Sharing what I have learned from what I have read: A blog by Joe Abittan
How do we do something great? What do we need to do in order to achieve a high level success that everyone agrees to be truly outstanding? I don't necessarily ask myself these direct questions, but every day of my life I feel as though I am asking and trying to answer these questions. When … Continue reading The Seed of Greatness
I recently changed jobs, and a piece of advice that I revisited from Ryan Holiday in his book The Ego is the Enemy has come back to me at a perfect time. Holiday writes, "When someone gets his first job or joins a new organization, he's often given this advice: Make other people look good and … Continue reading Early in a Career
"The art of taking feedback is such a crucial skill in life," Ryan holiday writes in his book Ego is the Enemy. If we are honest with ourselves, which is hard and uncomfortable, we see that we are not quite as great as we like to believe and we don't exist in the center of … Continue reading Criticism and Ego
Its is not obvious, but our ego prevents us from learning. Our ego is that piece of our brain that thinks we are amazing. It is what drove Kanye West to hang a giant picture of himself in his house so that it is the first thing you see when you walk in. It is … Continue reading The “Learning vs Ego” Clash
Ryan Holiday shares stories from leaders and masters of their craft in his book Ego is the Enemy, and the lessons he shares show us how some people have been able to put their ego aside to become truly great at what they do. One of the people Holiday uses as an example is Kirk … Continue reading Learning From Others vs Being Fearful of Others
Goal setting and prioritization is an incredibly challenging and difficult process. It is hard to know what one really wants to do and what truly motivates someone. We hold a lot of competing values in our head when we try to set our goals, and often we get tripped up and set goals for ourselves … Continue reading What is it that I Want to Accomplish?
At some point in human history, we were living in small tribes of maybe 50 to 250 people and we were evolving ever more complex brains because our small political groups put pressure on our ancestors to be socially skilled in order to pass on their genes. In a small social tribe, actions and motivations … Continue reading Recognition is Empty
John Boyd was a brilliant military officer, strategist, and consultant who helped shape a generation of military leaders. Boyd is the focus of one chapter in Ryan Holiday's book, Ego is the Enemy, titled, "To Be or To Do?" Boyd, Holiday explains, was a terrific air force pilot and a very insightful and influential mind … Continue reading It Comes Down to Purpose
"Impressing people is utterly different from being truly impressive." Ryan Holiday wrote this quote in his book Ego is the Enemy which I read a couple years back. I was thumbing through some of my highlights in the book last week and saw this quote and it has been in my head non-stop. In … Continue reading Truly Impressive
Ryan Holiday's book Ego is the Enemy helped me really understand the benefits of getting away from habits, thoughts, and behaviors that serve to boost the ego. His writing has helped me better think through my desires and the actions I take to reach those desires. Focusing on my ego and understanding the destructive nature … Continue reading The Struggle of Great Work