Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition. As Marcus Aurelius said: “what stands in the way becomes the way “. The people who see these as obstacles will be stuck, the people who can accept them and move any anyway are the people who will ultimately achieve. It might be physical – race, size, age, distance, disability, money, or it might be mental – fear, uncertainty, intelligence, inexperience, prejudice. We all think that there’s something holding us back from achieving our best. This book is about shifting your reaction from ‘this is bad’ to ‘how can I make this good?’. This frustrating, unfortunate, problematic, unexpected thing prevents us from doing what we know we should do. For some people, this obstacle seems insurmountable, so we stand still and do nothing. We’re all trying to get somewhere different, but there is always something standing in our way, something blocking our path: an obstacle.

Maybe we’re dissatisfied with our jobs, our relationships, or our place in the world. We all have something standing in our way. And, of course, every time you overcome one obstacle, there’s another one coming right around the corner… Perceptions involve shifting your perspective from viewing obstacles as a negative to an opportunity, Action is all about taking action, and Will is about staying on the path and keeping yourself on track. Holiday, through the lens of stoicism gives us a framework to turn our greatest challenges into our greatest opportunities: perception, action, will. But whatever we face, we have a choice: will we be blocked by obstacles, or will we advance beyond them. ‘The ancient art of turning adversity into advantage’Īll of us have obstacles. And of course, every time you overcome one obstacle, there’s another one coming right around the corner…

Holiday, through the lens of stoicism gives us a framework of perception, action and will, to turning our greatest challenges into our greatest opportunities. But whatever we face, we have a choice: will we be blocked by obstacles, or will we advance through them. The Obstacle Is The Way – by Ryan HolidayĪll of us have obstacles.

Tuesdays with morrie cliff notes