EGO is the Enemy a book review

EGO Is THE Enemy

A book by Ryan Holiday

A review by Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, December 21, 2018

Note:  Anything appearing in BLUE and UNDERLINED should be a link to a web site

I LOVE THIS BOOK!

This is an amazing book and another in a long list of books that wish I had read when I was much younger like when I was first starting out in business.  It would or should be impossible for anyone who reads this book not to come away when a different perspective on the way they see themselves and others they may work for or for those who work for them. 

The book is all about EGO and how and why it is most likely the one character trait that can and   may destroy your ability to achieve goals even beyond what you might imagine.  The book is timeless meaning exactly what it suggests; it applied yesterday, today, tomorrow and all of the tomorrows ahead.  The real question is can you see yourself in the various descriptions and scenarios given by the author Holiday?  That is a huge question.

It is NOT a “how to” book.  It is a book that provides stories of people we all have heard about but probably know very little about, until now.  Sometimes what we’ve been told is quite different than what actually was.  A great many famous people had issues.  Some addressed them and how they addressed them while others did not and why they didn’t and what was the result of ignoring the problems.

I was in real estate sales for over 33 years.  As I read the book, I could see real estate agents all over the pages as one after another chased the Number One status or the Highest Production or the Highest Number of Closed Sales, etc.  There is nothing wrong with being the best provided that is what is actually happening.  But are you  being learning based, sharing what you learned instead of just accumulating numbers. This book in my opinion would be a valuable asset for anyone in business but especially anyone in sales like real estate agents.  It would be impossible not see yourself or some of your fellow agents on every page in the book.

I know I appeared in the book, not sure when he interviewed me but I certainly recognized some of the traits he discussed.  I think you will as well in fact if you know me you may actually recognize me in the book.  I hope you are NOT in the book!  But somehow…..

Who should read the book?  EVERYONE, seriously, everyone can learn the lessons in the book.

Would I read it again?  Probably will.  There were definitely chapters, quotes and passages that stood out and worthy of recall.  Want an example.  From the writer Cheryl Strayed. "You're becoming who you are going to be and so you might as well not be an asshole!"

Would I give the book as a gift?  Absolutely.  It is a book for all ages but again, many of the books I have read on success and motivation definitely apply to teenagers where this book as well as other could be used to avoid the pitfalls so many of us have learned through experience.