Ryan Holiday Quotes

What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first steps to something better. — WENDELL PHILLIPS

In an age of images and entertainment, in an age of instant emotional gratification, we neither seek nor want honesty or reality. Reality is complicated. Reality is boring. We are incapable or unwilling to handle its confusion.

All you need are these: certainty of judgment in the present moment; action for the common good in the present moment; and an attitude of gratitude in the present moment for anything that comes your way.

The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.

The essence of greatness is the perception that virtue is enough. — RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Some ways to find stillness right now:

- Go for a solo nature walk
- Write in a journal
- Lock into a creative activity
- Vigorous exercise: run laps, swim
- Help someone else

People think you have to travel for peace, but Marcus Aurelius says we can turn inward at any moment.

Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant. — VIKTOR FRANKL

We have to find the people who can teach us and open ourselves to learning from them. Whatever stage of life we’re in, there is someone who knows more than us, who has been through more than us, who can open doors for us.

Blessings and burdens are not mutually exclusive.

You must practice seeing yourself with a little distance, cultivating the ability to get out of your own head. Detachment is a sort of natural ego antidote. It’s easy to be emotionally invested and infatuated with your own work. Any and every narcissist can do that. What is rare is not rawtalent, skill, or even confidence, but humility, diligence, and self-awareness.

When success begins to slip from your fingers — for whatever reason — the response isn’t to grip and claw so hard that you shatter it to pieces. It’s to understand that you must work yourself back to the aspirational phase. You must get back to first principles and best practices.

ego is the enemy of what you want and of what you have: Of mastering a craft. Of real creative insight. Of working well with others. Of building loyalty and support. Of longevity. Of repeating and retaining your success. It repulses advantages and opportunities. It’s a magnet for enemies and errors. It is Scylla and Charybdis.

Beware the calm before the storm.
Hope for the best, prepare for he worst.
The worst is yet to come.
It gets worse before it gets better.
It always takes longer than you expect.

Everything starts at zero. Progress is made one small step, one crappy page every day.

Historia est magistra vitae. History is the teacher of life.