I know that self-help books are not everybody’s cup of tea, but trust me, this one needs to be on your To Be Read List. It is composed of 159 pages of lessons and epiphanies of the changes that you need to be making in your life.
Ryan Holiday, author of Ego is the enemy, starts off by explaining that the book will not be about him, seeing as this will be a mere contradiction to the title. He explains how his life experiences made him arrive at the conclusion that Ego is indeed, the enemy.
Truth be told, our egos hold us back from doing a lot of things, in our careers, our social relationships, our families, and even just for our own wellbeing. Our egos make us think that we are better than others or that we don’t deserve to go through some things in life. They hinder us from being the best versions of ourselves.
For this and other reasons, Ryan Holiday, author of Ego is the enemy, wrote the book not only to help his target audience but also to help himself. This book will help you to scrutinise yourself and your behaviours and how they may be hindering you from reaching your fullest potential.
It will help you to question the motives for your actions and the reasons why you long for success so much. As Ryan Holiday asks in one of the chapters, “To be or to do? Which side will you choose?” In the book, you will realize that a lot of us have a skewed perception of what success really is.
My favourite chapter in Ego is the enemy is in Part 3 on Failure, titled Always Love. The book questions the motive behind many of our actions. When we are tempted to be bitter and to do things out of ‘hurt,’ what do we choose? Attempting to destroy something out of hate or ego often ensures that it will be preserved and disseminated forever. Meanwhile, love is right there. Egoless, open, positive, vulnerable, peaceful, and productive.
Another interesting chapter is that which speaks about The management of me. If you achieve success, and especially at an early stage in life, then you are likely to start believing that you are special or that the world owes you some sort of special treatment. ‘The management of me’ helps you to humble yourself through all these achievements, realizing that at any point in time there will be someone better than you.
Through the three chapters of the book, your eyes will be opened to the fact that at any stage you encounter, humility is likely to build your character far more than your ego ever would. To whatever you aspire, ego is the enemy. To whatever success you have achieved, ego is the enemy. To whatever challenges and failure you will achieve, ego is the enemy.
You can get the book on Amazon.
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