Ego is the enemy- Ryan Holiday

Ego is the Enemy is Ryan Holiday’s

attack on the role that ego can play in the lives of most people.

Holiday does not use the term “ego” in the traditional Freudian sense

but rather as a synonym for excessive self-regard, or egotism. Thanks to

the Internet and social media, having an inflated ego is now more

encouraged in Western society than ever before. Nevertheless, learning

how to cultivate an authentic sense of oneself and one’s abilities is

vital for living gracefully and achieving one’s goals.

Although history is populated by famous and even notorious

egomaniacs, the most influential and successful people were more often

those who focused on their life’s work with humility and dedication.

Compare, for example, the outsized ego of Napoleon, whose grandiose

imperial ambitions ended in shame and exile, with the character of

American general William Tecumseh Sherman. After retiring from the

military, he refused to run for president.