summary ofEgo Is the EnemyBook by Ryan Holiday

first KEY POINT

If there’s anything that can impede your journey to success, it’s your ego

Many believe the outside world is the main obstacle to a successful life. However, everything outside goes through an internal filter; the most common enemy of success is a person’s ego. The ego is a feeling of self-worth and self-importance. It can make you crave external validation and create a wall to your true self.Early in your career, your ego might impede learning and talent cultivation. It can also make you blinded by success, lower your aspiration levels, and accept mediocre results in the future. Even when a person fails, their ego can magnify each failure and make their recovery more complex.At every stage in life, your ego can hold you back. It is the enemy of your ambitious goals, a calling, a great passion, or a new beginning. Of course, you can only have aspirations by first believing you can achieve your goals. But your belief in yourself shouldn’t depend on your past achievements. It must rely on how self-contained, self-motivated, and conscientious you are. Some people claim that particular talent is everything they need. But it is not true; you must constantly evaluate your abilities because this creates room for improvement.It’s human to be nervous whenever you start something, so people tend to comfort themselves externally instead of internally. Switching your focus to external validation might result in chasing goals that are not yours.

It’s better to have ambition — a desire to improve your expertise — than to be consumed by your ego. Stay tuned to discover how ego can harm your success and how to become ambitious instead.