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Thank you so much Ryan for doing this AMA! I have 2 questions-
1) when evaluating your choices (ie. Where will I find the good or bad?) that lead you to action, how heavily do you weigh the good/bad for the society? 2) When applying Stoicism to entrepreneurs, who would you say is the best at leading by action today?
I know the 1st question is a source of endless debate, but is good/ bad the same as right/wrong?
@vbarnett323 What the stoics try to remind us over and over against is this concept of "what injures the bee, injures the hive." An example off the top of my head. You build a company that is immensely profitable for you, but externalizes a good deal of its costs onto the world (and thus making it worse). A lot of web publishers fall into the boat. They publish media that is cheap to produce but expense for society (it's cheap, shitty, untrue, etc etc). All of this leads to a general decline in our culture--the culture that those same entrepreneurs live in. I guess I would ask then: What exactly is the point? You make a lot of money personally so you can afford to live in a bubble that blocks out the shittiness of the world that you helped create?
I suppose my point here is: Helping yourself at the expense of other people is very often a one step forward, two steps back scenario. In which case, it's rather self-defeating.
@ryanholiday Wanted to first thank you for the books you've written. "Trust me, I'm Lying" has completely changed my outlook on media and made me much more aware of how to see how the media manipulates. That being said, if you could wave a magic wand and make any change to the way that media is done, what would you change and why?
@diplateevo I'd bring RSS back as a major consumption/delivery mechanism. Ideally, with some sort of paid subscription component too. I wrote a piece on the first part of that for Medium a while back: https://medium.com/@RyanHoliday/...
Hey Ryan, thanks for the great book and introducing me to stoicism :)
When it comes to practicing stoicism, how has it manifested in your daily routines?
@kickingthetv My daily routine is a little bit different than it might be if I were something other than a writer (and indeed it was when I had a job I had to go to). For instance, I don't have to make time to read in the middle of the day. Or go for a walk. When I am struggling with some moral issue or working something out, I don't write a note to myself like the stoics would, I write and publish those things online. These are sort of part of my job.
BUT a couple things I think are important:
-I write in a journal each morning.
-I get up early, when it's quiet and reflection is easier and there is less distraction.
-I do intense physical exercise at least once a day--because this is what the human body is intended for
-I got to therapy approximately once per week where I rigorously review and work on myself
-I try to read something philosophical or stoic before bed most nights
-I have a 200+ year old bust of Marcus Aurelius next to my computer. I have two 3D printed ones too http://observer.com/2014/06/how-... They are helpful reminders.
I am excited that my book The Obstacle Is The Way has been selected as May’s selection for the Product Hunt Book Club! I've written a Medium post to give you a quick introduction to the book and to facilitate discussion and conversation. Please let me know what you all think!
@ryanholiday I'm a big believer in stoicism and overcoming adversity so I have to say that I'm pumped to read your book. I've had it on my reading list for a while now.
I was recommended this book a few months back by a mentor of mine, along side The War of Art. Read them both; War of Art felt like disjoint, macho bravado to me (all "grr, punch your resistance in the face"), whereas Obstacle actually made sense. Especially for someone with depression, any philosophy that allows you to accept things will be broken and still give hope is a huge deal. I'm actually incorporating it into a talk I'm giving later in the year, since the whole approach of "yea, shit sucks, let's work with that fact" will probably resonate really well with my slightly cynical target audience.
So, yea. If I had a little "stamp of approval" it'd be on this book. :)
@hupfen That's very kind of you. Thank you. The War of Art is one of my favorite books--and was actually quite influential in the writing of Obstacle. I definitely urge you to give it a second chance. It's worth it.
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Highly recommended read for Product Hunters. The strategies in this book helps you deal with anything negative in your life. It changes your perspective on what you perceive as negative, so that you can look at it as it actually is and then do something about it. Instead of teaching you how to think inside or outside the box, it challenges you to actually use the box.
The following is not a quote from the book but from Game of Thrones. It's one of my favourite quotes and feel that it's an example of the philosophical teachings you'll learn from this book: "Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you.” - Tyrion Lannister
@hazzajay Nice. Thank you very much for reading the book. I appreciate it and glad it's been of use to you.
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I read this book when it came out around a year ago. Really love the concepts. I will definitely have to give it a re-read. The concepts of stoicism are so interesting and easy to understand compared to other philosophical frameworks. This book inspired me to read Seneca's "Letters from a Stoic". The book is also extremely relatable to founders and looks back at historical figures to see how they overcame/benefited from obstacles.
Great book @RyanHoliday!
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