March 13, 2024

CurledMark

curled up on the sofa

The Obstacle Is The Way is the book that teaches the authors the timeless art of turning trials into triumphs. It says how the obstacle can become the fuel to get triumph and happiness.

There are three parts to it.

Perception

It says it is not the things that upset us, it’s our opinion about things, how we view things determines what we are going to be able to do with them.

It’s our opinion about things

Objectivity

The first discipline of Stoicism is Objectivity that what one should do rather than thinking it has become hopeless, everything is pointless.

The Obstacle Is The Way

Action

The next discipline is the discipline of action. Your life might have been dead by the color of your thoughts your life is the choices and actions that you take. Stoics not only act with determination, creativity, and pragmatism but also emphasize this idea of unselfish action what can we do for others.

Will

The type of discipline is the discipline of Will. Life can break your heart, throw things on you that you are unable to solve.

In this situation what you should do is use the power of Endurance.

Everything you throw on the top of fire becomes fuel. It turns into light and heat and flame.

It needs no specific material. It pursues its own aims as circumstances allow; it turns obstacles into fuel. As a fire overwhelms what would have quenched a lamp. What’s thrown on top of the conflagration is absorbed, consumed by it – and makes it burn still higher.

A blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it.

-Marcus Aurelius

This is the power of Willpower. Nothing can stop you from achieving something if you have the Willpower.
Stoicism is a practical philosophy. Turning trials into triumphs into advantages is explained in the book The Obstacle Is The Way.

About The Obstacle Is The Way

This is an intelligent self-help book packed with examples from the history of people who made it through adversity into greatness. It also offers a system for approaching life as a more average person, turning obstacles into advantages, and using relentless persistence to achieve what you want.

We all face obstacles in our lives, what matters is how we perceive them and work with them to move on. “When we aim high, pressure and stress obligingly come along for the ride,” so we have to find ways of dealing with them, as well as the aspects of life that may blindside up with randomness.

 

Review of The Obstacle Is The Way

Holiday uses Stoicism as a basis for the book, but it’s not a dry philosophy book by any means. He makes the words from thousands of years ago come alive through modern examples.

As someone who studied Greek and Latin at school, I appreciated the 21st century take on the subject. Through perception, action, and will, we can achieve despite obstacles.

This book is life-changing. Couldnā€™t recommend it more.

The Obstacle Is The Way is summarized in two words: “GO ON!”

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