“If you don’t know how much you need, the default easily becomes ‘more.'” – Ryan Holiday
My job is usually to deconstruct world-class performers from business, military, entertainment, politics, or athletics, and then to tease out the routines and habits you can use.
But in this in-betweenisode, Ryan Holiday, author of the book Ego Is the Enemy, shares a chapter called What’s Important to You? This chapter alone is worth the price of the book, and it contains many fundamental truths that can be applied to business and life. (The book is also the newest addition to my book club, which can be found at audible.com/timsbooks.)
If you like what Ryan has to say, check out the recent conversation we had, which dives deeper into what he’s all about.
If you only have 5 minutes, listen to this segment on why most people have trouble appreciating their own successes.
Please enjoy!
[Ed. Note: There is no transcript for this episode, as the text is available in book form.]
- Listen to it on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another podcast with Ryan Holiday? — In this episode, we discuss the “big three” Stoics, how Stoicism applies to the modern world, and how to improve your decision-making when stakes are high (stream below or right-click here to download):
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
- Connect with Ryan Holiday:
- Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday (also on Audible)
- The Ulysses S. Grant Administration: 1869-1877, Authentic History
- After the War from the memoirs of William T. Sherman
- Explaining the idiom “Keeping up with the Joneses“
- The Concept of Euthymia, Giovanni A.Fava and Per Bech, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
- Disgraced Journalist Jonah Lehrer Talks About His Misdeeds; Wants to Earn Trust by Paul Raeburn, The Huffington Post
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Show Notes
- Two Civil War heroes take very different paths following the war. [06:06]
- Why do we covet what others have instead of being happy with our own successes? [08:07]
- The consequences of saying “yes” when we fear saying “no.” [09:04]
- The more we accomplish, the more often we meet people who have accomplished more — and the smaller we feel in comparison. [10:12]
- We pick up the pace to keep up with others — but what if there’s more than one race going on? [10:41]
- Competitiveness isn’t the enemy. [11:07]
- “If you don’t know how much you need, the default easily becomes ‘more.'” [12:34]
- Disgraced plagiarist Jonah Lehrer on combining insecurity and ambition. [13:08]
- What’s your motivation? [13:49]
- The emptiness of the “if I only had that” illusion. [14:49]
- What is independence? [15:18]