Book Cover - Book Review: The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

A good book, the first one in the author’s trilogy, but probably the less mind opening. I doubt many readers will be surprised by the importance of obstacles on the road to success. What I found interesting, however, is the use of ancient philosophy, mainly Stoicism, to illustrate how persistence and ingenuity has always being keys to overcoming any obstacle — mental, physical, emotional.

As outlined by the author, this book is not a replacement for classic books on Stoicism, often quoted by the author. But you don’t need to read these books first, even if like me, I bet you will add more than one title on your reading list.

You will hear a lot about Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, key figures in ancient Rome, but also about people closer to us. Ryan Holiday did a lot of research in books, especially biographies, to share collective wisdom illustrated with true stories, a perfect mix between pragmatism and history.

I strongly recommend the whole trilogy, not just this book. There are many powerful insights in Stoicism, and Ryan Holiday is the best author to present old recipes from antics in a modern and engaged way.

About the author

Julien Sobczak works as a software developer for Scaleway, a French cloud provider. He is a passionate reader who likes to see the world differently to measure the extent of his ignorance. His main areas of interest are productivity (doing less and better), human potential, and everything that contributes in being a better person (including a better dad and a better developer).

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