Obstacle is the WAY

Obstacle is the Way, yet another simple yet powerful book by Ryan, taking inspiration from the life of Marcus Aurilius. I have summarized the book in about 1100 words and laid down some key takeaways.

Starts with the words of Marcus – “What comes in the way becomes the way.”
The idea of the book is to help you overcome those obstacles - mental, physical, emotional or perceived and turn them to the way.
Objective judgement now at this very moment
Willing acceptance now at this very moment
Unselfish Action now at this very moment of all external events and that is all you need.
Ryan distributes the idea in 3 - Perception, action and will.

PART 1

Perception
Discipline of perception - Rockefeller's case and financial markets - only discipline and objectivity can make you successful. Struggled for 3.5 years to controlling 90% of oil markets. Economic crash or personal tragedies are bound to happen - see the good and revert to present. "Oh How blessed the young men are who has to struggle for a foundation for beginning."

Recognize your power - Don't feel harmed. Carder and false accused, went to jail but read extensively. HIS LIFE WAS NOT MISERABLE BUT HE WAS JUST PUT IN PLACE HE DIDN'T DESERVE TO BE. WE DECIDE THE STORY WE WANT TO TELL TO OURSELF

Study your Nerves - Want to rule great empire, first rule yourself. Panicking leads Deviation from plan, forgetting rule. Not panicking is an art. Ryan explains it using astronomer case study where to panic is suicide. Uncertainty and fear - overcome by authority.

Practice Objectivity - HOLD ON A MOMENT. Let me see who you are and what you replicate. Perceiving vs. observing eye. Epictetus sexual analogy and Marcus deciphering luxury (wine and meat). It is skill and requires mental training.

Alternate your perspective. Perception precedes action. Good perception good action. It is up to you. E.g. Baseball player playing for 26 years, Eisenhower’s reaction to Allies. Live in present and think differently and act.

Adversarial growth in athletes - That what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
PROBLEMS ARE AS NEVER REALLY AS BAD AS WE THINK.

PART 2

Action

After building up the perception its time to get to work.
Discipline of action - Demosthenes from poverty to becoming the greatest orator Greeks had.

Get Moving - Stay moving and practice persistence. Ryan gives the War case study to substantiate. IF YOU HAVE TO CREATE MOMENTUM, YOU HAVE TO START BY YOURSELF NOW

Persist and resist -Epictetus. Iterate - Sometimes as in sports, an underdog needs a close defeat to know that it can give fight to anyone.

Failure comes at a cost - discomfort or loss, once you perceive it, success awaits. Failure shows us the way by showing us what isn’t the way.

Follow the process. We are a to z thinkers without acknowledgement of b c d and so on. Do what you need to do right now. Don't think about end but survive the present moment. Do your job and do it right. When action is your priority vanity falls away. Ryan takes up case of teacher to dean.

What's right is what works. Aristotle vs Plato, progress vs perfection, pragmatism vs realism, one common thing not losing good for never existing perfect.
Studying 280 campaigns - only 6/280 result of direct attack. Else from untraditional ways - flanges, unexpected, psychological ways. Force cannot match to try force, as in martial arts - push vs pull so as to lose the balance and make the mighty fall. ACT LIKE STRATEGIST, THINK TACTICALLY. Sometimes the longest way around is the shortest way home.

USE OBSTACLES AGAINT THEMSELVES- Gandhi vs. British. Alexander and his horse, sometimes refrain from trying too hard- go back, sideways and stay there for a while. Harder the people ran, more they got exhausted, harder the police suppressed Gandhi, bigger was his next movement

CHANNELIZE YOUR ENERGY - Arthur Ash and tennis - right action matters, just action creates frustration.

SEIZE THE OFFENSIVE. See it rationally. Obama famous speech turning obstacle to way, poor campaign towards one of the best speech turned campaign upside down

PRECISE ACTION IN THAT WAR. FEEL WHERE EMEMY IS WEAK AND DIRECT EVERY IOTA OF ENERGY ON THAT.

Prepare like none of it would work. NOT TO GIVE INTO ADVERSITY, NOT TO TRUST PROSPERITY, FORTUNE BEHAVES JUST AS IT PLEASES.

PART 3

Will
Humility in current situation. Will prepares, protects and allows us to thrive.
Abraham Lincoln floating through times with will - facing anxiety and depression to becoming one of the greatest president US had. Will, the third discipline to overcome any impediment.

BUILD YOUR OWN CITADEL - Fortress inside out which no one can destroy. It covers the story of Theodor Roosevelt, from Asthma to ruling it out completely passing through brutal workouts. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR HARD ROADS AT ALL TIME.

Anticipation -Stoic "premeditatio malorum" —the premeditation of the evils and troubles that might lie ahead. If you are not humble, life will do it to you overtime. It will get worse before it gets better.

The art of acquiescence - To acquiescence is to accept. Rarely we consider bad can get worse. George Washington, Eisenhower, Murphy's Law - Acceptance works.

Amor Fati - Loving whatever happens. Edison and his years of research turning to ashes. Still Edison was not heartbroken. Loss of 1 mn dollars to making 10mn revenue that year. YOU LOVE IT BECAUSE IT HAS FUEL.

Perseverance - Persistence is an action and perseverance is the matter of will. One is energy other is endurance. Persist and persevere. Self trust as fuel and only death can end perseverance. CANT HURT ME. KEEP BUGGERING ON

Something bigger than Yourself - Result are infinitesimal. Toughness has its limits but the desire to help others has no harshness, no deprivation. Will can never be taken away this way but can only relinquished.
A DECADE EARLIER A MILLENIA EARLIER SOMEONE HAD THE SAME THOUGHTS AS YOU HE STOOD RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE NOW. Lend a hand and it will make you stronger.

Meditate on your mortality - MORTALITY - It doesn't need to be depressing but embracing.

The obstacle becomes the way - Marcus betrayed by Cassius but didn’t despise his enemy. Protect the empire put down the threat -Duty of Caesar. FIRE analogy as proposed by the stoics. IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY ALWAYS. BE A GOOD PERSON AND PRACTISE FORGIVENESS.

Tested in the crucible of adversity, forged in the furnace of trail - they realized these latent power - perception, action and will.

IT WILL NOT BE EASY, TRAILS WILL COME but you know what to do. SEE THINGS FOR WHAT THEY ARE DO WHAT WE CAN, ENDURE WHAT WE MUST, WHAT BLOCKS YOUR PATH NOW IS THE PATH. THE OBSTACLE IS THE WAY.

A simple yet well written book which serves the purpose and provide the readers with the solution. You can go for it and decide on your own - Making impediment as action.