The Obstacle Is the Way

The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

Ranked #4 in Stoicism, Ranked #11 in Procrastinationsee more rankings.

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” — Marcus Aurelius

We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it needn’t be this way. There is a formula for success that’s been followed by the icons of history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities. Faced with impossible situations, they found the astounding triumphs we all seek.

These men and women were not exceptionally brilliant, lucky, or gifted. Their success came from timeless...
more

Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of The Obstacle Is the Way from the world's leading experts.

James Altucher Founder/StockPickrMy life has been beset with obstacles. It takes practice (and pain) to surmount them and achieve success. [This author]’s book is a how-to guide for just that. (Source)

Marvin Liao Partner/500 StartupsMy list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make sense of life and Science fiction to picture what the future could be like (not always utopian). (Source)

Christopher Sommer I’m enjoying right now. (Source)

Aubrey Marcus Recommends this book

Jeremy Boudinet The Obstacle is the Way is another great book that challenges conventional wisdom and outlines the virtues of stoicism in the face of adversity and how to apply stoic principles in your own life. (Source)

Chris Goward Here are some of the books that have been very impactful for me, or taught me a new way of thinking: [...] The Obstacle is the Way. (Source)

Anant Jain It’s an excellent, modern-day recap of the Stoicism Philosophy, and I highly recommend it. (Source)

Cody McLain This book introduced me to the concept of Stoicism and how we can choose to be happy instead of always vying for something in the future. This book teaches one that when faced with a challenge or obstacle, one should continue to pursue the goal as that is the way towards success, happiness and fulfillment. (Source)

David McCammon This book is great for anyone who cares to take a good look in the mirror and own your stuff. Early on Ryan states, “The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.” Holiday consistency challenges the reader to look at problems from a different perspective. A great read for entrepreneurs and those in pursuit of personal growth alike. (Source)

Garrett Moon Ryan Holiday’s book, The Obstacle is the Way is a great read for any entrepreneur feeling frustrated with time and process. The reality is that the hardship and roadblocks that take 10 years to get through are the payment for success. You have to learn to embrace the process, not the outcome. (Source)

Cliff Hartono One of my favourite business books is probably The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday. Taking inspiration from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and other historical figures, he successfully gives the reader actionable steps that apply Stoicism in a modern context. (Source)

Marin Gerov The Obstacle is the Way is another one of his creations that is more related to Stoic philosophy. (Source)

Chris Oliver I remember reading The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday on a road trip one time. It was during a time that I was feeling particularly frustrated with my business and was just having an all around hard time. The idea of the book is that if you recognize things are hard, you should keep going. It teaches you to seek out the obstacles because few people even try and even fewer make it past the obstacles. When I got home from my trip, I remember sitting down and realizing I was being stubborn and not doing the work I needed to do. Immediately, I could tell things were heading in a much better... (Source)

AnneMarie Schindler I suggest these [books] because they really open up 'how' you think about life and in turn work, success/challenges/setbacks, and in general, yourself. I believe that the more you can understand yourself and broaden your approach to work, the easier it will be to find work that energizes you. Finally, I'm a team player at heart, and love working with others to achieve a huge goal so a portion of these deal with team composition and performance too. (Source)

Nancy F. Koehn In this tight, engaging book, Ryan Holiday shines a bright, powerful light on the path to living and leading well. By showing us how to turn failure, obstacles and plain old every-day frustration to our advantage, he offers up a host of easy-to-use tactics that each of us can put to work to follow our dreams. Read it, learn from it, and get cracking! (Source)

Chris Guillebeau First came Marcus Aurelius, then Frederick the Great... and now there's you. This surprising book shows you how to craft a life of wonder by embracing obstacles and challenge. (Source)

Jimmy Soni An absolute must-read... Learn to tear through any obstacle and resolve any conflict. (Source)

Steven Pressfield Follow these precepts and you will revolutionize your life. Read this book! (Source)

Alok Kejriwal The Obstacle is the way - Book review Read the book for the trivia and the amazing factual knowledge points inside. The message will automatically come through. See pic for review https://t.co/xkhms66w9d (Source)

George Raveling [One of] the books that I’ve given away the most lately. (Source)


Rankings by Category

The Obstacle Is the Way is ranked in the following categories:


Similar Books

If you like The Obstacle Is the Way, check out these similar top-rated books:


Learn: What makes Shortform summaries the best in the world?