It is not the full announcement for my next book, Ego Is The Enemy ( B&N )( UK ), but is the first time I’m talking about it.Įgo Is The Enemy takes the thinking in The Obstacle Is The Way, and applies it to our greatest internal obstacle-our own ego. Ten words or less takeaway: Ego is the enemy of all we aspire to achieve.This is a somewhat unusual post. The popular podcast host, Tim Ferriss, will often ask “What book do you gift the most?” My response would be this book because its message is universal and powerful in its simplicity. I still stumble, but by returning to this book on a regular basis, I become aware of my ego and am able to recover more quickly. I routinely read this book every six months to help me keep my own ego in check. This book is what I consider a “quake book,” a book that shakes you to your core. When the effort- not the results, good or bad- is enough.”- pg. When fulfilling our own standards is what fills us with pride and self-respect. “The less attached we are to outcomes the better. “What matters is that you learn how to manage yourself and others.”- pg. This transition requires reevaluating and updating your identity.”- pg. Days become less and less about doing and more and more about making decisions. “As you become successful in your own field, your responsibilities may begin to change. When we achieve our own, we must resist the desire to pretend that everything unfolded exactly as we’d planned. “When we are aspiring we must resist the impulse to reverse engineer success from other people’s stories. “Pride blunts the very instrument we need to own in order to succeed: our mind.”- pg. Most of what you think you know or most of what you learned in books or in school is out of date or wrong.”- pg. You have an attitude that needs to be readjusted 3. You’re not nearly as good or as important as you think you are 2. “When you are starting out, we can be sure of a few fundamental realities: 1. Each fighter, to become great, needs to have someone better that they can learn from (+), someone lesser who they can teach (-) and someone equal that they can challenge themselves against (=).”- pg. “The mixed martial arts pioneer and multi-title champion Frank Shamrock has a system he trains fighter in that he calls plus, minus and equal. Having authority is not the same as being an authority (pg. “When we remove ego, we’re left with what’s real.”- pg. I know I’ve seen plenty of people fall from grace both personally and professionally and when you get down to it, it all boils down to their ego. Rather, his book distills the ideas of centuries into a handy reference. While the ideas aren’t new, this book is still worth reading. He pulls ideas from such historical figures as Epictetus and Benjamin Franklin all the way to Pat Riley. Sherman, and Angela Merkl).Īs much as I enjoy this book, the ideas in it aren’t necessarily new. Marshall, Colonel John Boyd, General William T. There are examples of both what not to do (John DeLorean, Howard Hughes, and post-Civil War Ulysses Grant) as well as leaders who were able to keep their ego in check (General George C. The book is composed of a series of anecdotes to demonstrate his points. This book is a quick read which serves as a guide to help one ideally prevent but more likely minimize mistakes of hubris. We shift our attention from the process which produced the results and associated success to the byproducts of success, i.e. We tell ourselves a grand story that our success was inevitable. We make progress towards our goal but because of our ego, there are cracks in the foundation. Then the Success phase occurs where the hard work pays off. During the Aspiration phase, we are in the beginning of our journey where we come up with a goal and diligently work toward it. The author traces the cycle into three (3) parts- Aspiration, Success and Failure. 2).” We have all been guilty of it ourselves and seen a similar belief by others. The premise of the book begins with the author’s definition of ego- “an unhealthy belief in our own importance (pg. I always struggled to understand why I was unable to sustain my success. When I was younger, I would routinely be working hard both personally and professionally and seemingly doing well only to suddenly fall flat on my face. If I had been able to read it and willing to heed its warning, it would have saved me from a number of mistakes. This is the book I wish I had read 20 years ago.
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