From self-awareness, to self-promotion, to self-interest, every leader has to maintain a balance of how they navigate both the world around them and the emotions within them. During his talk at the GLSnext Event Series on May 5, 2022, Ryan Holiday showed us how great leaders have tapped into ancient and timeless wisdom. He also challenged us to reevaluate our reactions, our daily rhythms, and our ego.
Enjoy these official notes from Ryan Holiday’s talk on The Enemy of Our Ego.
Philosophy is about solving the problems of life, not theoretically, but practically. Philosophy is about:
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- Responding to adversity
- Finding peace
- Doing important work
3 Philosophical Principles and Mantras
1. The Obstacle is the Way
Story: Everything goes wrong for the Emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius, in 160 AD—from pandemic to plague to historic flooding to invasions. His reign experiences a series of troubles.
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- You have a choice when you face trouble.
- When we look at a circumstance, whether it’s a pandemic or financial difficulties, a troublesome employee, or logistical issues, we have the choice—is it unfortunate or fortunate? The stoics would say we get to decide.
- Marcus Aurelius writes, “While our actions can be impeded, while stuff can get in our way, nothing can impede our intentions or dispositions. We can accommodate and adapt everything to our own purposes. We can convert an obstacle to our own purposes. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
- We have the opportunity to step up and use what life has given us in some way, perhaps not in the way we planned, perhaps not in the way we desire, but we can nevertheless use it.
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- The discipline of perception.
- Deciding how you see things and deciding to use what life gives you is one of our most important skills.
- We control our attitude, our opinions, our beliefs, and our emotions.
- You control what you do about a situation and how you’re going to respond.
- Laura Ingles Wilder says, “There’s good in everything, if only we look for it.”
- What are you going to look for?
- Excellence is using the difficult, the unexpected, and the situation to become better, do better, to be of service, to lead, and to rise to that challenge.
2. Ego is the Enemy
Most empires collapse from within. Most problems are self-inflicted. Most errors are unforced. At the root of so many of them is ego.
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- The difference between ego and confidence.
- In Alcoholics Anonymous, they have a definition that ego is a conscious separation from other people, from reality, from the facts, and from your weaknesses.
- The acronym EGO stands for Edging God Out. It also edges other people out. It edges everything out but your own selfishness.
- Confidence is understanding where your weaknesses are. Confidence makes room for vulnerability.
- We have to accept that we’re not unbreakable, that we are human beings, and we make mistakes.
- How do you combat ego?
- Limit exposure to social media.
- Seek out things that humble you.
- Surround yourself with people who are better, smarter, faster, and more experienced than you.
- How ego holds you back.
- The reason ego holds us back is that it prevents us from not wanting to look foolish. But it’s only in foolishness that we improve.
- If you can’t admit you don’t know something, how are you going to learn?
- If you can’t admit that you’re struggling, that you’re failing, that you have these vulnerabilities, you deprive yourself of this ability to get better.
- You can’t get the help you need if you’re afraid to ask.
- How humility serves you and others.
- Humility allows us to be vulnerable.
- Humility elevates not only us, but the people around us.
3. Stillness is the Key
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- In stillness is where your best work comes from.
- Ryan’s routine to get into stillness includes getting up early, walking with his kids in nature, journaling, then he tackles the most important task of the day in deep-focus work. He also avoids his phone for the first 30 minutes to an hour of his day.
- If you don’t have space for reflection, then you will just react.
- The key to stillness is how much you can concentrate in uninterrupted focus.
- To find more stillness, you may have to say no a lot.
- Everything you say yes to is saying no to something else.
- When you eliminate the inessential, you make space for the important things.
Summary:
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- The obstacle is the way. There is no problem so bad that there is not some good in it that we can’t move forward from.
- Ego is the enemy. We’ve never thought that more egos are the solutions to our problems. In fact, we know that ego is the cause of our problems, and we want to make room for humility and confidence, self-awareness, vulnerability, openness, and connection.
- Stillness is the key. Good things come when we are connected, present, locked in, and saying yes to the essential, and no to the inessential.
Global Leadership Network
GLN Staff Writer | globalleadership.orgRyan Holiday
New York Times Best-selling AuthorThe Enemy of Our Ego—GLSnext Event Series Notes
Published May 5, 2022TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
CharacterComplex ThinkingConfidenceEmotional IntelligenceLeading YourselfLearning AgilityProductivityResilienceWomen LeadersWomen Leaders - Leading YourselfFrom self-awareness, to self-promotion, to self-interest, every leader has to maintain a balance of how they navigate both the world around them and the emotions within them. During his talk at the GLSnext Event Series on May 5, 2022, Ryan Holiday showed us how great leaders have tapped into ancient and timeless wisdom. He also challenged us to reevaluate our reactions, our daily rhythms, and our ego.
Enjoy these official notes from Ryan Holiday’s talk on The Enemy of Our Ego.
Philosophy is about solving the problems of life, not theoretically, but practically. Philosophy is about:
3 Philosophical Principles and Mantras
1. The Obstacle is the Way
Story: Everything goes wrong for the Emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius, in 160 AD—from pandemic to plague to historic flooding to invasions. His reign experiences a series of troubles.
2. Ego is the Enemy
Most empires collapse from within. Most problems are self-inflicted. Most errors are unforced. At the root of so many of them is ego.
3. Stillness is the Key
Summary:
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About the Author
Global Leadership Network
GLN Staff Writer
The Global Leadership Network is a community committed to learning from each other and using our influence to accomplish God’s purposes on earth. No matter where your influence is, when you commit to grow your leadership, everyone around you wins—businesses work for good, communities are transformed and churches thrive! Both global and diverse, our network includes partners in 1,400+ cities and 135+ countries. We are committed to deliver fresh, actionable and inspiring leadership content both at The Global Leadership Summit, and year-round through our digital platforms.
Ryan Holiday
New York Times Best-selling Author
Few writers have done more to bring ancient, timeless wisdom, and cutting-edge marketing strategies together than Ryan Holiday. By age 33, his philosophically driven best-selling books have sold over four million copies and spent more than 200 weeks on best-seller lists. His books are taught in colleges and marketing programs around the world, including Trust Me I’m Lying, which revealed the massive vulnerabilities (and opportunities) in the global media system in 2012. He has directly influenced Super Bowl-winning teams like the New England Patriots, NBA Champions like the San Antonio Spurs, and Olympic Gold Medalists, as well as sitting Senators, military leaders, and some of the biggest and most important companies in the world like Google, Twitter, and Microsoft. At the core of Ryan’s teachings is Stoicism, popularized through the #1 NY Times Bestseller Stillness is the Key, Obstacle is the Way, and his latest, Courage is Calling. Ryan believes that stoicism is the idea that while we don’t always control what happens to us in life, we always control how we respond. Illustrated vividly with stories from the greats (and not-so-greats) of history, Ryan provides a framework for overcoming obstacles, scaling new challenges, and battling both the ups and downs in life. Profiled by the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN, Ryan counts among his clients and followers some of the biggest names in business, tech, culture, and professional athletics. Ryan lives in Austin, TX, where he does his writing in between raising cattle, donkeys, and goats.