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  • Ego Is the Enemy

  • Written by: Ryan Holiday
  • Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
  • Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (744 ratings)

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Ego Is the Enemy

Written by: Ryan Holiday
Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
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Publisher's Summary

"While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive visionary geniuses who remade the world in their images with sheer, almost irrational force, I've found that history is also made by individuals who fought their egos at every turn, who eschewed the spotlight, and who put their higher goals above their desire for recognition." (From the prologue)

©2016 Portfolio (P)2016 Tim Ferriss Audio

What listeners say about Ego Is the Enemy

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    4 out of 5 stars

An easy listening that makes some good points

Not as good as the obstacle is the way but it makes good points. I particularly liked the alive time/dead time dichotomy that the author explains. However, as with many self-help and pop-psychology books, the author overreaches in his conclusions. As I was listening to the examples he gave, I was thinking of counter-examples and other variables not considered. Since the book is about ego, he reduces every problem to a problem with ego. Also, for the most part, he ignores the fact that many people may have the opposite problem: low self-esteem. So, for instance, you could listen to "You are a Badass" by Jen Sincero and reach different conclusions. I am not saying that one approach is better than the other; I just wish all these authors had a bit more nuance in the way they present their ideas. The voice of the narrator is a bit monotonous.

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12 people found this helpful

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Not worth my time

Don’t be selfish. Don’t think too highly of yourself. Move on and read another book.

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10 people found this helpful

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Not the information I was expecting.

It is a good concept, but it is not concrete. the best part was the interview at the end. You can skip the book and go directly there

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9 people found this helpful

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  • Ty
  • 2019-12-04

contrary to my beliefs

I follow many many positive entrepreneurship pages and read many books that directly oppose many points this book offered. I understand keeping the ego in check but this book consistently debunks the power of positive thinking, confidence and the law of attraction.

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5 people found this helpful

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Got half way and stopped listening ..

This book was a recommended read. I agree with one concept when it comes to ego and like my grandmother used to say - if you don’t know what you’re talking about, close your mouth and open your ears because you may just learn something. I think this is one concept in this book. Aside from that, I feel like this book blurs the lines and confuses the concept of what is ego vs what is drive, accomplishment, ambition, self-confidence and self-esteem. It’s almost as if the author is saying, hey, you’re not allowed to feel proud of yourself for your accomplishments or you’ll look like a show off. I completely disagree with this book. Sorry.

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4 people found this helpful

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Wonderful Book and a Well Needed Kick in the Pants

What Ryan ultimately gets at here is that we are in control of ourselves, our actions and reactions, and how we respond to the world. This book acts as a warning for those who let themselves get too far encompassed in their own narrative. What he delivers is a truly timeless exposé of how to wrestle with yourself, and the consequences of doing so. I will be listening to this one again many times over. Bravo.

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3 people found this helpful

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Must read for leaders

Ego made me resist listening and it was the new found awareness that made me realize how critical these ideas are.

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2 people found this helpful

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Ego is the enemy, obstacle is the way

The book is a great companion to the other excellent book obstacle is the way. Ryan Holiday has an engaging writing style with convincing arguments. Easy to understand and follow. Great book for modern stoicism. #Audible1

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2 people found this helpful

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Waste of time

Pointless book, very opinionated and 90% of references about military, politicians, or sports figures. Just a long drawn out waste of time.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Inspirational and Painful

Ryan Holiday has a great way of presenting that illuminate some of the the worst in us while providing wisdom infused prescriptions that provoke deeper thinking and an antidote to those traits. Having read The Obstacle and Stillness, this book provides a powerful diagnostic and remedy to that which impedes our ability to embrace both the obstacle and stillness. Our Ego. Highly recommended and I would also highly recommend that one listen to the other two books in this trilogy to gain the larger picture of his compelling thesis.

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  • Robert
  • 2016-09-08

Disappointing. Thin, weak reading.

I bought this book a rather strong recommendation by Tim Ferris. Tim went down in my estimation with this glorified essay. The content is thin, the point is obvious.

There seems to be a trend at the moment in taking classic knowledge (Ancient Roman / Greek) and rehashing if for anxious West Coast / Bay Area types. This book makes you feel a little bit embarrassed for the author.

Ego is the Enemy...could have been a one pager on a blog.

This is a case of networked buddies ( Tim F etc) all doing each other a favor ...

Ryan certainly has an audience. The sheer number of positive reviews on here swayed me.

I'll be more careful in future.

Word of warning on narration.

Ryan did a selfie on narration.

It's terribly self conscious and adds to the hollowness of the content.

His pronouncing of the word 'naivety' made me wince...

Hope you enjoy. I had to stop half way through...

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248 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Jefferson Lam
  • 2016-07-28

Good content, tedious performance

What did you love best about Ego Is the Enemy?

The book has a great message that everyone ought to hear, especially since we live in a world with social media and the power to craft your self-image and story. It's helped me out a lot in the way I view myself, and I've already noticed things about my behavior I could change to keep my ego under control.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from Ego Is the Enemy?

Unfortunately the performance is incredibly dull and unprofessional. He mumbles, he speaks too quickly, he's monotone, and overall he sounds like a robot reciting words on a page rather than trying to tell a story. This is a prime example of how to not narrate an audiobook. Halfway through I was dying to just get to the end because I didn't want to listen to his boring voice anymore. The sad thing is that in the closing interview portion with Tim Ferris, you can hear Ryan Holiday speak with a natural conversational tone and a sense of fervor that isn't present in his audiobook performance. Ryan Holiday, if you're reading this, the next time you narrate an audiobook, try reading it as though you're speaking to a friend.

Any additional comments?

I think I'll pick up a copy of the book because I did enjoy the content, and it's enough to save this audiobook.

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126 people found this helpful

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  • Enyo89
  • 2016-12-05

Worth reading

I honestly feel sad for anybody who passed up on this audio book, based on the previous negative review. This guy accomplished more in his life than most people ever will. He's qualified to talk about ego. This recording changed my life. Read.

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68 people found this helpful

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  • Mr. Grant
  • 2016-06-28

Just awful

Completely fooled by the reviews. This was a waste of my audible credit. Poorly narrated. Monotone voice makes you want to doze off. Listening to this guy ramble on about how successful he was almost made me immediately put this down. After listening for two hours and realizing I was getting life advice from a late 20's know nothing, I put this book away and went and found something else. Just a really useless book from an author with nothing meaningful to say.

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  • Kyle
  • 2016-06-17

Woven well

I love the way this book was broken down. Great quotes and examples by a thoughtful, articulate author who staves off hubris. Essentially it's nice to get helpful examples on life improvement from someone who gets it, but still stumbles. Great stuff. Audio extra w Tim Ferris was a great addition. Well worth the credit.

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  • Zach
  • 2016-11-07

Only made it 2 hours

I only made it two hours into this book before I had to turn it off. I did not like it. It seems to bounce from quote to quote with filler in between like a college freshman trying to hit a minimum page requirement. It would have been better off as an essay or blog post.

I bought this book base on the positive reviews, and clearly there is an audience out there for it, but it's not for me.

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  • Tim
  • 2016-06-20

belief in the indestructible self is destructive

this book provides an amazing array of anecdotes and advice for pushing ego aside in favor of a dispassionate view of reality. our society parts us on the back so much that we all believe we are the best, and we kill ourselves getting to prove it. instead, take a step back and realize how much you still need to grow, and take the time to do the growing.

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42 people found this helpful

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  • Staceghost
  • 2016-06-20

Full of historical anecdotes

This book is not my usual fare, but when I heard about it on The Joe Rogan Experience, I decided to give it a shot. 6 hours of listening for $10, what was there to lose? It was absolutely worth it. I think most of us know several people in our lives who would benifit from reading Ego is the Enemy, but the person who needs it most may just be you!

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  • David B
  • 2016-06-29

2 words... A Mazing

I've already listened to it twice, I have the hardcover and I'm going to listen it again and again over the years. The lessons in this book are in the forefront of my mind and I've already seen errors in my thinking and decisions based in satisfying ego and have made corrections

If you have an open mind, get this book!

If you have a strong ego, you need this book but it will do nothing for you. I hope you prove me wrong

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37 people found this helpful

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  • Rodrigo
  • 2016-07-10

great book

it took time to get used to the voice. I would have preferred another narrator.

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35 people found this helpful

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  • Jonny Bigoud
  • 2020-05-13

From the start on wrong premises

The author doesn’t understand a bit of why the Ego réaliser and it’s usefulness He uses unauthorised sources (mainstream thinkers) and old Greek philosophers to elaborate on how bad the Ego is Forgetting that without any ego one couldn’t act The enemy is not Hte go, but how the common and intellectual people use it as an excuse to behave foolishly or avoid acting Ego is much more than that Don’t loose your time, motivation, understanding and money in this book Act with your Ego, rather

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  • Aja
  • 2018-11-21

Good but narrative very poor

Good message but hard to listen. I think it’s the rythum and I have trouble to concentrate

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