Stillness Is the Key

This is my first book by Ryan Holiday, and I must say, I'm not overly impressed. The book wavers back and forth between insightful and inane. There is some useful advice, to be sure, including the benefits of being fully present, limiting inputs to prevent information overload, cultivating silence, turning off your cell-phone, and embracing the Stoic virtues of optimism, honesty, courage, justice, toleration, gratitude, and wisdom. This is all good advice, if not necessarily original or better covered by other Stoic philosophers.But it is into the second part of the book where it all starts to fall apart, leading up to the cliche-fest that is the chapter titled “Accepting a Higher Power.” I get the unfortunate impression that Holiday doesn’t understand the difference between religion and philosophy. For someone supposedly well-versed in the practice of Stoicism, talk of “surrendering to a higher power” is entirely antithetical to the philosophy. Stoicism teaches us that the greatest goods are reason and virtue, and that the cultivation of virtue is entirely independent of anything external to ourselves and the people around us.Holiday writes, “There is no stillness to the mind that thinks of nothing but itself.” This is supposed to imply that some sort of religious faith in a higher power is necessary for a meaningful life, as if a sense of awe cannot be achieved by, for example, looking through the Hubble Space Telescope, or that actually helping other people isn’t a better way to be selfless than praying. I’ll admit that I’m growing tired of reading authors projecting their own psychology into the text and assuming that those lacking religious faith are selfish and miserable. Science and humanism are enough for me, and for many other Stoics, humanists, atheists, and agnostics, thank you.Holiday also betrays his lack of training as a professional philosopher when he insists, more than once, that if many different people believed something in the past, it must be true. This “appeal to the bandwagon” fallacy is constantly repeated, with the implication that because belief in a deity was widespread in the past that it must be true. As Holiday writes, “That was the story with Lincoln. Like many smart young people, he was an atheist early in life, but the trials of adulthood, especially the loss of his son and the horrors of the Civil War, turned him into a believer.” It’s interesting to note that Holiday doesn’t mention David Hume, Bertrand Russell, Jeremey Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Denis Diderot, John Dewey, and most contemporary philosophers and scientists that were or are atheists. (Diderot and Russell didn’t have easy lives, both being imprisoned for their beliefs. But neither “smart young person” recanted their atheism later in life.)And here’s some condescension for you: Holiday writes, in the chapter on accepting a higher power, “Perhaps you’re not ready to do that, to let anything into your heart. That’s okay. There’s no rush. Just know that this step is open to you. It’s waiting. And it will help restore you to sanity when you’re ready.”If you enjoy being talked down to like this, you’ll love the book!The structure of the book is also somewhat redundant. It’s broken up into three parts: mind, spirit, and body. However, the chapters titled “Say No” and “Seek Solitude” in the body section are largely a repeat of the chapters titled “Limit Your Inputs” and “Cultivate Silence” in the mind section. There is, in fact, a lot of redundancy found throughout the book, along with a large dose of empty phrases with little substance.There are, to be fair, some redeeming qualities. The numerous biographical details are interesting, and, again, there is some genuinely good advice, particularly when Holiday sticks closest to Stoicism. However, this is not something I could recommend. I think you’d be better off reading the classics of Stoicism or contemporary philosophers specializing in Stoicism like Massimo Pigliucci.

Ryan Holiday is one of my absolute favorite writers. I thoroughly enjoyed The Obstacle Is the Way. Then Ego Is the Enemy. Then The Daily Stoic. Then Perennial Seller.So... When Penguin Random House sent me an advance copy of this book (Thanks, guys!), I couldn't wait to read it.In fact, one of the testimonials in the front of the book perfectly captures my sentiment. Screenwriter and director Brian Koppelman (Rounders, Ocean’s Thirteen and Billions) puts it this way: “I don’t have many rules in 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.” <- Exactly.(Plus: Cal Newport (who arm wrestles Ryan for my favorite writer status) is the first testimonial in the book. He says: “Some authors give advice. Ryan Holiday distills wisdom. This book is a must read.” <- Yep.)This book is an inspiring, super-practical look at WHY "stillness" is such an essential component to peak performance in every domain of life. I highly (!) recommend it.

One of the staff asked for copies of this book to share with staff and I quickly glanced through it and approved the purchase. When I finally got around to reading it, realized it's just preachy, has no real substance and repeats the same mantra over and over again using "quotes and sayings" by other authors or stoics.The whole book is a regurgitation of what others basically said and there is no new or original thoughts presented. Lots of examples that will no resonate with many people who are not familiar with sports or athletes as author uses examples from sports events.I would have returned the extra copies purchased by they had already been handed out to staff and none seemed impressed with the gift lol I generally like this author but this was a lazy piece of work

Let me start this off by saying that I rarely write amazon book reviews, but in this case I feel compelled to because this is such a _Fabulous_ book. I've never taken so many notes, and I'm not even through Part I.Almost everything Ryan writes in this book is Profound.With Ryan's specific direction and insight, and with your own discipline, you can EASILY become a better version of yourself.Highly Recommended! I'd give it 6 stars if I could. Cheers!

And Ryan's books are full of them! Even though I'm just digging in... I can confidently give a 5-star review because I've read virtually every book the author has ever published, and each one has had somekind of positive effect on my life (or the life of those closest to me - especially The Obstacle Is The Way).With that said, I will provide a more detailed review as soon as I'm done reading in the coming days!

Extremely disappointed.Not the quality of thought as previous work. This one seems contrived, and shallow.Writing rambles on and is not clear and concise as the reader has come to expect.

I have been waiting for this book to come out and was so excited when I got home from work Tuesday and found it on my doorstep. Ryan Holiday never disappoints. I have read all his books and have thoroughly enjoyed them all. I have only started this one. After reading the chapter on desire I decided not to buy copies for my family. This isn't a book for people who already practice mindfulness it is for those wrapped up in the world's stresses and busy lifestyles. It has a lot of good meaty history and philosophy.

Ryan's books are always good reads, and this one is no exception. I'm about 50 pages in, and I've already found a lot of material for my commonplace book. I think I'll be devouring the rest of this book very quickly!

Distracted minds are commonplace in today's world.With information overload, lots of people have forgotten how to be more present and in the moment. Maybe this is why mindfulness has become so popular. Boredom is something that people hate with a device needed to keep us company and our minds indulged, even when waiting in the shortest of queues or period of inactivity.From a peak performance perspective, stillness as Ryan describes it becomes really important to maintain focus and presence during overwhelming chaos and stress.This is a small book but packed with richness. Ryan uses stories of Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy, Marina Abramovic, Napoleon, Shawn Green, Fred Rogers, Anne Frank, Socrates, John Cage, Awa Kenzo, Marcus Aurelius, Tiger Woods, Seneca, Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Jordan, Winston Churchill, Epictetus, William Gladstone and many others.Ryan uses these to demonstrate how important stillness is for self-mastery, discipline and focus in this noisy world.The book divided into three parts:1. Mind2. Spirit3. BodyEach part has several chapters making the case for stillness and giving life practices that can help to practically develop stillness.I do feel that the book could have more practical tips but for me it really does help with stirring the emotions and helping to really value the importance of stillness in my life and finding ways to develop this.For me this topic is really important. I previously read Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport and have also pre-ordered Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Indistractable-Control-Your-Attention-Choose/dp/1526610221/I will be reading this book a few times to inspire me and develop practices to help me as I try to navigate this world of chaos. I recommend this if this is the journey you are also looking to take.

If you ‘re expecting a book as good as Holiday's previous work 'The Obstacle is the Way' then this isn't it. With 'The Obstacle is the Way' Holiday stuck to one subject, stoicism, and wrote about what the stoic philosophers taught. This book deals with the more amorphous term of 'stillness' which he uses to refer to ‘peace of mind’. The subject is a worthy one but the author spends the whole book saying what you should be doing, but he doesn’t point out how you should be doing it. The subject is also one that moves into the realms of eastern philosophy and psychology, and Holiday is woefully under qualified in these areas. Instead, he uses his usual method of dividing the book into three parts and giving varied examples from the lives of famous people given to him by his researchers. These examples are often forced and he contradicts himself from one chapter to the next. For example, in one chapter he holds JFK up as an example of stillness during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and then in another chapter he condemns JFK for cheating on his wife during the same incident. He also holds Churchill up as a good example yet only lists his positive qualities, and fails to mention any of his many negative traits. The worst part for me was Holiday’s style of writing. When he was a debut author his style was direct and refreshing now he is preachy, and seems to be believing his own press. In the end this book seeks to be about an important subject, but simply becomes about the ignorance of the writer.

I'm a fan of Ryan Holiday and enjoy his books and daily blogs immensely the best so far being 'The Obstacle is the Way'. Because his other publications have been so good 'Stillness is the key' is quite a disappointment. I felt there was a slight shift towards psychobabble in that he claims the protagonists of the various stories all achieved their success to stillness which is probably stretching things a bit far. I found those links to stillness to be quite weak. On the positive side there are some good stories but overall is this book just about meditation?

Stillness is the key by Ryan HolidayHaving read Ryan’s other books The obstacle is the way and Ego is the enemy I was excited to learn about this new book coming out.As a martial artist I like the eastern philosophies Zen, Taoism, etc… So the title spoke to me.The book, just like Ryan’s other books consists out three parts which are divided into chapters. These chapters are each a story around a theme.Stories are great vehicles to get lessons across. The stories by Ryan often do more than just teach, they also inspire. Ryan who is known for being inspired by Stoicism, delves into many different backgrounds for his stories, east, west, past and present… Universal and timeless…Like classical music where the same pieces are played with different chords the book sheds a fresh light on classical teachings.What I like about the book is the storytelling, the easy to read stories can be easily read during a short break, not too long, not too short and they grab your attention and hold it right up to the end. Then the rest of the day you can ponder on it and try to apply it in your daily life.The act of reading the book itself already gets you into this state of stillness. Which brings peace on a hectic day and answers to questions and problems.Stillness is indeed the key. And like the Zen saying goes:“It is the silence between the notes that makes the music; it is the space between the bars that cages the tiger.”

I'd enjoyed Holiday's Ego is the Enemy, so I was excited to try this. It didn't disappoint. It's organised into very short, snappy chapters and covers a lot of ground. The book takes after the Stoic philosophers he cites so often and presents a guide to living a good life. Holiday's writing is breezy and clear and he doesn't waffle, which is appreciated given the weight of the book's subject matter. Can't recommend it highly enough. A great book. Can see it being a perfect primer for teenagers on philosophy and it made me reconsider my own approaches to issues, too.