I flew to Austin, Texas to sit down with Ryan Holiday and discuss his most formative books.
Back in 2013 I stumbled on an article online called “How To Read More — A Lot More” by some writer guy on the Internet named Ryan Holiday.
I started reading the piece and got sucked into it. He had a point! A great point. Many great points, actually. And he was super young. A young man telling the world to read more books? In an era where most guys read none… or, you know, like three books a year?
Me and Ryan with … you guessed it, books!
I found Ryan Holiday to be a complete breath of fresh air.
So I immediately began to copy everything he did.
He launched a monthly book club.
I launched a monthly book club! (With his blessings, of course.)
He was talking about reading fifty then a hundred books a year.
I started to read five books then ten books then fifty books a year.
I started cancelling magazine and newspaper subscriptions and began to consciously put my phone away. I installed a bookshelf at my front door and cancelled cable.
And, of course, I started this podcast!
Ryan and his most prized possessions.
In a way 3 Books would not exist without Ryan Holiday. I can trace my rediscovered passion for reading all the way back to this writer guy from the Internet.
But he’s not just a writer guy on the Internet anymore.
Ryan Holiday has sold over 2,000,000 books (!) and essentially leads the repopularization of stoic philosophy on a mass scale. Some of his books include The Obstacle Is The Way, Ego Is The Enemy, and his brand new book, Stillness Is The Key.
Ryan also runs DailyStoic.com, the consulting company Brass Check, and his newest project Daily Dad.
He’s become a friend and I have definitely caught his bug.
So in Chapter 38 of 3 Books I ask Ryan to share his four most formative books. (You’ll hear why on the show.) He tells us how to decide who to trust, how he got dramatically fired from his first job, and why we shouldn’t turn parenting into a job.
I hope you enjoy Chapter 38 with Ryan Holiday.
Listen to Chapter 38 of 3 Books:
Click here to Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast, Spotify, or Google Play.
What You'll Learn:
Why should you spoil the endings of books and movies?
How do we win the war for attention?
Why does the path you take toward a goal matter more than achieving the goal itself?
How and why should you not turn parenting into a job?
notable quotes from ryan holiday:
CONNECT With Ryan:
word of the chapter:
Resources Mentioned:
Ryan’s first book [22:12]
Ryan’s second book [36:40]
Ryan’s third book [58:33]
Ryan’s fourth book [1:10:42]
“How to Read More — A Lot More” by Ryan Holiday
“The End of History Illusion” by Dan Gilbert
Trust Me, I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday
Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday
The Obstacle Is This Way by Ryan Holiday
Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday
Stillness is Key by Ryan Holiday
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha
Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Read to Lead: How to Digest Books Above Your “Level” (article by Ryan Holiday)
The Epic of Gilgamesh by Anonymous
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
On the Waterfront by Budd Schulberg
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler
The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce
Conversations with Tyler Ep #27: Dave Barry on Writing, Humor and Life as a Florida Man
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
How to Write a Sentence by Stanley Fish
The Common Good by Robert Reich
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
The Odyssey by Homer
The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
You Are Awesome by Neil Pasricha
