattered more than their natural intelligence, talents, or luck.
If you’re feeling frustrated, demoralized, or stuck in a rut, this book can help you turn your problems into your biggest advantages. And along the way it will inspire you with dozens of true stories of the greats from every age and era.
©2023 Ryan Holiday (P)2023 Penguin AudioYou may also enjoy...
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An easy listening that makes some good points
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Almost every religion, spiritual practice, philosophy and person grapples with fear. The most repeated phrase in the Bible is “Be not afraid.” The ancient Greeks spoke of phobos, panic and terror. It is natural to feel fear, the Stoics believed, but it cannot rule you. Courage, then, is the ability to rise above fear, to do what’s right, to do what’s needed, to do what is true. And so it rests at the heart of the works of Marcus Aurelius, Aristotle, and CS Lewis, alongside temperance, justice, and wisdom.
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A very difficult book to write
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don't get the audible version
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From the best-selling authors of The Daily Stoic comes an inspiring guide to the lives of the Stoics, and what the ancients can teach us about happiness, success, resilience, and virtue. In Lives of the Stoics, Holiday and Hanselman present the fascinating lives of the men and women who strove to live by the timeless Stoic virtues of Courage. Justice. Temperance. Wisdom. Organized in digestible, mini-biographies of all the well-known - and not so well-known - Stoics, this book vividly brings home what Stoicism was like for the people who loved it and lived it.
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The narrator ruins this book for me
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Ego Is the Enemy
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"While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive visionary geniuses who remade the world in their images 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)
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An easy listening that makes some good points
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Written by: Ryan Holiday
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Stillness Is the Key
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Overall
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Stay in your lane, Ryan.
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-
-
A very difficult book to write
- By Anonymous User on 2024-06-17
Written by: Ryan Holiday
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The Daily Stoic
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- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
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The narrator ruins this book for me
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Listed dozens of times
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Terrific daily meditation
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You'll enjoy it. Promise.
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Ugh- Blowhard doing blowhard
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Perfect!!!!
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You’ve seen it all before. A malicious online rumor costs a company millions. A political sideshow derails the national news cycle and destroys a candidate. Some product or celebrity zooms from total obscurity to viral sensation. What you don’t know is that someone is responsible for all this. Usually, someone like me. I’m a media manipulator. In a world where blogs control and distort the news, my job is to control blogs - as much as any one person can.
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A tad repetitive
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After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she describes how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. In this edition, Dweck offers new insights into her now famous and broadly embraced concept. She introduces a phenomenon she calls false growth mindset and guides people toward adopting a deeper, truer growth mindset.
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Amazing concepts, too much fluff.
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The Obstacle Is the Way Expanded (10th Anniversary Edition)
- The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
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- Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Since bestselling author Ryan Holiday introduced Stoicism to the world with The Obstacle Is the Way in 2014, this simple but powerful philosophy for life has taken the world by storm. This brilliant and engaging book is an invaluable source of wisdom for anyone who wants to become more successful at what they do, whether you’re a student, a parent, a professional athlete, or a world leader. Now, Ryan Holiday has updated and expanded this modern classic with a new introduction and new content featuring a diverse set of inspiring characters.
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communication
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Written by: Ryan Holiday
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Extreme Ownership
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- Unabridged
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An updated edition of the blockbuster best-selling leadership book that took America and the world by storm, two US Navy SEAL officers who led the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War demonstrate how to apply powerful leadership principles from the battlefield to business and life.
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principles are good
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Written by: Jocko Willink, and others
What the critics say
“The book on stoicism that’s taking the NFL by storm.”–Sports Illustrated
"The best one I've read. Ryan Holiday is brilliant. If I had read The Obstacle Is the Way sooner, a few things might have been different."–Rory McIlroy, 2x PGA Champion
“Follow these precepts and you will revolutionize your life. Read this book!”—Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art and Gates of Fire
What listeners say about The Obstacle Is the Way
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 2023-08-15
Changes the lens through which you see the world
Applying the book's underlying principles will reframe how you evaluate difficulty in your life – big things and small things alike. You won't see things as good or bad anymore, only good and the opportunity for good.
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- Nicole
- 2023-10-28
Loved every minute of it!
A must read for everyone, especially those who feel they’ve been dealt a bad hand.
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- Kaz
- 2023-04-05
Obstacles are the way!
I enjoyed the realness of the book. I found the book to be honest and rewarding. Would highly recommend to those who are going through change. 10/10
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- Brett Archibald
- 2023-08-25
Great book
I really found this book a forward pressing look at whatever happens in life.
Would recommend this for anyone.
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- Raphael
- 2024-07-02
Perspective
It’s well narrated & thought out.
I enjoyed it. Listened to it during a difficult time in my life, it helped me understand and put things into perspective.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2024-06-01
Good, but too American
My goodness, every example he gives is so American-centric. Steve Jobs this, Steve Jobs that. Rockefeller, Tommy John, Kennedy, etc. etc. I thought that cosmopolitanism was a key tenant of Stoicism. The author should expand his horizons a bit. Maybe this was due to editor pressures, but the author doesn't give the impression that he knows much about the world beyond America.
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- RoadRunner39
- 2023-08-20
Opportunity at Every Turn
Life will always present us with opportunities to shy away or to rise to the occasion. At the end of the day we all can rise to the occasion; this book, I believe taps into that way of thinking.
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- Patricia
- 2023-03-11
Spectacular job Ryan
Out of my 88 books and counting this year this is a favourite. For a young (ish?) author I’m so impressed. Seriously Ryan well done! Good stuff. Looking forward to following and reading your material as the years roll on. Cheers and thanks! Great book. Narrator was awesome, author I assume 👍
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- Matthew
- 2023-03-09
Impactful
The way Ryan Holiday masterfully presents Stoic Philosophy with real world, historical examples, helps the listener (or reader) learn how to apply Stoic principles and discipline in their lives. If you have ever felt trapped, stuck or confused then this book is for you. The impediment to action advances action, what is in the way becomes the way. This book is essentially a “how to” for turning obstacles into triumphs.
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- Maria Furlong
- 2023-12-01
Profound
The book is Applicable to absolutely everything. Life changing material. A must read for everyone
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