Ryan Holiday

The Obstacle Is the Way - A method for excellence in any and all situations

Add a comment

Replies

Best
Daniel Morse
In your opinion, what separates the top 1% of marketers from the rest of the top 10%
Ryan Holiday
@dfmorse23 An ability to actually understand and empathize with customers. The amount of times I've had to say "Yeah, but why should anyone care about this?" you would not believe. An ability to come up with unusual, unpredictable ideas. No one needs another party.
Lejla Bajgoric
What would you say is the biggest lesson you learned from your mentor, Robert Green?
Ryan Holiday
@lejlahunts That most of the work is in the organization and the research. The writing is the easy part. Also to think for the long term. It's not about what your book (or any project) sells in a year but in a decade.
Ryan Holiday
I'm trying to think of how this scenario could ever actually come to pass. But if I had an hour, I'd probably spend almost none of it on marketing and almost all of it on making the product better--running through all the things wrong with it and better positioning it for the market. Then I'd think of ONE place to launch it from....producthunt maybe?
Bakz T. Future
Hey Ryan, Bit more of a tactical question: any suggestions on running a multi-outlet pr campaign? Reaching out to multiple outlets at once to promote the launch of something and maybe booking your schedule full to speak at conferences, events, etc? Would love to hear your feedback - I'm a huge fan! Thanks!
Daniel Morse
What are the top 3 skills you think higher education should teach?
Ryan Holiday
@dfmorse23 Knowledge Self-knowledge Humility
Matt Challberg
Hey Ryan, Did you always consider yourself a writer growing up, or was it a skill set you set out to develop intentially? If it was intentional, what made you determine this as an important skill to develop?
Ryan Holiday
@mattchallberg I think I always wanted to be a writer but I don't know if I admitted it to myself or really thought it was possible until later. But that was an advantage to me in that it allowed me to get really distracted by and consumed by other careers in business and in marketing. It meant that I learned a bunch of stuff without thinking 'Oh this will be great material' and it gave me a lot on insight into how to actually reach and have an audience--as opposed to just assuming people will like my stuff because I put a lot of time in it. That all being said, I started my first blog the day after I graduated from high school. I started my first real blog sometime in 2006. My first book didn't come out until late 2012. So it was a long process.
Matt Challberg
@ryanholiday @mattchallberg thanks for the insights Ryan!
Brent Summers
Hey Ryan, If you had a million dollars on the line and had an hour to teach someone about how to grow a company, how would you spend that time?
Brent Summers
When you're not writing or reading, what's your favorite way to unwind?
Ryan Holiday
@brentsum Running, definitely.