• The Obstacle Is the Way

  • The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
  • By: Ryan Holiday
  • Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
  • Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (576 ratings)

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The Obstacle Is the Way

By: Ryan Holiday
Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
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Publisher's summary

#1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller

The Obstacle is the Way has become a cult classic, beloved by men and women around the world who apply its wisdom to become more successful at whatever they do.

Its many fans include a former governor and movie star (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a hip hop icon (LL Cool J), an Irish tennis pro (James McGee), an NBC sportscaster (Michele Tafoya), and the coaches and players of winning teams like the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Cubs, and University of Texas men’s basketball team.

The book draws its inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience. Stoics focus on the things they can control, let go of everything else, and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, tougher. As Marcus Aurelius put it nearly 2000 years ago: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

Ryan Holiday shows us how some of the most successful people in history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—have applied stoicism to overcome difficult or even impossible situations. Their embrace of these principles ultimately mattered more than their natural intelligence, talents, or luck.

If you’re feeling frustrated, demoralized, or stuck in a rut, this book can help you turn your problems into your biggest advantages. And along the way it will inspire you with dozens of true stories of the greats from every age and era.

©2023 Ryan Holiday (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“The book on stoicism that’s taking the NFL by storm.”Sports Illustrated

"The best one I've read. Ryan Holiday is brilliant. If I had read The Obstacle Is the Way sooner, a few things might have been different."–Rory McIlroy, 2x PGA Champion

“Follow these precepts and you will revolutionize your life. Read this book!”—Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art and Gates of Fire

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What listeners say about The Obstacle Is the Way

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Highly recommend

Such an amazing book. I love how he explains how to love the failure process and just the example to uses which real life really resonates with me, highly recommend.

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Excellent

I wish I read this sooner in life
Highly recommended to all who seek

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Loved all of it

Practical, insightful, historical - I love Ryan's work and also love that he reads his audio books himself. Highly recommend to anyone who has or will encounter obstacles.

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Solid

Nothing crazy that maybe hasn’t been said anecdotally before. But for those who are looking for some more self-awareness this is a good one.

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Powerful Perspective

A Must-Add to your personal “Rotation of Motivation”!

—Simple & Direct Approach.
—Powerful Application Potential.
—New Value Gained each time read.

Highly Recommend for those passionate about expanding their toolbox of Perspectives.

Ryan takes an eloquent approach to simplifying some of the greatest philosophical teachings of the ages.

There are certain Books/Teachings that deem themselves worthy of making my “Rotation of Motivation”. These are books I revisit frequently, which carry an unlimited amount of learning potential that cannot be captured in one read.
This is One of Them!

A few Examples Include:
-The Book of 5 Rings (Miyamoto Musashi)
-Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable (Tim S. Grover)

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Incredible

Very grateful I gave this a chance. Excellent job Ryan! Onto Marcus Aurelius next. YNWA

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Loved this book

I found inspiration for business and my personal life, it was a great start to my day.

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the comparisons

loved the way the book is laid out. love the way it makes sense to the simple minded

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The bestowal of the title philosopher at the end.

I enjoyed listening to this book. Especially enjoyed the part of the end, when the author Bustos, the title of philosopher on the reader.

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Good pep talk material

Nice collection of motivational and stoic quips. Good pep talk material with a collection of quotes and anecdotes that may be just the thing for the right person in the right moment. But may lack sufficient depth to stir or move others.

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3 people found this helpful