That is a quote from the opening monologue of the book. And one I think is a good summation of what it feels like to live in our current society.
The Book
Ryan Holiday does a good
job of titling his books — he is a master marketer after all. He is a college
drop-out. He used to run marketing at American Apparel, and he is now an author
and business owner, his business works with authors to help market books.
Because of this
experience, his books can usually be summed up by his titles. Ego is the enemy
is about why ego is bad. Obstacles are the way is about why obstacles are good.
Stillness is the key is about why stillness is the key. Ground-breaking, I
know.
The book is divided into
three sections: Mind, Spirit, and Body. And I want to share the light on each
of these and discuss the main points.
Source: VisualSynopsis
Mind
“Quietness without loneliness”
In this first section
about the Mind, Holiday wants us to find stillness in our minds. That means
being present, limiting your inputs, slowing down and thinking deeply.
Historical references from here include the artist Marina Abramovic, Napoleon,
Shawn Green, Fred Rogers, Anne Frank, and a whole list of eastern and western
philosophers. The goal is to find quietness in your mind, but without the
loneliness and boredom that follows.
Holiday recommends journaling
as one of the most important tasks you can do, and he recommends doing it
daily. It is that important.
Spirit
This section was the
hardest to grasp. Here Holiday used a lot more prose and language, rather than
historical context because it’s even harder to explain what it is.
The stoics believed virtue
was the highest good. And Seneca explained virtue as true and steadfast
judgment. Each of us must cultivate a moral code, a higher standard that we
love almost more than life itself. Each of us must sit down and ask: What’s
important to me? What would I rather die for than betray? How am I going to
live and why?
Holiday wants us to help
find, but more importantly to question, what is virtue and how to get it. Heal
the inner child. Learn that enough is enough and to beware of desires. Heal and
cultivate the spirit inside of you.
Body
“Movement is the foundation of stillness”
Take a walk. Build a
routine. Stop buying stuff, and if you have too much stuff, give some of it
away. Find solitude — that quietness without loneliness. Get enough sleep. Find
a hobby.
The body keeps score. If
we don’t take care of ourselves physically, it doesn’t matter how strong we are
mentally or spiritually.
Value from the Book
I like the way he
thinks. He is called out for being of a different time. I enjoy solitude. I
like to read. I like to read deeply and widely. I’d rather a quiet conversation
than a watching TV. A lot of these values I learned from reading Ryan and his
work. He’s built his own moral code.
Doing what this book
subscribes is hard. It’s putting down the phone and having a conversation. It’s
going for a walk after work or doing some sort of exercise when you’re already
tired and stressed. It isn’t easy, but that’s the whole point. Reading his work
gives the confidence and morale boost to keep going just a little bit longer.
Holiday ends the book
with “Death brings an end to everything, to our minds, our souls, and our
bodies, in a final, permanent stillness.” Cicero said that to study philosophy
is to learn how to die. I wouldn’t call myself a philosopher and so I look to
both present and the past thinkers, to pave the way for my own thinking.
And I think Holiday
clearly demonstrates through this book, his words, and his examples, that
stillness is the best way to do just that. To discover who you are and what you
want out of life. If nothing else, take from this book the title. Stillness is
the key and may you find it in whatever moments you can.
Source: MoveMeQuotes
Recommend
If you’re a fan of Ryan
Holiday, you will enjoy this book. It’s his most action-oriented book out of
all the ones he has written. He is actually telling you what to do. In an
interview about this book, he said each person should do three things every
day: journal (for the mind), take a walk (for the spirit), and do some sort of
strenuous exercise (for the body).
That seems like good
advice in general.
The reason Holiday is different than other authors in this pop-psychology, self-help genre is because he validates his writing with stories and experiences of the greatest people throughout history. He distills the information of authors and thinkers across the decades and distills them in a way that makes them enjoyable to learn about. For that reason alone, this and his other books are valuable.
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