The Best of Ryan Holiday
10+ most popular Ryan Holiday articles, as voted by our community.
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37 Pieces of Career Advice I Wish I’d Known Earlier
From my first desk job working at my college newspaper. My first job was working at a small deli and grocery store in Lake Tahoe when I was 15. It was a job that came full circle some twenty years…
Ryan Holiday on Better Living
These 14 Small Mindset Shifts Will Change Your Life
For the most part, we can’t change the world. We can’t change the fundamental facts of existence–like the fact that we’re going to die. We can’t change other people. Does that mean that everything is…
«one way to think about Stoicism itself then is as a collection of mindset shifts for the many situations that life seems to thrust us in.»
19 Rules For A Better Life (From Marcus Aurelius)
Marcus Aurelius never claimed to be a Stoic. Gregory Hays, one of Marcus Aurelius’s best translators, writes in his introduction to Meditations, “If he had to be identified with a particular school,…
«Be strict with yourself and tolerant of others. It’s called self-discipline. It’s called self-improvement. And remember: Stoicism is a personal philosophy that’s designed to direct your behavior.»
Ryan Holiday on Books
These 38 Reading Rules Changed My Life
It’s a weird thing to say, but I guess I’m a professional reader. That’s really what authors are. A book is made of books. “The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading; a man will turn…
«great line the Stoics loved—that we never step in the same river twice.»
If You Only Read A Few Books In 2024, Read These
One of my favorite quotes—enough that I have it inscribed on the wall across the back of my bookstore—comes from the novelist Walter Mosley. “I’m not saying that you have to be a reader to save your…
Ryan Holiday on Dedication
Here's Your Secret To Success: Go The F*ck To Sleep
Some people take pride in how little they sleep. It’s proof of their hard work, their dedication, their determination. Me? I’m prouder of the exact opposite. Despite producing over a dozen books,…
Ryan Holiday on Habits
The Secret To Better Habits in 2023
It’s kind of crazy to think how recent December 2019 feels. Not that long ago, it seems, we were getting ready for what a new decade might bring us. It’s even crazier when the truth settles in: 2019…
«”One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior,”»
Ryan Holiday on Mindfulness
24 Things I Wish I Had Done Sooner (or my biggest regrets)
Of all the things in life we don’t control, the past is the clearest. It already happened. It’s done. It’s set in stone. Perhaps we could have controlled and changed it, but the fact is, we didn’t.…
«” If you did your best, if you gave it your all, if you acted with your best judgment—you’ve won.»
The Longer I Do This, The Less I Care About Results
I used to care a lot about how things did. I think most people are that way. I remember when my first book, Trust Me I’m Lying, came out I was probably 10% proud of what I’d done and 90% eagerly…
«“Ambition is tying your well-being to what other people do and say,” Marcus Aurelius writes in Meditations. “Sanity is tying it to your own actions.”»
Ryan Holiday on Productivity
If You Only Read A Few Books In 2023, Read These
It’d be wonderful if a new year magically marked a new beginning. But 2022, like all years, reminded us that the same things keep happening, that world events continue on in their own unpredictable…
«if I knew then what I know now, I would have done things differently.” That’s the end of that, she said. “Guilt is in the past, and the one thing you cannot change is the past»
The Indiscipline Of Overwork
A few weeks ago, I was running early in the morning in Arizona. I probably should have waited for it to get light out, but I had a busy day ahead of me and wanted to squeeze it in. I even remember…
Ryan Holiday on Self Discipline
Discipline is Destiny: 25 Habits That Will Guarantee You Success
The ancients were fond of an expression: Character is fate. It means that character is deterministic, that who you are determines what you will do. Self-discipline is one of those special things that…
«22. Be strict only with yourself. It was said that the true majesty of Marcus Aurelius was that his exactingness was directed only at himself.»
Ryan Holiday on Speed Reading
13 Strategies That Will Make You A Better Reader (And Person)
Reading is a good thing. A good thing too many people don’t do enough of (or any of it all…) So obviously doing lots of it is good, right? This is why people try to figure out how to speed read (a…
«My rule is one hundred pages minus your age. Say you’re 30 years old—if a book hasn’t captivated you by age 70, stop reading it. So as you age, you have to endure crappy books less and less.»
Ryan Holiday on Stoicism
36 Lessons on the Way to 36 Years Old
The amount of times I had to do the math to see how old I was this year was alarming. Even as I wrote this piece, I had to check, 36, right? Wait, did I accidentally do 36 last year? I don’t know why,…
«Be patient—evaluate later. Don’t kick yourself now because you think you’re stuck. You might be the opposite of stuck and just not know it. »
20 Things You Didn’t Know About Marcus Aurelius
One of the pleasures of re-reading a book, re-watching a film, re-visiting a place, is that you always discover something new. The Stoics were fond of the idea—which comes from Heraclitus—that we…
«you could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think”»
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These are some all-time favorites with Refind users.
24 Leadership Principles From The Greatest Business, Military, Political and Sports Leaders
People think that leadership is something that just happens. One is anointed a leader. One is promoted to leadership. One is born into leadership. And of course, this is not the case. “Leadership,”…
«Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed,” Robert writes. “The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water.»
31 Lessons I’ve Learned About Money
I remember learning how to play the recorder in elementary school. I remember square dancing. I remember cursive. I built a model of a Spanish mission out of sugar cubes. Some of this was fun. Some of…
«poverty wasn’t having too little, it was wanting more»
15 Questions That Will Make You A Better Parent (and Person)
As parents, we worry about having all the right answers. But I think it’s better to focus on asking the right questions. The right question at the right time can change the course of a life, can still…
«All time with your kids—all time with anyone you love—is created equal.»
The Best Parenting Advice I’ve Ever Gotten
In his letters, Seneca writes about the habit of finding one thing each day that makes you smarter, wiser, better. One nugget. One quote. One little prescription. One little piece of advice. And…
«In 2014, Researchers from Ohio State University found that most fights between couples are because someone is hungry. Same goes with parents and kids and between kids, I imagine.»
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