“We’ve all done it. Said: “I am so [overwhelmed, tired, stressed, busy, blocked, outmatched].” And then what do we do about it? Go out and party. Or treat ourselves. Or sleep in. Or wait. It feels better to ignore or pretend. But you know deep down that that isn’t going to truly make it any better. You’ve got to act. And you’ve got to start now.”
― The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
― The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
“People turn shit into sugar all the time—shit that’s a lot worse than whatever we’re dealing with. I’m talking physical disabilities, racial discrimination, battles against overwhelmingly superior armies. But those people didn’t quit. They didn’t feel sorry for themselves. They didn’t delude themselves with fantasies about easy solutions. They focused on the one thing that mattered: applying themselves with gusto and creativity.”
― The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
― The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
“Failure shows us the way—by showing us what isn’t the way.”
― The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
― The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
“Stop looking for an epiphany, and start looking for weak points. Stop looking for angels, and start looking for angles.”
― The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
― The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
“For all species other than us humans, things just are what they are. Our problem is that we’re always trying to figure out what things mean—why things are the way they are. As though the why matters. Emerson put it best: “We cannot spend the day in explanation.” Don’t waste time on false constructs.”
― The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
― The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
Stephen’s 2025 Year in Books
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