The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage by Ryan Holiday

"A guide to overcoming adversity by drawing on the wisdom of the ancient Stoics"--

When reading about modern stoicism, this one kept coming up as a book recommendation. The focus is on resiliency and growth mindset when it comes to opposition. This may seem like common advice, but it's sometimes most difficult to remember when in the worst positions.

This was my review for Holiday's other book ‘Ego is the Enemy':

“At times this book feels largely like a collection of biography book reports and inspirational quotes, but I think the overall lessons contained are vital. Very easy to read, if a bit shallow.”

That about sums this one up as well, frankly.

An inspiring and approachable call to action. This book found me at the right time in my life, and hope that it spurs the change I am seeking.

While I found “Ego is the enemy” a bit more well built, this book was really good in forcing you to envision things in a different way, helping you to cope with adversity and obstacles by changing the way you think about them (or see them, or feel them even). While still heavily based on the Stoïc teachings, Ryan Holiday offers a great lot of examples of people overcoming adversity and building something new, better and stronger upon at first seemingly impossible obstacles. Quite inspiring and really helpful for everyone willing to improve himself.