I once told my cousin Matt “it’s hard to not be cocky when every time I look in the mirror I see a superhero staring back at me.” I’m not exactly known for being humble.
Some level of ego is required for success in literally anything. But too much ego is the ugliest (and flat out stupidest) characteristic. Ego Is The Enemy is an inspiring work by Ryan Holiday that humbles you and makes you realize why.
“Ego blocks us from the beauty and history in the world. It stands in the way.”
—Ryan Holiday
“If your belief in yourself is not dependent on actual achievement, then what is it dependent on? The answer, too often when we are just setting out, is nothing. Ego.”
“We build ourselves up with fantastical stories, we pretend we have it all figured out, we let our star burn bright and hot only to fizzle out, and we have no idea why. These are symptoms of ego, for which humility and reality are the cure.”
“One might say that the ability to evaluate one’s own ability is the most important skill of all.”
“Arrogance and self-absorption inhibit growth. So does fantasy and ‘vision.’”
“It’s easy to be emotionally invested and infatuated with your own work. Any and every narcissist can do that. What is rare is not raw talent, skill, or even confidence, but humility, diligence, and self-awareness.”
“Silence is the respite of the confident and the strong.”
“Impressing people is utterly different from being truly impressive.”
“The pretense of knowledge is our most dangerous vice, because it prevents us from getting any better.”
“False ideas about yourself destroy you.”
“You will not find the answers if you’re too conceited and self-assured to ask the questions. You cannot get better if you’re convinced you are the best.”
“The art of taking feedback is such a crucial skill in life, particularly harsh and critical feedback. We not only need to take this harsh feedback, but actively solicit it, labor to seek out the negative precisely when our friends and family and brain are telling us that we’re doing great.”
“Passion typically masks a weakness. Its breathlessness and impetuousness and franticness are poor substitutes for discipline, for mastery, for strength and purpose and perseverance. You need to be able to spot this in others and in yourself, because while the origins of passion may be earnest and good, its effects are comical and then monstrous.”
“What humans require in our ascent is purpose and realism. Purpose, you could say, is like passion with boundaries. Realism is detachment and perspective.”
“Imagine if for every person you met, you thought of some way to help them, something you could do for them?”
“Our imagination—in many senses an asset—is dangerous when it runs wild. We have to rein our perceptions in.”
“When you want to do something—something big and important and meaningful—you will be subjected to treatment ranging from indifference to outright sabotage. Count on it. In this scenario, ego is the absolute opposite of what is needed.”
“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
“Too often, convinced of our own intelligence, we stay in a comfort zone that ensures that we never feel stupid (and are never challenged to learn or reconsider what we know).”
“What a pitiful thing it is when a man lets a little temporary success spoil him, warp his judgment…”
“Instead of pretending that we are living some great story, we must remain focused on the execution—and on executing with excellence.”
“Driven to prove the doubters wrong? Welcome to the seeds of paranoia.”
“Ego needs honors in order to be validated. Confidence, on the other hand, is able to wait and focus on the task at hand regardless of external recognition.”
“Creativity is a matter of receptiveness and recognition. This cannot happen if you’re convinced the world revolves around you.”
“Working to refine our habitual thoughts, working to clamp down on destructive impulses, these are not simply the moral requirements of any decent person. They will make us more successful; they will help us navigate the treacherous waters that ambition will require us to travel.
And they are also their own reward.”
Nice job, Jeff!