Ryan Holiday's The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph Summary

This is a summary of Ryan Holiday's The Obstacle is the Way . The book has become a cult classic, beloved by men and women around the world who apply its wisdom to become more successful at whatever they do. This summary is aimed for those who want to capture the gist of the book but don't have the current time to devour all 201 pages. You get the main summary along with all of the benefits and lessons the actual book has to offer.

While The Obstacle Is the Way is a book about philosophies in general, it is not an academic textbook on the subject. Instead, it is primarily a book to learn for yourself the basic tenets of Stoic philosophy and how to understand and apply them to daily life. “Obstacle” is the most frequently used word throughout the book as well as a very important part of the title because it is all about how to manage the obstacles life throws at us.

The central theme of the work is the belief that everyone is able to handle the obstacles that come with life even though we can’t necessarily control everything about life. While we may not be in charge of the circumstances, it is possible to always be in command of ourselves and how we choose to respond to the challenges presented. Living by the principles of Stoicism means individuals deliberately control themselves in the face of obstacles which in turn strengthens willpower and confidence for difficult times in the future.

This book almost never mentions the actual word “Stoicism.” The author deliberately neglects to explain exactly what it is and barely mentions any philosophers of Stoicism from centuries ago – except Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Aurelius is written about more than anyone else because his thoughts written in Meditations inspired the author to write this book. Meditations provides a lot of informative ideas, but they are not quite complete. The main philosophy Aurelius lived by can be condensed in to one of his quotes: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Holiday used this saying as the basis of the title for this book.

Available in a variety of formats, this summary is aimed for those who want to capture the gist of the book but don't have the current time to devour all 224 pages. You get the main summary along with all of the benefits and lessons the actual book has to offer. This summary is intended to be used with reference to the original book.