As a doctor who loves to learn new things, I love a good non-fiction book, especially one that challenges me to become a better person in some unique way. Last year I had a goal to read least 1 book a month. One of the books I liked best was Ryan Holiday’s Ego is the Enemy. This international bestseller is quick read that broken down into 3 distinct parts and had a lot of life quotes for those of us trying to advance in our careers. Here are 5 key takeaways from the first section:
“To become great, we need someone better to learn from, someone lesser to teach, and someone equal to challenge ourselves against.” With this quote Holiday reminds us that we can’t become great by ourselves. Having just 1 other person may not be enough either. We actually need a few different types of people around us. We need someone from which we can learn from so that we can continue to advance and reach for higher goals. We need someone that we can teach or mentor since teaching not only ensures our own understanding of a topic, but it also solidifies the information in our minds. Lastly, we need to be challenged. While we may all aspire for more every now and then we need a constant challenge to keep us motivated in this pursuit.
“The art of taking feedback is a critical skill in life.” No one is perfect. Although we may be keenly aware of this fact, sometimes we can be oblivious to the parts of us that still need improvement. We may not know that something we’re doing is ineffective. We may not be aware that there are better ways to doing certain things. In order to correct these imperfections and continue to improve, we have to learn how to take feedback. Although many of us hope for the feedback that applauds our effort, we also need to prepare for the kind that highlights our weakness and calls attention to our flaws. Despite the delivery or the timing, the ability to take constructive feedback is a skill in life that will help us constantly improve and help us become better versions of ourselves.
“Clear a path for people before you and you will eventually create a path for yourself.” As aspirational young professionals we are are eager to progress in our careers. As we attempt to get promoted, it can be very easy to focus on ourselves and avoid work that doesn’t get us the recognition we may crave. With this quote, Holiday is warning us against this. He reminds us that working for other people and making them look good will eventually help us achieve success for ourselves. As we become helpful to more people, we establish a reputation as being valuable and an indispensable part of the team. It is these classifications, along with our track record of hard work, that virtually ensure our future success. If we can continue to help others, without alienating or threatening anyone along the way, we will get there even faster.
“Pride blunts the very instrument we need to own in order to succeed: our mind. Our ability to learn, to adapt, to be flexible, to build relationships all of this is blunted by pride.” With this quote, Holiday reminds us to keep our pride and our ego in check. While it’s okay to remain confident in our abilities, we must be careful not to let our ego make us “too good” to learn from others or unable to adapt to certain situations. As we continue to climb the ranks of success, we may develop a certain standard of efficiency that we prefer. Things that deviate from this ideal, whether it be people, situations, or experiences may bother us so much that it can makes us stubborn and cause us to think that a certain person, place, or situation is “beneath us.” It is this exact attitude that we are warned against. We must instead, always be willing to adapt.
“To get where we want isn’t about brilliance, it’s about continual effort.” In our quest to be great we many encounter times that push us to the limit. Perhaps we overworked, tired, or just not as motivated as before. It is during these times and with these feelings, Holiday reminds us to just keep going. The road to greatness is not about waking up each day with fresh ideas on how to take over the world. Sometimes, we just need to get out of bed and keep going. Success isn’t about being brilliant each day, it’s about showing continual effort each day. We have to get up, get to work, and do the necessary work day in and day out. As we keep going, we’ll keep progressing and eventually we will have reached our goal of success.
Tell me, what do you think of these quotes? Did one of them resonate with you more than the others?