Book Review: Obstacle Is the Way

Ryan Holiday is an interesting dude.

For one, he is a long-time disciple of Marcus Aurelius, the former Emporer of Rome and arguably the most famous of the Stoic philosophers, and two, he’s a pupil of Robert Greene, author of multiple international best-sellers.

The combined influence has led Ryan to build a unique and successful personal brand that takes the ancient practices of Stoicism that were born in Athens, Greece in the 3rd Century BC and delivers them to your library in the 21st Century. His third book, “Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph” is equipped with countless stories showing how Stoicism practices can be learned and eventually mastered.

In order to do so, Perception, Action, and Will are the three disciplines that serve as the pillars which support the foundation of the book’s message.

The building blocks of Part I: Perception form an arch of ideas that range from ‘Recognizing Your Power’ to ‘Finding the Opportunities’ and is held together by this keystone question:

“Is it up to you?”

To be able to know the difference between what is in our control and what isn’t seems to be the piece that locks the other chapters’ ideas in place. It enables you to bear the weight of managing your perception of the world. In other words, to abide by the ‘Serenity Prayer’, which has helped save millions from collapsing in on themselves and has the potential to do the same for you.

The question is concise and efficient. On to the next phase of construction…

After laying down a solid, concrete-like world view, Part 2: Action, is what bridges together great ideas and tangible results. The second discipline mentioned here is necessary in order for anything to shape. However, taking action is going to look very different for everybody which is why the chapter, ‘Do Your Job, Do It Right’ is an important one to read more than once.

The idea of the chapter is simple, so here it is:

“We will be and do many things in our lives. Some are prestigious, some are onerous, none are beneath us. To whatever we face, our job is to respond with:

hard work

honesty

helping others as best we can

You should never have to ask yourself, But what am I supposed to do now? Because you know the answer: your job.”

In a matter of four pages, this idea is reinforced by mentioning the likes of two U.S. presidents and two of the greatest businessman ever to walk this Earth.

Andrew Johnson. James Garfield. Andrew Carnegie. Steve Jobs.

Each reference point has its own merit for you to decipher on your own time.

That being said, the final person, Viktor Frankl, takes the cake.

Here’s another excerpt from the book,

“The great psychologist Viktor Frankl, survivor of three concentration camps, found presumptuousness in the age-old question: “What is the meaning of life?” As though it is someone else’s responsibility to tell you. Instead, he said, the world is asking you that question. And it’s your job to answer with your actions.

In every situation, life is asking us a question, and our actions are the answer. Our job is simply to answer well.”

I would love it if I could build another layer on top of that and share something insightful, but I’m okay with leaving it as it is. Nuff said.

“Alright, enough of the construction lingo. I get it — you’re trying to paint a picture. Cool.

And yeah, that sounds great and all. A healthy perspective on life. Paired with taking action accordingly. Sure. Whatever. What about when shit hits the fan, huh? When things come up and actually ruin your perfectly outlined plan or when the world says, ‘Screw your New Year’s resolution, deal with this.’

Now what?”

Here we enter the final stretch. Part 3: Will.

In the final part of the book, there are some interesting chapters that force you to think more deeply and as a result, slow you down from finishing the book as fast as you thought you would. And for good reason.

‘Build Your Inner Citadel.’ ‘Anticipation (Thinking Negatively).’ ‘The Art of Acquiescence.’ ‘Perseverance.’ ‘Something Bigger Than Yourself.’ ‘Meditate on Your Mortality.’ ‘Prepare to Start Again.’

Although, in my opinion, one chapter not mentioned here, appears to stand out from the rest: ‘Love Everything That Happens: Amor Fati.’

It opens with a quote by Nietzsche,

“My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it . . . but love it.”

Shit will inevitably hit the fan. You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it.

Following the German philosopher’s opening quotation, the story of Thomas Edison and his sacred laboratory burning to the ground seems to be the perfect story to solidify this idea of a love of Fate.

Edison embodied this notion.

First, as his life’s work is going up in smoke, he turns to his son and says, “Go get your mother and all her friends . . . They’ll never see a fire like this.”

Second, he adds, “It’s all right. We’ve just got rid of a lot of rubbish.”

Now, I don’t own a laboratory. And, even if I did, I am pretty confident that what I would cook up would not be as revolutionary as what Mr. Edison worked on daily. I don’t think you would either. No offense.

Anyways, so, what did he do after?

He turned around made $10 million in revenue ($200-plus million today).

Not a few decades later. The very next year.

This story right here is what the book is all about: Turning Trials into Triumph.

“We don’t get to choose what happens to us, but we can always choose how we feel about it. And why on Earth would you choose to feel anything but good? We can choose to render a good account of ourselves. If the event must occur, Amor Fati (a love of fate) is the response.”

You may not care or have the time to read this book by Ryan Holiday and that is okay. However, to conclude this article as efficient as possible, I would like to place the power back in your hands by allowing you to ask and answer a few questions for yourself. I certainly can’t answer any of them for anyone. These questions are for you. Best of luck.

“What is in my control?”

“What is not in my control that I keep worrying about?”

“What is my job?”

“What could I do to make sure I do my job right?”

“What would my life look like if I choose to love what happens?”