The Only Obstacle Is You: Ryan Holiday | OYNB 003

OneYearNoBeer Podcast Episode 3 – with Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday’s books are inspired and game-changing. Also, he doesn’t drink. And he doesn’t care that he doesn’t drink. Brilliant.

In this episode, One Year No Beer Co-Founder Andy Ramage interviews, you guessed it, Ryan Holiday. He is an accomplished American author who has penned several books that have been featured on preeminent best seller lists. One of his published titles, “The Obstacle Is The Way,” has sold over 100,000 copies to date, and was reportedly read by the New England Patriots during their 2014 Super Bowl Victory over the Seattle Seahawks. He is a media strategist, the former Director of Marketing for American Apparel, and a media columnist and editor-at-large for the New York Observer.

“Correlation does not imply causation”

Ernest Hemingway and Edgar Allan Poe are such paragons of inspiring genius who were also infamously fond of alcohol. They must be geniuses because they drink, right? Well, the short answer is no.

It’s an unfortunate trend that we usually pick role models who drink or who have an addiction of sorts, and think that they’re troubled creative geniuses. Listen as Ryan elaborates why these great creative people whom we look up to are incredibly creative and have become great in spite of the alcohol or their addiction. He explains that these greats obtained their status because of the work that they did, and not necessarily because of the substance that they were addicted to. “We shouldn’t be confusing causation and correlation,” he quips.

Ryan Holiday is a perfect example of a teetotal genius who prefers to learn from the experience of others. He goes on to say in this interview, “You can make the decision of not drinking alcohol and enjoy the benefits outright without the painful lesson.” There is no denying that he has amassed quite a distinguished reputation for himself in media, marketing, journalism and self-improvement – all without ever needing the booze.

On stoicism and reading books

Listen as Ryan talks about how his best-selling book “The Obstacle Is The Way” draws inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience. He advises, “(You) can’t change the fact that you did drink, that (you) relapsed, but (you) can control what (you) can do in response to that.”

Ryan also professes to be a voracious reader. Accordingly, for a long time now, he doesn’t even need to schedule reading a book. It’s akin to eating, he muses, and a part of his journey as a human being who is trying to get better. Here he shares his recommended books:

Ryan Holiday’s Top 3 Recommended Books

“Mastery” by Robert Greene “What Makes Sammy Run” by Budd Schulberg “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius

“Ego Is The Enemy”

Holiday’s impressive body of work (he’s not even thirty as of this writing!) might make you think that he must have a huge ego. But in fact, he asserts that ego is the enemy, which, by the way, is the title of his most recent book - an instant Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and international bestseller. He also talks about this in detail and other topics in this episode.

Listen to this One Year No Beer podcast episode, leave a review and get chance to win a copy of “Ego Is The Enemy” by Ryan Holiday! We only have 10 copies to give away and they will be given to the first 10 reviewers. So hurry, listen and share your thoughts now!

LINKS & RESOURCES

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RYAN HOLIDAY’S LINKS

Website: http://ryanholiday.net/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ryanholiday/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanholiday/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanholiday/

GRAB A COPY OF RYAN HOLIDAY’S BOOKS

"Ego Is the Enemy"

"The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph"

"Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator"

"Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising"

"The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living" (with Steve Hanselman as co-author)