I have literally lost count of the number of times I’ve re-read this book. The very first time I read it, I thought… how is it possible that SO MUCH COMMON SENSE landed in one book at one time. And I immediately re-read it.
There’s a lot of work being done in resilience right now (Brené Brown, Jen Sincero, etc.) but Ryan Holiday’s book stands out to me for a few reasons.
- He is obviously high Intellection/Strategic (and/or Input, Learner, Context), so he has clearly thought about this on a mega-major level, and for years. He’s also done his research. And in his book Perennial Seller (which I also recommend to many writers), he talks about the “wait” that an author should go through when they feel an important book coming on them. When they need to devote real time to making the book a perennial seller (not just a flash in the pan). He absolutely did that work with this book, and it’s very cool to see the strategy in practice.
- He takes such a specific theoretical angle. How do you turn adversity into success? It’s also **so** different from the other resilience work being done. And while I’m a fan of feeling emotions, I do believe that all emotions should be productive. They should lead us somewhere. And so often, in resilience work, the strategy stops at the emotions. Too often, it stops with “don’t feel bad about yourself, feel good about yourself.” And then there’s no push to action on the actual obstacle. I know that a lot of people have been frustrated with the fact that Ryan Holiday’s particular resilience work ignores emotions almost completely. But (and this is a big but) if you can couple his instructions with also being aware of and integrating emotions, then it’s an amazing book. Still, of course, there are some (likely mostly in the Relationship-Building segments of) Strengths that won’t appreciate this book as much because it really does have a very (what I now call) “Low Empathy” way of handling things. But not in the extreme. I just want you to be aware, it’s there. 🙂
- Anyone who is at all philosophical (Ideation, Intellection, Context, Learner, Input, etc.) who has any interest in Greco-Roman history will enjoy the way he treats his source material (which is Stoic philosophy). He loves the Stoics, and it comes out everywhere. I’ve also loved his book, Ego is the Enemy, (yes, even as a Significance) for the same reason. He is one of the deepest thinkers I’ve read in a long time.
- It is full of stories and the concepts are extremely easy to understand. It’s not obtuse or inaccessible. Not overly academic (although he is genuinely brilliant).
- Just as a marketing tool, I think that his hook is brilliant. He has branded himself as the “Stoic guy” now. Watching the rise of this whole career he has… it’s been a great lesson in marketing and branding. I do believe that he genuinely loves this stuff (you couldn’t do what he does without it), but also, he is laser-focused in his branding. And every time I see something that reminds me of Stoic philosophy now, I am reminded of Ryan Holiday. That’s genius marketing.
- I have used the tactics in the book to overcome some of my own obstacles (including, but not limited to, an ongoing battle with weight loss). Four years holding an 80+ pound loss, and still going. And I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I am going to keep tackling that obstacle. It’s an ongoing process, but I’m using it.
- This is maybe a side note, but I truly do appreciate it, as a female person. He doesn’t just focus on white male thinkers to get his points across. His stories are diverse, and even though he is a white guy, I feel like his intentional diversity made the book better for me (as a female reader). He could always do more (of course… we all could), but in general, I found him to be intentionally inclusive. That’s an upside for me.
- If you have genuine adversity in your life (even something that feels trivial), I love the idea, as a Positivity/Connectedness, of being able to use the situation to make you successful, instead of focusing on the negative consequences or being defeated by the situation. I love the idea of making lemonade out of sour lemons. It makes me feel like the bad things that happen to us don’t happen for no reason. (Hear that Connectedness meaning-maker?) 🙂
If any of these points have sparked an interest, I’m going to put an affiliate link here so you can go buy the book if you’d like. If you’re going to buy the audio-book, make sure you go to Audible first, where you can listen to the sample. He reads it himself, and his delivery isn’t “narrator-quality”, but just to give you an idea, I listen to the book when I re-read. Still. I always like to warn people. 🙂 Just in case.
Do you have any books that you re-read every year? (Or often?) Also, if you’ve read this book, please chime in! (Thumbs up or down, doesn’t matter.) I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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