We’re so excited to announce the next featured book in the CTEDU Book Club! Our very own Director of Admissions and community member Matt Welch will be leading us through The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday.
This 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.
The book is structured around three fundamental disciplines: perception, action and will. If you’re feeling frustrated, demoralized, or stuck in a rut, this book can help you turn your challenges 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.
To watch a visual summary of the book, check out this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rQfr7XAQi0
Ryan Holiday is an American author, marketer, entrepreneur and founder of the creative advisory firm Brass Check. He is a media strategist, the former director of marketing for American Apparel and a media columnist and editor-at-large for the New York Observer. Starting his writing career with a blog, Ryan used the platform as a way to develop himself. Over time, his writing grew into 6 books, including Ego is the Enemy, Stillness is the Key and the Daily Stoic that have passed through the hands of the most well-known professional athletes and entrepreneurs of our time.
Sign up for the book club by registering here.
See below for the full Book Club Reading Schedule!
Friday, April 24th at 12pm PST – Part One
Friday May 1st at 12pm PST – Part Two
Friday May 8th at 12pm PST – Part Three