Ego Is the Enemy

Ryan Holiday argues that the biggest obstacle to a full, successful life is not the outside world but our own ego. Early in a career it blocks learning, with success it blinds us to our faults, and in failure it makes recovery harder. Holiday draws on stories from literature, philosophy and history, including George Marshall, Jackie Robinson and Katharine Graham, people who reached the top by keeping their egos in check. He offers their strategies as lessons for every stage of work and life.

Recommended by 4 people

George Raveling
Aubrey Marcus: “This book would have saved me a lot of money and a lot of torture if I had read it earlier in my life, and I highly recommend you get a jumpstart.”
Patrick Bet-David
Shane Parrish: “A book about how we can overcome ourselves and do our best work. Ego impedes learning. Ego impedes understanding. Ego can blind us. Yet ego can also fuel us and cause us to do otherwise impossible things. Self-awareness is the first step to reducing its negative impacts and harnessing its power”