Summary of ego is the enemy

Summary of Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday Instaread Please Note This is a summary with analysis Copyright © 2016 by Instaread All rights reserved worldwide No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior written consent of the publisher Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of these contents and disclaim all warranties such as warranties of fitness for a particular purpose The author or publisher is not liable for any damages whatsoever The fact that an individual or organization is referred to in this document as a citation or source of information does not imply that the author or publisher endorses the information that the individual or organization provided This concise summary is unofficial and is not authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by the original book’s author or publisher Table of Contents Overview Important People Key Takeaways Analysis Key Takeaway Key Takeaway Key Takeaway Key Takeaway Key Takeaway Key Takeaway Key Takeaway Key Takeaway Author’s Style Author’s Perspective References Overview Ego Is the Enemy is Ryan Holiday’s attack on the role that ego can play in the lives of most people Holiday does not use the term “ego” in the traditional Freudian sense but rather as a synonym for excessive self-regard, or egotism Thanks to the Internet and social media, having an inflated ego is now more encouraged in Western society than ever before Nevertheless, learning how to cultivate an authentic sense of oneself and one’s abilities is vital for living gracefully and achieving one’s goals Although history is populated by famous and even notorious egomaniacs, the most influential and successful people were more often those who focused on their life’s work with humility and dedication Compare, for example, the outsized ego of Napoleon, whose grandiose imperial ambitions ended in shame and exile, with the character of American general William Tecumseh Sherman After retiring from the military, he refused to run for president, and he never allowed his past victories to swell his self-importance Ultimately, Napoleon accomplished little in terms of creating an enduring European empire and was the cause of tremendous loss of life Sherman, on the other hand, was instrumental to the Union’s victory in the US Civil War Anyone can learn to manage their inflated self-worth and develop a realistic self-image One of the most successful strategies for doing so is to become a student either by dedicating oneself to selfguided study or by seeking a teacher or mentor Ego-driven people shun learning opportunities: They prefer instead to rely on their own views and opinions and refuse to acknowledge room for personal growth or improvement Devoting oneself to lifelong learning and realizing that true mastery is never complete is one path to a more realistic self-assessment Ego is universally dangerous, no matter whether a person is just starting an ambitious career ascent or has already conquered their industry In fact, the more success a person has achieved, the more potential damage an inflated ego can inflict Managing this flaw by regaining humility can be essential to building and maintaining personal and professional successes with grace and fortitude Important People Ryan Holiday is the author of Ego Is the Enemy as well as several other books on media strategy including Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator (2013), Growth Hacker Marketing (2014), and The Obstacle Is the Way (2014) He was the director of marketing at American Apparel and is a thought leader on public relations and business strategy William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) was a brilliant general during the American Civil War who later refused to run for president in a show of duty over self-importance Kirk Hammett is the lead guitarist for the band Metallica Even after he was given a place in the band, he took guitar lessons to further his already prodigious mastery By being humble enough to remain a student, he helped bring the band to new heights Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) was the first black player in Major League Baseball He is a prime example of a person who did not allow his ego to get in the way of success; he showed restraint even in the face of racism and adversity Genghis Khan (1162-1227) was one of the most successful conquerors of all time because of his ability to learn from the cultures he defeated Katharine Graham (1917-2001) inherited the leadership of the Washington Post in 1963 and led the paper through tumultuous times By refusing to give in to criticism and failure, Graham was able to lead the company to prosperity and success Key Takeaways Throughout history, the most influential people have been those who have placed the importance of advancing their fields above their need for fame and accolades A person’s biggest challenge to overcome—no matter their profession or role in society—is their own ego The most creative thinkers are often the most plagued by egotism Ego does not allow people to cultivate an honest and realistic assessment of their own abilities Due to the illusions of instant fame and recognition offered by social media, ego has never been more encouraged than it is in contemporary Western society Anyone can learn to manage their ego Once success is achieved, a person should not indulge in feelings of superiority Failure can be the hardest on people who cannot check their ego People with controlled egos avoid internalizing failure and are therefore best equipped to handle it We hope you are enjoying this Instaread ebook Download the Instaread mobile app to get unlimited text & audio summaries of bestselling books CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE Analysis Key Takeaway Throughout history, the most influential people have been those who have placed the importance of advancing their fields above their need for fame and accolades Analysis When people are motivated primarily by a desire for praise and recognition, they can rarely achieve great heights in their work According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Maine and Baylor University, humble people tend to make better employers than self-promoters This finding is true even as it would appear that the modern workplace rewards those who are most vocal about their accomplishments [1] In his 2013 TED talk, behavioral economist Dan Ariely examined the chief motivators for inspiring people to work hard He found that increased praise and pay were less powerful motivators than providing sense of meaning, a feeling of ownership, and a desire to overcome a challenge [2] Thus, people who believe that their journey to personal greatness is sufficient reason to get to work may be less likely to work hard than those who find meaning in their efforts or are excited by a challenge Key Takeaway A person’s biggest challenge to overcome—no matter their profession or role in society—is their own ego Analysis Ego usually prevents people from being self-critical enough to produce important societal contributions because an overinflated sense of self-worth prevents egotistical people from connecting truthfully and meaningfully with the world and their place in it Correspondingly, a study from the University of Illinois found that the success with which subjects completed a task was dependent upon their own self-assessment If subjects overestimated their selfworth or underestimated it, they failed to perform at the same level as a person who was capable of a more sober and realistic self-assessment Those who overestimated their capabilities were more likely to see a decline in motivation to perform future tasks These findings demonstrate the ways in which a sense of self-worth directly impacts the quality of work that a person can produce or is willing to produce [3] Key Takeaway The most creative thinkers are often the most plagued by egotism Analysis Passion often conceals deficiencies and does not encourage learning and skill development Artists and others who are driven to self-expression are susceptible to this stagnancy Pop guitarist John Mayer called himself an “ego addict” in a 2015 interview with MSNBC when explaining his self-imposed exile from the media spotlight He’s admitted that in order to focus on his craft, he’s had to retreat to a home in Montana and remain out of the tabloids Mayer described his early teen years, which he spent learning the guitar, as a time of immense creative output that was focused solely on making music But once he burst into the public eye, he found himself undergoing what he called a “thinking man’s fiasco” as opposed to the more typical downfall caused by drugs and alcohol He explained that the media attention and fame led him astray from remaining focused on honing his art and made him a target for salacious tabloid stories Mayer said he has learned from this experience and cited his growing ego as the ultimate source of harm to his ability to create and remain in touch with his audience As a result, Mayer forces himself to avoid reading media reports about himself even when they include praise for noteworthy performances He pushes himself to concentrate his passion on his craft and to avoid indulging his ego, which in the past has caused unfortunate distractions [4] Key Takeaway Ego does not allow people to cultivate an honest and realistic assessment of their own abilities Analysis There is nothing more valuable than being able to evaluate personal strengths and weaknesses with a sober and impartial eye Of course, confidence is crucial to success But confidence, unlike ego, is based in fact and reality The ego masks what’s real Confidence allows for self-criticism in healthy doses while ego does not allow for any Self-criticism can be crippling for some people, preventing them from ever taking a risk But without any self-criticism, individuals will be overcome by ego and incapable of performing a genuine assessment of their own skills Imposter syndrome is in some ways the opposite of an inflated ego It is a phenomenon of selfcriticism that leads high-achieving people to believe that they have reached their success in error [5] While certainly painful for those experiencing it, imposter syndrome may be part of what helped these achievers reach success in the first place Because these people believe that they not deserve their success, they may be more likely to increase their efforts to sustain it, while those who believe they are entitled to their accomplishments might be less motivated to forge ahead and hone their craft In recent decades, encouraging self-esteem became a major part of the American way of educating and parenting children However, it can lead to an inflated sense of worth and entitlement Recently, some in the American education system have begun to reverse course regarding the emphasis schools place on self-esteem in a child’s education Researchers found that students who are frequently praised tend to avoid more challenging assignments where they would risk failure [6] Education experts are likewise beginning to speak out against the culture of over-praising children as it seems to be damaging their innate abilities to assess their skills Former Washington, DC, schools chancellor Michelle Rhee famously courted controversy when saying that her daughters “suck at soccer” and yet remain complacent with their skills in the sport thanks to the meaningless trophies they are given just for participating [7] Although she faced backlash for her comments, her point was to demonstrate that the American education system is more focused on praise than on skill development Key Takeaway Due to the illusions of instant fame and recognition offered by social media, ego has never been more encouraged than it is in contemporary Western society Analysis Social media and the Internet spread the misconception that fame and recognition can be achieved with little to no effort Some Instagram and YouTube users go on to achieve success and wealth Singer Justin Bieber, for instance, was discovered on YouTube Even people who don’t aspire to Internet fame fall into the trap of seeking social media “likes” to bolster their egos on a daily basis In fact, a 2013 study from the University of Michigan found a direct link between social media and an increasingly self-obsessed society Researchers found that the most narcissistic people tended to post more frequently on Twitter and Facebook than their less ego-inclined counterparts They found that Twitter in particular is a tool that demonstrates a person’s excessive notion of self-importance By broadcasting their opinions to the entire Internet at large as opposed to just their group of friends, Twitter users demonstrate that they over-value their views [8] Key Takeaway Anyone can learn to manage their ego Analysis Becoming a student or finding a mentor is one of the most helpful ways to cultivate humility and emphasize ongoing work over achievement To remain humble, individuals should prioritize learning as a lifelong process with no graduation date Some of the most successful people today reached their goals by remaining humble enough to seek mentors, choosing to learn from others instead of listening only to their own egos Oprah Winfrey, a self-made billionaire whom many people might consider successful enough to require no words of wisdom from a mentor, credits much of her development to her mentor-mentee relationship with acclaimed poet Maya Angelou When Angelou died in 2014, Oprah wrote of her mentor, “The world knows her as a poet but at the heart of her, she was a teacher ‘When you learn, teach When you get, give’ is one of my best lessons from her.” [9] Although Oprah’s career might be an unusual place to seek examples of humility, given that she presides over an eponymous magazine featuring an image of herself on the cover each month, the core of her fame is built on her continued ability to remain in touch with her audience and to share with them what she learns from others Key Takeaway Once success is achieved, a person should not indulge in feelings of superiority Analysis Ego is especially dangerous to those who have reached the heights of their industry because there is so much more at stake Often, people risk squandering their success by forgetting how hard it was to obtain Egotistical people begin to feel entitled to their lofty role and cease to earn it Former NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams offers a sobering example Williams had risen higher in the world of network journalism than almost anyone else However, in February 2015, Williams’s reputation came tumbling down from that height as revelations surfaced that he had fabricated or embellished stories in his reporting Williams, for his part, blames this downfall on an inflated need for self-importance: “This was clearly ego-driven, the desire to better my role in a story I was already in.” [10] Williams’s self-sabotage demonstrates that even the very successful are vulnerable to missteps caused by a lack of humility Key Takeaway Failure can be the hardest on people who cannot check their ego People with controlled egos avoid internalizing failure and are therefore best equipped to handle it Analysis The people who are the most harmed by failure are those who care more about the opinions of others than the importance of the work itself When nothing matters more than the task at hand, the opinions of others are less able to cause harm After an embarrassment, someone who is not motivated by ego can still go on to have a promising career An ego-driven person will always struggle when faced with public scrutiny A study in contrast of the ways in which a public figure can recover from an embarrassing failure—or not—can be derived from the careers of Bill Clinton and Anthony Weiner Both politicians faced serious, public humiliation in the wake of sex scandals In Clinton’s case, however, the former president has been able to establish a well-respected career after his time in the White House He expressed regret for actions that came to light during his impeachment trial and found sympathy among many Americans who felt his private life and marital problems were being unfairly prosecuted as political theater While Clinton has been occasionally accused of courting the spotlight, he’s managed to avoid another public sex scandal He now puts his fame and magnetism to work for charitable causes and to advance the careers of other Democratic Party politicians including his wife, Hillary Clinton [11] Weiner, in contrast, has failed to recover from his fall from grace, succumbing instead to egotism After a 2011 sexting scandal forced him to resign from Congress, a penitent Weiner attempted to clear his name and return to politics in the 2013 New York City mayoral election Despite being ahead in the polls and appearing to be the likely victor, Weiner yet again was shamed out of his political ambitions when a second sexting scandal came to light—this one begun after he had lost his seat in Congress for similar behavior The explicit texts he exchanged with multiple women demonstrated his need for constant adoration and approval, even when it meant exposing his career to risk [12] Weiner’s downfall demonstrates that when feeding one’s ego is more important than the work itself, failure is more likely to be permanent Author’s Style Ego Is the Enemy is structured in three main sections that reflect the stages at which ego can be most dangerous: aspiration, success, and failure Holiday divides each section into chapters that highlight his arguments for why ego is detrimental at each of these stages He relies heavily on examples culled from the works of the great classical philosophers, particularly the Stoics His use of Stoic philosophy draws on research he conducted for his 2015 book The Obstacle Is the Way, which urged readers to adopt Stoic principles in their own lives Holiday offers examples of ego- and humility-driven personalities throughout history and across industries to prove his points and illustrate his key themes His writing on the subject of ego, however, remains largely anecdotal and not scientific He rarely calls upon psychological studies of the phenomenon and instead relies upon historical or even first-person accounts of struggles with ego, success, and failure Ultimately, Holiday acknowledges that the overall purpose of the book is to convince readers to dial back their own ego Holiday describes his personal struggles to get his inflated self-worth in check and examines the importance of doing so in his own life Author’s Perspective Holiday is a media strategist and author, most famous for his work as director of marketing for American Apparel, where he witnessed the very public downfall of former CEO Dov Charney His experiences at the clothing retailer inform some of his theories on the dangers of ego Holiday is also a college dropout and spent several years advising major music stars at a Los Angeles-based talent agency where he witnessed firsthand the dangers of inflated self-worth He admits to succumbing to his own ego-driven tendencies and writes to encourage others to reflect critically on the voice in their own head if it urges them to rest on their laurels Thank you for purchasing this Instaread ebook Download the Instaread mobile app to get unlimited text & audio summaries of bestselling books CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ~~~~~~ END OF INSTAREAD~~~~~~ Thank you for purchasing this Instaread We hope you enjoyed it If so, please leave a review We are interested in talking to you to learn how we can improve! Please email instaread.summaries@gmail.com with “Survey” in the subject field to take a quick survey We will send you a $5 gift card from the store of your choice upon completion of the survey! -:) References [1] Labouff, Jordan Paul, et al “Humble persons are more helpful than less humble persons: Evidence from three studies.” The Journal of Positive Psychology 7:1 (December 20, 2012): 16-29 Accessed June 23, 2016 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2011.626787 [2] Ariely, Dan Transcript of “What makes us feel good about our work?” TED April 2013 Accessed June 23, 2016 https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_what_makes_us_feel_good_about_our_work/transcript? language=en [3] Kim, Young-Hoon, et al “Know thyself: misperceptions of actual performance undermine achievement motivation, future performance, and subjective well-being.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 99:3 (September 2010): 395-409 Accessed June 23, 2016 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20804261# [4] MSNBC “John Mayer, Recovered ‘Ego’ Addict.” YouTube video 13:41 March 11, 2015 Accessed June 23, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnul38p3HVY [5] Rhiney, Diahanne “The Imposter Syndrome - Syndrome or Mindset?” The Huffington Post May 27, 2016 Accessed June 23, 2016 http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-diahanne-rhiney-/theimposter-syndrome-syn_b_10160942.html [6] Chandler, Michael Alison “In schools, self-esteem boosting is losing favor to rigor, finer-tuned praise.” The Washington Post January 15, 2012 Accessed June 23, 2016 https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-schools-self-esteem-boosting-is-losing-favorto-rigor-finer-tuned-praise/2012/01/11/gIQAXFnF1P_story.html [7] Strauss, Valerie “What Rhee’s comments about her children say about her.” The Washington Post January 22, 2011 Accessed June 23, 2016 http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answersheet/michelle-rhee/what-rhees-comments-about-her.html [8] Panek, Elliot T., et al “Mirror or Megaphone?: How relationships between narcissism and social networking site use differ on Facebook and Twitter.” Computers in Human Behavior 29:5 (May 4, 2013) Accessed June 23, 2016 http://www.ipearlab.org/media/publications/Panek_Nardis_Konrath_2013.pdf [9] Messer, Lesley “Oprah Winfrey Remembers Her Mentor Maya Angelou.” ABC News May 28, 2014 Accessed June 23, 2016 http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/oprah-winfrey-remembersmentor-maya-angelou/story?id=23901061 [10] Stelter, Brian “Brian Williams: My ‘ego’ caused me to make things up.” CNNMoney June 19, 2015 Accessed June 23, 2016 http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/19/media/brian-williams-nbc-speakson-today-show/ [11] Taylor, Jessica “Over 1,000 Clinton Documents Released, Including 84 New Classified Emails.” NPR February 13, 2016 Accessed June 23, 2016 http://www.npr.org/2016/02/13/466686230/over-1-000-clinton-documents-released-including-84- new-classified-emails [12] Glueck, Katie “Weiner concedes, flips off reporter.” Politico September 10, 2013 Accessed June 23, 2016 http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/anthony-weiner-nyc-mayor-race-2013096597 ... Overview Ego Is the Enemy is Ryan Holiday’s attack on the role that ego can play in the lives of most people Holiday does not use the term ego in the traditional Freudian sense but rather as.. .Summary of Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday Instaread Please Note This is a summary with analysis Copyright © 2016 by Instaread All rights reserved worldwide No part of this publication... overcome—no matter their profession or role in society is their own ego The most creative thinkers are often the most plagued by egotism Ego does not allow people to cultivate an honest and realistic assessment