Ego is the Enemy – Ryan Holiday

Why I bought it

Amazon does seem to throw up a fair few books ‘you should also read’ options. This isn’t just by friends or family but by podcasts and book reviews and so and so forth. Even at the back of certain books I’ve reviewed, these books are in the back as ‘you should read’ options therefore by reading one book I end up with about eight and this is one of those.

My thoughts

The book is interesting from the perspective of anyone who’s worked under somebody who is relatively egotistical or somebody who has an ego themselves. I could see myself, friends and previous bosses within the writing of Ego is the Enemy. I could see the dangers that they created whilst also understanding why they did so.

Ego is the Enemy does not ostracise those individuals. It doesn’t tell you that they’re bad people, but what it does do is indicate why they will probably hit a glass ceiling. You start to understand why certain individuals act in the manner that they do and the damage that can be caused by those actions. The book is relatively easy to read and you do get through it incredibly quickly because again, as we have The Obstacle is the Way you just turn from page to page to page whilst absorbing the information.

The book describes the psychology of an individual with an ego and it really does allow understanding from both a personal and objective perspective.

We all have an ego it just explains how we manage it, tells us what can be done, tells us how to restrain it and gives us strategies to be better moving forward. The book describes how people become egotistical why they do so and actually why the world that we live in is creating more egotistic individuals than ever before. It explains the difference between talent and ego it also details that most individuals who are scared of failure are scared of it due to their ego.

Ego is artificial and will always seek validation.

Who this is for?

I believe anyone in a particular position of leadership should understand how the ego works and what it does to people. How dangerous it can be whilst at the same time understanding why it occurs. Not just from a leaders perspective but also from their teams perspective because there will be individuals in the team with an ego.

I can’t say that everyone will enjoy the book or remember all the text, I know there are areas of the book I need to reread simply because your mind can drift.

Where to buy

Any good bookshop, or online store, will stock Ego is the Enemy. It’s published by Profile Books ISBN 978-1781257029

Links

For more books, check out the Elusive Book List on Amazon but it will shortly be on our new website. We will of course, review more of these in time, but any questions feel free to drop us an email at bookclub@elusivegroup.co.uk or ask it directly on our Book Group.

And remember to follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram where we also post quotes from every book we read and review.

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