Self-Growth · Editor Review

The Obstacle Is the Way

By Ryan Holiday Narrated by Ryan Holiday ⏱ 4 hrs 38 mins 📅 2023 ★★★★½4.7 · 1,381 ratings

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Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way is available on Audible as a 4 hrs 38 mins unabridged audiobook, narrated by Ryan Holiday.

Publisher’s Summary

#1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller

The Obstacle is the Way has become a cult classic, beloved by men and women around the world who apply its wisdom to become more successful at whatever they do.

Its many fans include a former governor and movie star (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a hip hop icon (LL Cool J), an Irish tennis pro (James McGee), an NBC sportscaster (Michele Tafoya), and the coaches and players of winning teams like the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Cubs, and University of Texas men’s basketball team.

The book draws its inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience. Stoics focus on the things they can control, let go of everything else, and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, tougher. As Marcus Aurelius put it nearly 2000 years ago: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

Ryan Holiday shows us how some of the most successful people in history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—have applied stoicism to overcome difficult or even impossible situations. Their embrace of these principles ultimately mattered more than their natural intelligence, talents, or luck.

If you’re feeling frustrated, demoralized, or stuck in a rut, this book can help you turn your problems into your biggest advantages. And along the way it will inspire you with dozens of true stories of the greats from every age and era.

Audiobook Details

  • Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
  • Length: 4 hrs 38 mins
  • Publisher: Penguin Audio
  • Release year: 2023
  • Audible category: Business & Careers / Career Success / Motivation & Self-Improvement

Listener Ratings

The Obstacle Is the Way holds an average listener rating of 4.7/5 from 1381 Audible ratings.

On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:

  • Performance (narration): 4.7/5
  • Story: 4.7/5
  • 5-star ratings: 81% of all ratings

What Audible Listeners Are Saying

4/5 stars — “Great content. Boring audio. “
This book came highly recommended. While the content is great, the narrator of this audio book is very lack luster. I lost interest in the content and found it very difficult to complete due to the very underwhelming voice over.

— WDW Tiki Room, Audible listener

5/5 stars — “Get Past the First Chapter”
After that, it’s amazing. I promise.

Really helped my outlook on life. Now I play various chapters in the car whenever I’m down and need a reminder.

— Luke Peterson, Audible listener

5/5 stars — “Simply spectacular! “
Not only is the topic of stoicism covered well, it’s narrated with perfection. Beautifully done in absolutely every way.

— Joe Kinnucan, Audible listener

For full pricing and the 30-day Audible free trial offer, see the link on this page.

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