''Ego Is the Enemy'' is the fourth book by author

Ryan Holiday Ryan Holiday (born June 16, 1987) is an American author, originally a marketer, who made a name writing books and marketing them in non-traditional ways. Holiday's debut to writing was in 2012, when he published ''Trust Me, I'm Lying''. Since ...

, published on June 14, 2016. It is about the treacherous nature of ego.

Background

Having previously written about external obstacles in his book ''The Obstacle Is the Way'', Holiday sought to answer questions about what to do when the biggest obstacle is internal. In the prologue of the book, Holiday explains how finding early successes led him to the realization that ego can cloud ambition and hinder personal and professional growth, particularly when accomplishments are tied to self-worth. He writes that this book does not serve to remind the reader to crush their ego in every aspect of his or her life, but rather to use the book as a reminder to make better decisions and eliminate the ego. Holiday had the title of his book tattooed on his forearm as a daily reminder of its message.

Synopsis

''Ego Is the Enemy'' puts forth the argument that often our biggest problems are not caused by external factors such as other people or circumstances. Instead, our problems stem from our own attitude, selfishness and self-absorption. In other words, introducing ego into a situation often prevents us from being rational, objective and clear headed. The book does not discuss Freud's ego or

egotism Egotism is defined as the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself and generally features an inflated opinion of one's personal features and Importance#Value of importance and desire to be important, importance distinguished by a ...

as a clinical term but rather ego in a colloquial sense, defined as "an unhealthy belief in your own importance." The book also discusses the difference between ego and confidence, and argues that the solution to the problem of ego is humility, self-awareness, purpose and realism. ''Ego Is the Enemy'' provides both cautionary tales as well as positive anecdotes about ego, citing numerous historical and contemporary figures including

Christopher McCandless Christopher Johnson McCandless (; February 12, 1968 – August 1992), also known by his pseudonym "Alexander Supertramp", was an American adventurer who sought an increasingly nomadic lifestyle as he grew up. After graduating from Emory Univer ...

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...

John DeLorean John Zachary DeLorean ( ; January 6, 1925 – March 19, 2005) was an American engineer, inventor, and executive in the U.S. automobile industry. He is widely known as founder of the DeLorean Motor Company, as well as for his work at General Motor ...

Larry Page Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American businessman, computer engineer and computer scientist best known for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin. Page was chief executive officer of Google from 1997 until August 2001 when ...

, Paul Graham,

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...

and

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

Reception

''Ego Is the Enemy'' has received generally positive reviews, with ''

Outside Outside or Outsides may refer to: * Wilderness Books and magazines * ''Outside'', a book by Marguerite Duras * ''Outside'' (magazine), an outdoors magazine Film, theatre and TV * Outside TV (formerly RSN Television), a television network * '' ...

'' magazine commenting, "Holiday takes philosophy out of the ivory towers and translates often-dense concepts into actionable insights." The book was featured in the

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

Book Concierge Guide To 2016's Great Reads. In the weeks after its release, the book was listed by '' Inc.'' as one of the must-read business books that summer. The book went on to achieve bestseller status lists by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', and ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

''.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ego Is the Enemy 2016 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Contemporary philosophical literature Philosophy books Portfolio (publisher) books Chris McCandless