Ryan Holiday

The other day I was reading a book and I came across a little anecdote. It was about the great Athenian general Themistocles.

When you read a lot of books people inevitably assume you speed read. In fact, that’s probably the most common email I get. They want to know my trick for reading so fast.

If you have a lot of books in your house, people usually assume one of two things: a) you’re a speed reader, or b) you spend all your time reading.

I’ve always devoured books. Why, exactly, I’m not sure. Obviously a big reason to read is because it’s fun.

When I was twenty years old, I showed up one day for work as an intern and my boss had a huge book waiting for me: The Power Broker by Robert Caro.

I love books. I love reading. I do it as much as I can. I tell people they should do the same and have for a long time.

These books should be at the top of your list. Here’s the problem with reading the books that everyone else has read. It makes you more like everyone else.

Why does one day matter? Why does what you do today matter in the scheme of your whole life? Because our life is made up of days. Days like today.

There is this idea that if you just make great stuff—if you’re authentic and cool—it will just happen.

Compulsion to do is the opposite of being. It’s the opposite of being present.

“Why am I telling myself that I’ve been harmed?”

The worries and anxieties of daily life seem to fall away when we stand next to the ocean or walk through a beautiful park.

We tell ourselves we don’t have time to prepare too much because we have other things going on, or we tell ourselves we’re not going to prepare because we haven’t been paid yet.

Most people with a public persona tell you that the downsides outweigh the upsides.

So fight it. A lot depends on whether you win the battle. Hopefully these books will help.

No Pressure. Just Write.

Gratitude for that nagging pain in my leg, gratitude for that troublesome client, gratitude for that delayed flight, gratitude for that damage from the storm. Because it’s making me take things slow, because it’s helping me develop better boundaries, because some flights are going to be delayed and I’m glad it wasn’t a more important flight, because the damage could have been worse, because the damage exposed a more serious problem that now we’re solving. And on and on.

Move to find stillness. And if not stillness, then at least insight.