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  • Ego Is the Enemy

  • By: Ryan Holiday
  • Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
  • Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,262 ratings)

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Ego Is the Enemy

By: Ryan Holiday
Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
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Publisher's Summary

"While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive visionary geniuses who remade the world in their images with sheer, almost irrational force, I've found that history is also made by individuals who fought their egos at every turn, who eschewed the spotlight, and who put their higher goals above their desire for recognition." (From the prologue)

©2016 Portfolio (P)2016 Tim Ferriss Audio

What listeners say about Ego Is the Enemy

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I learned new things from this book

If English is your second language this book will be a bit of a challenge to listen but you can still get the point. I can suggest you listen to last chapter, which is the interview, first to get an idea about what is going on with the characters. Because if you are not born in America, I assume, you would not know these people. Maybe there were enough explanations but my English did not help me to grasp the full image as early as the book expected me. That was my challenge otherwise the insight I got from this book will remain with me. At least once per day there is a situation for me that I repeat it to myself: ego is the enemy! I can spot it and try to prevent it for good 😊 a deeper level of awareness.

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15 people found this helpful

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Struggled to finish

This book is probably great for certain groups of people. e.g ambitious 20 year olds or those who have serious problems keeping their ego in check. There is some good advice here, but I couldn't relate enough to what the author was saying for the book to sustain my attention.

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One Of Those Books That'll Never Leave Your Side

This book has been a HUGE game changer for me!

I identified with so many things in here it's hard to nail down any one lesson that resonated the most.

Thank you for this amazing piece of work and I look forward to listening to The Obstacle Is The Way next.

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Narrator not up to standard

This may be a good book to buy in hard copy, but due to the poor performance of the narrator, I could not bear to listen to it for more than an hour.

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amazing

In my opinion this book should be read by everyone how's competitive or consider himself smart because it makes you analyse your actions to have a clear undertanding on whete they are coming from

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Monotonous

Did not enjoy the audio. Tone of voice was monotonous and struggled to stay engaged.
Sorry- just my opinion

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Great book!

It definitely changed my life and the concept i had of ego, totally different now.

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Another great title from Ryan

I am a 19 year old university student, I have found myself getting caught in my own head and re-reading the obstacle is the way and reading ego is the enemy have helped immensely! Definitely picking up in a great way where the obstacle is the way left off!

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dragging

struggled to finish. So boring. A dragging listen about ego, author uses multiple examples in a poorly written manner

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Life Changing

This book helped me realise how detrimental my ego has been in my life and would continue to be had I not listened to Ryan Holiday's wise words. It would be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to eradicate my ego, but thanks to this book, I can now identify where and how my ego hinders my life and thus gain control over it. I plan to listen to this book a couple more times and will probably continue to do so throughout my life. Thank you Mr. Holiday.

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  • Robert
  • 08-09-2016

Disappointing. Thin, weak reading.

I bought this book a rather strong recommendation by Tim Ferris. Tim went down in my estimation with this glorified essay. The content is thin, the point is obvious.

There seems to be a trend at the moment in taking classic knowledge (Ancient Roman / Greek) and rehashing if for anxious West Coast / Bay Area types. This book makes you feel a little bit embarrassed for the author.

Ego is the Enemy...could have been a one pager on a blog.

This is a case of networked buddies ( Tim F etc) all doing each other a favor ...

Ryan certainly has an audience. The sheer number of positive reviews on here swayed me.

I'll be more careful in future.

Word of warning on narration.

Ryan did a selfie on narration.

It's terribly self conscious and adds to the hollowness of the content.

His pronouncing of the word 'naivety' made me wince...

Hope you enjoy. I had to stop half way through...

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  • Jefferson Lam
  • 28-07-2016

Good content, tedious performance

What did you love best about Ego Is the Enemy?

The book has a great message that everyone ought to hear, especially since we live in a world with social media and the power to craft your self-image and story. It's helped me out a lot in the way I view myself, and I've already noticed things about my behavior I could change to keep my ego under control.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from Ego Is the Enemy?

Unfortunately the performance is incredibly dull and unprofessional. He mumbles, he speaks too quickly, he's monotone, and overall he sounds like a robot reciting words on a page rather than trying to tell a story. This is a prime example of how to not narrate an audiobook. Halfway through I was dying to just get to the end because I didn't want to listen to his boring voice anymore. The sad thing is that in the closing interview portion with Tim Ferris, you can hear Ryan Holiday speak with a natural conversational tone and a sense of fervor that isn't present in his audiobook performance. Ryan Holiday, if you're reading this, the next time you narrate an audiobook, try reading it as though you're speaking to a friend.

Any additional comments?

I think I'll pick up a copy of the book because I did enjoy the content, and it's enough to save this audiobook.

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  • Enyo89
  • 05-12-2016

Worth reading

I honestly feel sad for anybody who passed up on this audio book, based on the previous negative review. This guy accomplished more in his life than most people ever will. He's qualified to talk about ego. This recording changed my life. Read.

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  • Mr. Grant
  • 28-06-2016

Just awful

Completely fooled by the reviews. This was a waste of my audible credit. Poorly narrated. Monotone voice makes you want to doze off. Listening to this guy ramble on about how successful he was almost made me immediately put this down. After listening for two hours and realizing I was getting life advice from a late 20's know nothing, I put this book away and went and found something else. Just a really useless book from an author with nothing meaningful to say.

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  • Kyle
  • 17-06-2016

Woven well

I love the way this book was broken down. Great quotes and examples by a thoughtful, articulate author who staves off hubris. Essentially it's nice to get helpful examples on life improvement from someone who gets it, but still stumbles. Great stuff. Audio extra w Tim Ferris was a great addition. Well worth the credit.

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  • Zach
  • 07-11-2016

Only made it 2 hours

I only made it two hours into this book before I had to turn it off. I did not like it. It seems to bounce from quote to quote with filler in between like a college freshman trying to hit a minimum page requirement. It would have been better off as an essay or blog post.

I bought this book base on the positive reviews, and clearly there is an audience out there for it, but it's not for me.

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  • Tim
  • 20-06-2016

belief in the indestructible self is destructive

this book provides an amazing array of anecdotes and advice for pushing ego aside in favor of a dispassionate view of reality. our society parts us on the back so much that we all believe we are the best, and we kill ourselves getting to prove it. instead, take a step back and realize how much you still need to grow, and take the time to do the growing.

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  • Staceghost
  • 20-06-2016

Full of historical anecdotes

This book is not my usual fare, but when I heard about it on The Joe Rogan Experience, I decided to give it a shot. 6 hours of listening for $10, what was there to lose? It was absolutely worth it. I think most of us know several people in our lives who would benifit from reading Ego is the Enemy, but the person who needs it most may just be you!

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  • David B
  • 29-06-2016

2 words... A Mazing

I've already listened to it twice, I have the hardcover and I'm going to listen it again and again over the years. The lessons in this book are in the forefront of my mind and I've already seen errors in my thinking and decisions based in satisfying ego and have made corrections

If you have an open mind, get this book!

If you have a strong ego, you need this book but it will do nothing for you. I hope you prove me wrong

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  • Rodrigo
  • 10-07-2016

great book

it took time to get used to the voice. I would have preferred another narrator.

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  • Simon
  • 27-01-2017

Gamechanger

Wasn't sure about this book,if it's what I was looking for todo with EGO but after research on amazing and Instagram decided to get it. Completed it completely over a few days as got engrossed into it. The interview at the end did a superb job and now I'm thinking of getting either the Obstacle or the Stoic book. Great listen, great guy. Highly recommended folks👌🏽

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  • Jackson Gabbard
  • 04-09-2016

For the self-critical reader, this is a gem.

Inspired some self reflection for me. This book gave me pause, reason to want to be more ego-aware, and a new vocabulary for talking about ego. Surrounded by high achievers, it's easy to get lost in the rat race and not stay grounded. This book helped me see where I had/have drifted from my principles.

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  • bgu
  • 11-03-2020

It’s not for everyone

It’s a good read for somebody who needs to humble down, the alpha type that takes things too far, or for somebody who is at the point of burning out. But if you struggle with self confidence, it will only make you question yourself even more.

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  • DeeSea
  • 23-11-2016

Falls well short....

What would have made Ego Is the Enemy better?

Ryan Holiday should not have written this book. I don't mean that harshly either. He is a very good author and narrator. I just got the feeling that he was just trying to keep momentum going and his name out there, after having published ''The Obstacle is the Way'' - which I listen to every month! There is nothing new or exciting to discover in this book.
The title is misleading to a degree - it is mostly about the author trying to destroy his ego by showing the reader that he has one - and it isn't that small either.

What will your next listen be?

Obstacle is the Way - I listen to it every month....

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None.

Any additional comments?

If you loved The Obstacle is the Way - then this book will disappoint you.

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  • James
  • 22-06-2016

Succinct and profound

Ryan has done an awesome job of curating and interpreting some of history's greatest lessons in a series of digestible anecdotes.
Highly recommended reading/listening for anybody looking for guidance in a professional or personal capacity.

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  • James
  • 10-03-2017

Wonderful life lessons

I really enjoyed this book. Always nice when narrated by the author and the stories used really brought the stoic and Buddhist philosophy lessons to life. Would also give a shout out to the brilliant bibliography and quotes that you can download from his website. Very thoughtful of the author for those listening via an audiobook.

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  • Charlie
  • 01-02-2017

Everyone should read/listen to Obstacle/Ego

If you could sum up Ego Is the Enemy in three words, what would they be?

Listen. Sweep. Repeat.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ego Is the Enemy?

The whole thing.

What does Ryan Holiday bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His emotion and emphasise on certain sentences and words.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me smile and sigh.

Any additional comments?

Get it and listen through. Also get Obstacle. Very easy and simply written. Perfect for all young people who are starting out and a good slap around the face of those who are elder and think they shouldn't bother and don't need to read these books.

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  • Marcus
  • 01-09-2016

There are 2 books I wish I had the talent to have written.

This is one of them. I learned so much from my first listen. I've just finished my 4th in 2 weeks. It's been very uncomfortable as I was able to play back my many mistakes in full, gory detail to understand why I'd created the conditions I was hoping I wouldn't. A fabulous book but not for the faint hearted.

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  • Fábio Santos
  • 08-07-2016

Ego will start being my friend

Incredible journey through my ego! He still talks sometimes but practicing what's on this book makes us more aware and eventually happier. Great listen!

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  • Alexander Orlov
  • 03-01-2017

Epic. True. Punishing.

A great rules & stories of defeat & achievment.Take a courage & discover your possibilities.

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