It's wrecked the careers of promising young geniuses. It's evaporated great fortunes and run companies into the ground. It's made adversity unbearable and turned struggle into shame. Every great philosopher has warned against it, in our most lasting stories and countless works of art, in all culture and all ages. Its name? Ego, and it is the enemy - of ambition, of success and of resilience.
In Ego is the Enemy, Ryan Holiday shows us how and why ego is such a powerful internal opponent to be guarded against at all stages of our careers and lives, and that we can only create our best work when we identify, acknowledge and disarm its dangers. Drawing on an array of inspiring characters and narratives from literature, philosophy and history, the book explores the nature and dangers of ego to illustrate how you can be humble in your aspirations, gracious in your success and resilient in your failures.
The result is an inspiring and timely reminder that humility and confidence are our greatest friends when confronting the challenges of a culture that tends to fan the flames of ego, a book full of themes and life lessons that will resonate, uplift and inspire.
About the author
Ryan Holiday is the bestselling author of Trust Me, I'm Lying, Growth Hacker Marketing and The Obstacle is the Way. His books have been translated into seventeen languages and his writing has appeared everywhere from the Columbia Journalism Review to Fast Company. He was director of marketing at American Apparel for many years, and his strategies in growth hacking and advertising are used as case studies by Twitter, YouTube and Google.
Reviews
Inspiring yet practical ... teaches us how to manage and tame this beast within us so that we can focus on what really matters - producing the best work possible.
- Robert Greene, author, Mastery
Ryan Holiday is one of his generation's finest thinkers, and this book is his best yet.
- Steven Pressfield, author, The War of Art
Highlights how we can earn confidence by pursuing something bigger than our own success.
- Adam Grant, author of, Originals and Give and Take
This book is packed with stories and quotes that will help you get out of your own way. Whether you're starting out or starting over, you'll find something to steal here.
- Austin Kleon, author, Steal Like An Artist
This is a book I want every athlete, aspiring leader, entrepreneur, thinker and doer to read. Ryan Holiday is one of the most promising young writers of his generation.
- George Raveling, Hall of Fame Basketball coach, Nike’s Director of International Basketball
