Home > Work > The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
1 " When you can break apart something, or look at it from some new angle, it loses its power over you. "
― Ryan Holiday , The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
2 " Bear and forbear. "
3 " Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant. —VIKTOR FRANKL "
4 " Failure really can be an asset if what you’re trying to do is improve, learn, or do something new. "
5 " Uncertainty and fear are relieved by authority. Training is authority. "
6 " In its own way, the most harmful dragon we chase is the one that makes us think we can change things that are simply not ours to change. That someone decided not to fund your company, this isn’t up to you. But the decision to refine and improve your pitch? That is. That someone stole your idea or got to it first? No. To pivot, improve it, or fight for what’s yours? Yes. "
7 " When people ask where we are, what we’re doing, how that “situation” is coming along, the answer should be clear: We’re working on it. We’re getting closer. When setbacks come, we respond by working twice as hard. "
8 " Would you have a great empire? Rule over yourself. —PUBLIUS SYRUS "
9 " What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first steps to something better. —WENDELL PHILLIPS "
10 " What matters most is not what these obstacles are but how we see them, how we react to them, and whether we keep our composure. "
11 " How we interpret the events in our lives, our perspective, is the framework for our forthcoming response—whether there will even be one or whether we’ll just lie there and take it. Where the head goes, the body follows. Perception precedes action. Right action follows the right perspective. "
12 " You’ll have far better luck toughening yourself up than you ever will trying to take the teeth out of a world that is—at best—indifferent to your existence. "
13 " On the path to successful action, we will fail—possibly many times. And that’s okay. It can be a good thing, even. Action and failure are two sides of the same coin. One doesn’t come without the other. What breaks this critical connection down is when people stop acting—because they’ve taken failure the wrong way. "
14 " Perspective has two definitions. Context: a sense of the larger picture of the world, not just what is immediately in front of us Framing: an individual’s unique way of looking at the world, a way that interprets its events "
15 " Discipline in perception lets you clearly see the advantage and the proper course of action in every situation—without the pestilence of panic or fear. "
16 " But thinking about and being aware of our mortality creates real perspective and urgency. It doesn’t need to be depressing. Because it’s invigorating. "
17 " Our perceptions are the thing that we’re in complete control of. "
18 " The struggle against an obstacle inevitably propels the fighter to a new level of functioning. The extent of the struggle determines the extent of the growth. The obstacle is an advantage, not adversity. The enemy is any perception that prevents us from seeing this. "
19 " We must all either wear out or rust out, every one of us. My choice is to wear out. —THEODORE ROOSEVELT "
20 " In life, it doesn’t matter what happens to you or where you came from. It matters what you do with what happens and what you’ve been given. And the only way you’ll do something spectacular is by using it all to your advantage. "