Review: "Ego is the Enemy" (manuscript)

            I have now read the second volume of the trilogy that begins with The Obstacle

 is the Way and ends with Stillness is the Key.  I am referring to Ryan Holiday’s book,

Ego is the Enemy.

            Holiday explains that – for this work – ego means “an unhealthy belief in our own importance” (2).

            And he divides his book into three sections with the goals that we become:

            Humble in our aspirations.

            Gracious in our successes.

            Resilient in our failures (6).

            Holiday explains that we must put aside and through of entitlement and recognize that we all have a duty.  We are owed nothing and should not expect anything/recognition.

            We ought to be the people who do what we should and build others up along the way. We ought to keep learning from other people and their lives – and here we see the worth of biographies.  We ought to be sober and ready to learn from any and all people.  We ought to cling to our purpose – the reason for which we exist.

            Holiday uses anecdotes from the lives of people who deal with their ego well and those who do not deal with their ego well to make the points that one finds in the book.

            I am finding his books very readable and instructive to me.  This one is not so much founded on Stoicism as the first book is, but it fits in well with that philosophy.

            I am finding the lessons to be worthwhile in my life – especially – to begin with – in helping with my depression and anxiety.  Check him out.

            The book ends with a bibliography and a site to sign up on for further reading lists.

            [This review appears on my blog, my YouTube channel, Amazon.com, and Goodreads.com.]