The Obstacle Is the Way

introduction

from the book

“Whatever we face, we have a choice: Will we be blocked by obstacles, or will we advance through and over them?

We might not be emperors, but the world is still constantly testing us. It asks: Are you worthy? Can you get past the things that inevitably fall in your way? Will you stand up and show us what you’re made of?

Plenty of people have answered this question in the affirmative. And a rarer breed still has shown that they not only have what it takes, but they thrive and rally at every such challenge. That the challenge makes them better than if they’d never faced the adversity at all.

Now it’s your turn to see if you’re one of them, if you’ll join their company.

This book shows you the way.”

Learning to turn our biggest challenges into our biggest opportunities is what this book is all about—“The timeless art of turning trials into triumph.”

In short, the obstacle is the way.

Ryan Holiday is a brilliant writer (and guy) and this book is a *really* smart, lucid, compelling, inspiring manual on the art of living invincibly.

Ryan masterfully integrates ancient Stoic wisdom from Marcus Aurelius + Seneca + Epictetus and brings that wisdom to life via inspiring stories featuring everyone from John D. Rockefeller, Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt to Amelia Earhart and Steve Jobs.

My book is all marked up and peppered with “wow”s and “YES!”s. If you’re enjoying this Note, I think you’ll really dig it. Get it here.

The book has three parts: Perception + Action + Will.

Let’s take a quick look at each of those and then a quick look at a few of my favorite Big Ideas you can bring into your life today. Hope you enjoy!