Ego Is the Enemy
Author: Ryan Holiday Category: Personal Development Publisher: Portfolio Published: June 14, 2016 Language: English File Size: 2 MB Tags: Business | essay | Leadership | Nonfiction | Personal Development | Philosophy | Productivity | Psychology | self help |Theme:
Ego Is The Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent by Ryan Holiday reveals why a tendency that’s hardwired into our brains — the belief that the world revolves around us and us alone — keeps holding us back from living the very life it dreams up for us, including what we can do to overcome our ego, be kinder to others and ourselves, and achieve.
Famous Quotes:
“If your purpose is something larger than you- to accomplish something, to prove something to yourself- then suddenly everything becomes both easier and more difficult.”
“The more difficult the task, the more uncertain the outcome, the more costly talk will be and the farther we run from actual accountability.”
“It’s a temptation that exists for everyone- for talk and hype to replace action.”
“In life, there will be times when we do everything right, perhaps even perfectly. Yet the results will somehow be negative: failure, disrespect, jealousy, or even a resounding yawn from the world.”
“Almost universally, the kind of performance we give on social media is positive. It’s more ‘Let me tell you how well things are going. Look how great I am.’ It’s rarely the truth: ‘I’m scared. I’m struggling. I don’t know.’ ”
“In this course, it is not ‘Who do I want to be in life?’ but ‘What is it that I want to accomplish in life?’ Setting aside selfish interest, it asks: What calling does it serve? What principles govern my choices? Do I want to be like everyone else or do I want to do something different?”
“It’s time to sit down and think about what’s truly important to you and then take steps to forsake the rest.”
“This is what the ego does. It crosses out what matters and replaces it with what doesn’t.”
“The world can show you the truth, but no one can force you to accept it.”
“Just because you are quiet doesn’t mean that you are without pride. Privately thinking you’re better than others is still pride. It’s still dangerous.”
“Ego needs honours in order to be validated. Confidence, on the other hand, is able to wait and focus on the task at hand regardless of external recognition.”
“Purpose is about pursuing something outside yourself as opposed to pleasuring yourself.”
“Our ego wants the ideas and the fact that we aspire to do something about them to be enough.”
“The same goes for us, whatever we do. Instead of pretending that we are living some great story, we must remain focused on the execution- and on executing with excellence.”
Back