Ask Ryan Holiday discussion

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Afternoon sir,

What lead you to marketing?

I know you put together an audiobook for TOITW, but what are your thoughts on using audiobooks? Do you ever use them, even for lighter reading?

Ryan,

Favorite pen for writing in books?

Hey Ryan -

I was a fan of "Obstacle" but am wondering... why the narrow focus on Stoicism? Have you found any other philosophical schools that you're a fan of?

Three books that have deeply shaped my thinking:

* The German Genius: Europe's Third Renaissance, the Second Scientific Revolution, and the Twentieth Century

* Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)

* The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)

Best

-Max

Reabetswe wrote: "Afternoon sir,

What lead you to marketing?"

I met Tucker Max when I was in college and asked if I could intern for him. He needed a marketing assistant and it started there. I sucked up as much knowledge as I could, learning on my own as well, and then ultimately made a career of it.

Max wrote: "Hey Ryan -

I was a fan of "Obstacle" but am wondering... why the narrow focus on Stoicism? Have you found any other philosophical schools that you're a fan of?

Three books that have deeply shape..."

I'm curious why you think the focus is narrow? That book happens to be ABOUT stoicism. But I've read all sorts of philosophy--Eastern, Western--as well as psychology and history. I take what works for myself and try to apply it to my own life as best I can. In fact, I'm a huge Daniel Boorstin fan.

Nick wrote: "Ryan,

Favorite pen for writing in books?"

I do all my writing on a desktop or laptop. But when I am using notecards for research I prefer to use whatever pen I recently stole from a hotel.

Bobby wrote: "I know you put together an audiobook for TOITW, but what are your thoughts on using audiobooks? Do you ever use them, even for lighter reading?"

Personally, I don't have a lot of time that is conducive to audiobooks. I don't have a commute, I listen to music when I work out etc etc. So reading is better than listening for me. I think it's also harder to take notes on an audiobook and as a writer that is very very important for me.

Ryan wrote: "What kind of questions you think a person need to ask himself in order to understand what he has to do in his life?"

What kind of life do I want to lead? What gives me meaning? What are my limits?

Ryan wrote: "Max wrote: "Hey Ryan -

I was a fan of "Obstacle" but am wondering... why the narrow focus on Stoicism? Have you found any other philosophical schools that you're a fan of?

Three books that have ..."


@Ryan - the question I should have asked is "In your research for this book, what ideas or philosophical traditions/approaches did you actively reject?" The narrative around Stoicism/Aurelius makes lots of sense, yet is a very different perspective than that of the Epicureans (for example)

To combine the theses of your last two books, if ego is an obstacle of sorts is there any way to turn it to your advantage or is it the exception to the rule?

Hey Ryan ... Are there any practical self-help books on writing and getting published that you might recommend to budding authors?

Hi Ryan,

I see you are a keen runner, I have read Murakami's book on the subject, can you recommend me some running books?

Regards,

Matthew

Ryan can you add book reviews for what you read to help us discover new books to read too?