Ryan Holiday | |
---|---|
![]() Holiday in 2012 | |
Born | June 16, 1987 36) Sacramento, California, U.S. | (age
Occupation | Author, entrepreneur |
Alma mater | University of California, Riverside (dropped out) |
Genre | Non-fiction |
Notable works | Trust Me, I'm Lying (2012) The Obstacle Is the Way (2014) Ego Is the Enemy (2016) The Daily Stoic (2016) |
Spouse | Samantha Hoover [1] |
Ryan Holiday (born June 16, 1987) is an American philosopher, marketer, author, businessman and podcaster, notable for spreading Stoic philosophy in the form of books. [2]
Prior to becoming an author, Holiday served as the former director of marketing and eventually an advisor for American Apparel. [3] Holiday's debut to writing was in 2012, when he published Trust Me, I'm Lying. Holiday's notable works include his books on Stoic philosophy, such as The Obstacle Is the Way , Ego is the Enemy, Stillness is the Key, Discipline is Destiny, Courage is Calling, and Lives of the Stoics. He is controversial for his marketing of Stoicism in the form of "Memento Mori" coins and selling courses and calendars. [4]
Holiday began his career after dropping out of the University of California, Riverside at the age of 19. [1] He consulted for author Tucker Max and, later, he worked with Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power , on Greene's 2009 New York Times bestselling book, The 50th Law . [5] [6] Holiday served as Director of Marketing for American Apparel and, later, as an adviser to the company. [3] [7] He was replaced from the company in October 2014. [1] [8] He has consulted on a number of media campaigns and written extensively on the topic of media manipulation. [9]
Holiday is the author of several books and has written for Forbes , Fast Company , The Huffington Post , The Columbia Journalism Review , The Guardian , Thought Catalog , Medium.com , New York Observer , The New York Times and Texas Monthly . Books he has authored have sold more than three million copies combined. [10]
Holiday published his first book, a media exposé about the state of online journalism called Trust Me, I'm Lying , in July 2012, which debuted on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. [11] [12] His second book Growth Hacker Marketing was originally published in September 2013 by Portfolio/Penguin and then expanded into a print edition in 2014. The book shows how traditional marketing efforts are no longer the most effective, and why growth hacking is cheaper and more effective in today's market. [13] The book was named one of Inc. magazine's top 10 marketing books of 2014. [14] [15]
In February 2014, Holiday was named editor-at-large of the Business & Technology section at the New York Observer. [16]
Holiday's third book The Obstacle Is the Way , was published May 1, 2014, also by Portfolio/Penguin. [17] The book is based on the Stoic exercise of framing obstacles as opportunities. [17] The book has sold more than 1 million copies and was read by the New England Patriots during their 2014 Super Bowl-winning season, as well as distributed through the locker room of the Seattle Seahawks in the following offseason. [18] [19] [6] The Obstacle Is the Way reached No. 1 on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller List in 2019, five years after its initial release. [20] Two-time NBA Champion Chris Bosh listed The Obstacle Is the Way as his favorite book and added that, when his head coach Erik Spoelstra gifted Miami Heat players copies of the book, Bosh had already read it twice. [21] During a press conference at the Masters in 2019, four-time major champion golfer Rory McIlroy said he read The Obstacle Is the Way as well as Holiday's following book, Ego Is the Enemy, leading up to the tournament. [22] In the months following former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier's on-field spinal injury that left him unable to walk, Shazier credited The Obstacle Is The Way for helping him improve his mindset and focus on recovery. [6]
In 2016, he published two books. The first, Ego Is the Enemy , uses various historical figures as case studies to illustrate the perils of egotism. [23] The second, The Daily Stoic , is a daily devotional of Stoic meditations. [24] Both books went on to become bestsellers with Daily Stoic reaching No. 1 on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. [25] [26]
In 2018, he published Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue. It is about the lawsuit between Gawker Media and wrestler Hulk Hogan, as well as Peter Thiel's involvement in the dispute. It was favorably reviewed by William D. Cohan of The New York Times, who called the book, "one helluva page-turner." [27] Conspiracy is being developed into a feature film with Charles Randolph writing the script and Francis Lawrence attached as the director. [28] In October 2019, he published Stillness Is the Key, which became the first of Holiday's books to reach No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. [29] [30] Stillness Is the Key promotes a balanced approach to life, of limiting the amount of "noise" and while mostly referencing stoicism, he also makes references to Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism as well as the Abrahamic religions. [31] In 2020, he published Lives of the Stoics, which he wrote with author Stephen Hanselman. [32] The book is a collection of biographies for more than two dozen philosophers who lived according to the stoic virtues of courage, temperance and wisdom. [33]
He has written a chapter in Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans .[ citation needed ]
While Holiday was a college student, Dr. Drew recommended Epictetus which inspired Holiday's interest in practicing and teaching Stoicism. [34] Holiday, through his books, articles and lectures, has been credited by The New York Times with the increasing popularity of Stoicism. [18] He was also described as "leading the charge for Stoicism," [35] which has been noted for gaining traction among Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. [36] [37] Classicist Gregory Hays, whose 2002 translation of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations became a bestseller, provided commentary on Holiday's stoic writing by saying it is, "very much in the spirit of his ancient models" and added, "Holiday is also a great teller of stories." [38]
Holiday wrote public letters encouraging his father not to vote for Donald Trump in 2016 [39] and 2020. [40] [41] Despite his public opposition to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, Holiday was offered a communications director position within the Trump administration, which he did not accept. [42] Holiday supported Joe Biden in the 2020 United States presidential election. He said:
For those asking what happened to the Biden sign...we hung it up on our ranch in Texas, where we own guns, raise cows for meat, prefer low taxes, fly an American flag, and mostly want to be left alone. It's perfectly possible to have "conservative" beliefs and know what the obvious right thing to do in 2020 is. [43]
In September 2020, Holiday initiated a funding drive and personally contributed $10,000 toward the removal of two Confederate monuments from the Bastrop County Courthouse and the courthouse approved the removal and relocation of the monuments to an alternative site in February 2021. [44]
Holiday owns and operates the independent bookstore Painted Porch Bookshop in Bastrop, Texas. [45] He is married [46] and has two sons. He lives on a 40-acre ranch in Bastrop County, Texas. [5]
Holiday is also a musician, citing Metallica and Iron Maiden as influences. [47] [48]
Co-author: Stephen Hanselman
Co-author: Stephen Hanselman
Co-author: Stephen Hanselman
Illustrations by Victor Juhasz
Illustrations by Victor Juhasz
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. Since October 12, 1931, The New York Times Book Review has published the list weekly. In the 21st century, it has evolved into multiple lists, grouped by genre and format, including fiction and nonfiction, hardcover, paperback and electronic.
Gaius Musonius Rufus was a Roman Stoic philosopher of the 1st century AD. He taught philosophy in Rome during the reign of Nero and so was sent into exile in 65 AD, returning to Rome only under Galba. He was allowed to stay in Rome when Vespasian banished all other philosophers from the city in 71 AD although he was eventually banished anyway, returning only after Vespasian's death. A collection of extracts from his lectures still survives. He is also remembered for being the teacher of Epictetus and Dio Chrysostom.
Cleanthes, of Assos, was a Greek Stoic philosopher and boxer who was the successor to Zeno of Citium as the second head (scholarch) of the Stoic school in Athens. Originally a boxer, he came to Athens where he took up philosophy, listening to Zeno's lectures. He supported himself by working as a water-carrier at night. After the death of Zeno, c. 262 BC, he became the head of the school, a post he held for the next 32 years. Cleanthes successfully preserved and developed Zeno's doctrines. He originated new ideas in Stoic physics, and developed Stoicism in accordance with the principles of materialism and pantheism. Among the fragments of Cleanthes' writings which have come down to us, the largest is a Hymn to Zeus. His pupil was Chrysippus who became one of the most important Stoic thinkers.
Rubellius Plautus was a Roman noble and a political rival of Emperor Nero. Through his mother Julia, he was a relative of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He was the grandson of Drusus, and the great-grandson of Tiberius and his brother Drusus. Through his great-grandmothers Vipsania Agrippina and Antonia Minor, he was also descended from Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Mark Antony. He was descended from Augustus' sister Octavia Minor, herself a grand-niece of Julius Caesar.
Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy.
Panaetius of Rhodes was an ancient Greek Stoic philosopher. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon and Antipater of Tarsus in Athens, before moving to Rome where he did much to introduce Stoic doctrines to the city, thanks to the patronage of Scipio Aemilianus. After the death of Scipio in 129 BC, he returned to the Stoic school in Athens, and was its last undisputed scholarch. With Panaetius, Stoicism became much more eclectic. His most famous work was his On Duties, the principal source used by Cicero in his own work of the same name.
Seth W. Godin, also known as "F. X. Nine", is an American author and a former dot com business executive.
Zeno of Tarsus was a Stoic philosopher and the son of Dioscorides.
Aristo of Chios, also spelled Ariston, was a Greek Stoic philosopher and colleague of Zeno of Citium. He outlined a system of Stoic philosophy that was, in many ways, closer to earlier Cynic philosophy. He rejected the logical and physical sides of philosophy endorsed by Zeno and emphasized ethics. Although agreeing with Zeno that Virtue was the supreme good, he rejected the idea that morally indifferent things such as health and wealth could be ranked according to whether they are naturally preferred. An important philosopher in his day, his views were eventually marginalized by Zeno's successors.
Diogenes of Babylon was a Stoic philosopher. He was the head of the Stoic school in Athens, and he was one of three philosophers sent to Rome in 155 BC. He wrote many works, but none of his writings survived, except as quotations by later writers.
Antipater of Tarsus was a Stoic philosopher. He was the pupil and successor of Diogenes of Babylon as leader of the Stoic school, and was the teacher of Panaetius. He wrote works on the gods and on divination, and in ethics he took a higher moral ground than that of his teacher Diogenes.
Diodotus was a Stoic philosopher, and was a friend of Cicero.
Arius Didymus was a Stoic philosopher and teacher of Augustus. Fragments of his handbooks summarizing Stoic and Peripatetic doctrines are preserved by Stobaeus and Eusebius.
Paconius Agrippinus was a Stoic philosopher of the 1st century. His father was put to death by the Roman emperor Tiberius on a charge of treason. Agrippinus himself was accused at the same time as Thrasea, around 67 AD, and was banished from Italy. As a philosopher he was spoken of with praise by Epictetus.
Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator is a book by Ryan Holiday chronicling his time working as a media strategist for clients including Tucker Max, Robert Greene, and Dov Charney.
William O. Stephens, is an American philosopher and scholar of Stoicism. He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Creighton University after retiring from teaching at their Omaha Campus in 2020.
The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph is the third book by author Ryan Holiday. It was published in 2014. It is a book which offers individuals a framework to flip obstacles into opportunities, an approach crafted by Holiday. It was inspired by the philosophy of stoicism.
Ego Is the Enemy is the fourth book by author Ryan Holiday, published on June 14, 2016. It is about the treacherous nature of ego.
The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living is a daily motivational book of stoic philosophy co-authored by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. It is Holiday's fifth book and Hanselman's debut as an author.
Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message is a non-fiction book about personal finance, co-authored by Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki. The book was first published in hardcover format in 2006. The coauthors became familiar with each other through mutual work at The Learning Annex and Trump being impressed by Kiyosaki's writing success with Rich Dad Poor Dad. Trump and Kiyosaki co-authored another book together in 2011, Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich-And Why Most Don't. The book discusses American economic problems including the middle-class squeeze, economic globalization, and the national debt of the United States. The authors advise the reader to gain financial literacy and delve into entrepreneurship. Trump and Kiyosaki criticize mutual funds and advocate real estate investing as a way to build wealth.
{{cite magazine}}
: Cite magazine requires |magazine=
(help)