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This book has 12 recommendations

Brian Koppelman (Screenwriter, Director)

I don't have many rules in my life, but one I never break is: if Ryan Holiday writes a book, I read it as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Marc Ecko (Founder/Ecko Unltd)

I see the toxic vanity of ego at play every day and it never ceases to amaze me how often it wrecks promising creative endeavors. Read this book before it wrecks you or the projects and people you love. Consider it as urgently as you do a proper workout regimen and eating right. Ryan's insights are priceless.

George Raveling (Director of International Basketball/Nike)

This is a book I want every athlete, aspiring leader, entrepreneur, thinker, and doer to read. Ryan Holiday is one of the most promising young writers of his generation.

Austin Kleon (Bestselling Author)

The Comedian BIll Hicks said the world was tainted with fevered egos. In Ego Is the Enemy, Ryan Holiday writes us all a prescription: humility. This book is packed with stories and quotes that will help you get out of your own way. Whether you're starting out or starting over, you'll find something to steal here.

Steven Pressfield (Author/The War of Art)

Ryan Holiday is one of his generation's finest thinkers, and this book is his best yet.

Adam Grant (Author/Originals)

Highlights how we can earn confidence by pursuing something bigger than our own success.

Robert Greene (Author/48 Laws of Power)

Inspiring yet practical... teaches us how to manage and tame this beast within us so that we can focus on what really matters - producing the best work possible.

Marvin Liao (Partner/500 Startups)

My list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make sense of life and Science fiction to picture what the future could be like (not always utopian).

Marius Ciuchete Paun (Web designer)

The lessons in this book are ageless and universally applicable to everyone. The lesson it teaches us is that the ego is part of us and we have to manage it. Life is full of ups and downs and our ego is always sitting in the dark, waiting to strike us down.

Cristian-Dragos Baciu (Direct Response Copywriter)

Oh, and let's not forget, Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday.

Pedro Cortés (Independent Designer)

To get a good a fulfilling career I believe you need to balance money with your mindset and personal life and for those, I would again recommend the 4hww (to question the 9-5 life), F.U Money (to turn your beliefs about money into good ones), Ego is the enemy (to keep the ego in check), So good they can't ignore you (to adopt the mindset of a craftsman and mastery instead of passion) and Predictably Irrational to be aware of the irrational things you and other people can do so you can adapt to them instead of living your entire life being blinded by them.

Derek Sivers (Founder/CD Baby)

It's rare that I finish a book then immediately reread it, this time with a yellow marker in hand…I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Amazon description

As in The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holiday delivers practical and inspiring philosophy, this time exploring a powerful concept that runs back centuries, across borders and schools of thought: ego.

Ego is our biggest enemy. Early in our careers, it can prevent us from learning and developing our talents. When we taste success, ego can blind us to our own faults, alienate us from others and lead to our downfall. In failure, ego is devastating and makes recovery all the more difficult. It is only by identifying our ego, speaking to its desires, and systematically disarming it that we can create our best work.

Organised into bite-sized observations featuring characters and narratives that illustrate themes and life lessons designed to resonate, uplift and inspire, Ego is the Enemy shows how you can be humble in your aspirations, gracious in your success and resilient in your failures. It is an inspiring and timely reminder that humility and confidence are still our greatest friends when confronting the challenges of a culture which tends to fan the flames of ego and encourage the cult of personality at all costs.

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See more books recommended by

Brian Koppelman, Marc Ecko, George Raveling, Austin Kleon, Steven Pressfield, Adam Grant, Robert Greene, Marvin Liao, Marius Ciuchete Paun, Cristian-Dragos Baciu, Pedro Cortés, Derek Sivers

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Ryan Holiday

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