Ryan is a media strategist and prominent writer on strategy and business. After dropping out of college at 19 to apprentice under Robert Greene, Author of The 48 Laws of Power, he went on to advise many best-selling authors and multi-platinum musicians.

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Resources Mentioned:

Your Big Idea: Successful Entrepreneurs have One Big Idea. Follow JLD’s FREE training & you’ll discover Your Big Idea in less than an hour!
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Ego is the Enemy – Ryan’s new book
The Score Takes Care of Itself and How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life – Ryan’s book recommendations

3 Key Points:

Only worry about your personal progress. Ignore how others perceive you.
Finding your craft will help you continue to improve and avoid arrogance.
Reading helps you learn from the experiences of others.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

(click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.)

[01:00] – He was the director of marketing at American Apparel.
[01:09] – He is finishing up his sixth book right now.
[02:03] – How do you generate revenue in your business? – He makes money from royalties and advances with his books.
- [02:22] – He has a creative agency.
- [02:36] – A creator and an entrepreneur.
- 03:12 – He introduced John to stoicism.
[03:39] – What was your intro to stoicism? – He was introduced to stoicism through Dr. Drew.
- [04:17] – A robust philosophy “to help you with the difficulties of life.”
- [04:58] – Any problems that occur are fact, and you must choose how to respond to those facts.
05:22 – Ryan’s book, Ego is the Enemy – How our arrogance holds us back.
- [05:55] – We are all trying to do hard things.
- [06:20] – How we can be objective, self-aware, and honest.
- [06:38] – John is reading the book for the second time this year.
[07:20] – Breaking down the difference between ego and confidence.
- [07:49] – Ego is what we feel. Confidence should be based on the work we have done and the experience we have gained.
- [08:26] – Avoiding unrealistic optimism.
[08:59] – Talk about a story from your book that epitomized this concept – “One cannot learn that which they already know.”
- [09:47] – A lot of people assume that any success means they are experts in a certain topic.
- [10:07] – As knowledge grows, ignorance grows.
- [10:25] – Humility makes us wise.
- [10:38] – Working to improve our chosen craft.
[10:50] – How craftsmanship can suppress the ego — Focusing on your craft helps you find ways to improve.
- [12:00] – Larry King and how he has improved over thousands of interviews.
- [12:17] – Writing humbles you every day. That kind of craft is how you can avoid arrogance.
- [12:55] – Find your craft and continue to improve it.
[16:26] – Expand upon meditation – If you don’t take care of yourself, your work will suffer.
- [16:54] – You have to look outside of yourself.
- [17:23] – Exercise can be meditative.
- [17:43] – Scheduling meditation as part of your workday.
- [17:53] – Set aside time for yourself every day.
- [18:11] – The value of going out into nature.
- [18:50] – John’s 4-mile jog through nature every day.
- [19:50] – What it feels like to be at the top of the hill, halfway through his jog.
- [20:06] – The sense of satisfaction that you can get from daily exercise or meditation.
[20:47] – Why should we not believe our own hype? – Marketing is part of what we do.
- [21:05] – We are selling an idealized version of ourselves.
- [21:26] – People will simplify you.
- [21:42] – Avoiding both the good reviews and the bad reviews, and not needing approval from other people.
[22:26] – What resources do you recommend to people who want to know more? – The Score Takes Care of Itself
- [22:53] – How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life
- [23:02] – Reading the classics and learning from history.
- [23:33] – Learning by the experience of others.
- [24:15] – Marcus Aurelius: “Accept it without arrogance, and let it go with indifference.”
[24:38] – Ryanholiday.net
[24:42] – @RyanHoliday on Twitter and Ryan Holiday on Facebook
[25:21] – Read Ego is the Enemy