PRAISEFORTHEOBSTACLEISTHEWAY

“Abookforthebedsideofeveryfuture—andcurrent—leaderintheworld.”—ROBERTGREENE,authorofThe48LawsofPowerandMastery

“Ryan brings philosophy out from the classroom and thrusts it back where itbelongs,inourdailylives,helpinganyoneapproachinganyproblemaddressitwithequanimityandpoise.Akindofuser’smanualforlife,youwillturntoittimeandtimeagainandlearntotearthroughanyobstacleandresolveanyconflict.Anabsolutemust-read.”—JIMMYSONI,managingeditorofTheHuffingtonPost,authorofRome’sLast

Citizen

“FirstcameMarcusAurelius,thenFredericktheGreat...andnowthere’syou.Thissurprisingbookshowsyouhowtocrafta lifeofwonderbyembracingobstaclesandchallenge.”

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“Inthistight,engagingbook,RyanHolidayshinesabright,powerfullightonthepathtolivingandleadingwell.Byshowingushowtoturnfailure,obstacles,and plain old everyday frustration to our advantage, he offers up a host ofeasy-to-usetacticsthateachofuscanputtoworktofollowourdreams.Readit,learnfromit,andgetcracking!”—NANCYF.KOEHN,historianandleadershipexpert,HarvardBusinessSchool

“Mylifehasbeenbesetwithobstacles.Ittakespractice(andpain)tosurmountthemandachievesuccess.Ryan’sbookisahow-toguideforjustthat.”

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“If there’s sucha thingasacargo-pockethandbook for Jediknights, this is it.Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle is the Way decants in concentrated form thetimeless techniquesforself-masteryasemployedtoworld-conqueringeffectby philosophers and men of action from Alexander the Great to Marcus

AureliustoSteveJobs.Followthesepreceptsandyouwillrevolutionizeyourlife.AsMr.Holidaywrites,‘It’ssimple,it’sjustnoteasy.’Readthisbook!”

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LiveYourTruth

“Inspired by Marcus Aurelius and concepts of Stoicism, Ryan Holiday haswrittenabrilliantandengagingbook,wellbeyondhisyears,teachingushowto deal with life’s adversities and to turn negatives into positives. It isinvaluable.”

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“RyanHolidayteachesushowtosummonourbestselves.Mostofusspendourlives dodging the hard stuff. Holiday exposes the tragic fallacy of thisapproachto livingandoffersus instead thephilosophyof theStoics,whosetimelesslessonsleadusoutoffear,difficulty,andparalysistotriumph.”

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CONTENTS

PraiseforTheObstacleIstheWayTitlePageCopyrightPrefaceIntroduction

PARTI:PERCEPTION

THEDISCIPLINEOFPERCEPTIONRECOGNIZEYOURPOWERSTEADYYOURNERVESCONTROLYOUREMOTIONSPRACTICEOBJECTIVITYALTERYOURPERSPECTIVEISITUPTOYOU?LIVEINTHEPRESENTMOMENTTHINKDIFFERENTLYFINDINGTHEOPPORTUNITYPREPARETOACT

PARTII:ACTIONTHEDISCIPLINEOFACTIONGETMOVINGPRACTICEPERSISTENCEITERATEFOLLOWTHEPROCESSDOYOURJOB,DOITRIGHTWHAT’SRIGHTISWHATWORKSINPRAISEOFTHEFLANKATTACKUSEOBSTACLESAGAINSTTHEMSELVESCHANNELYOURENERGYSEIZETHEOFFENSIVEPREPAREFORNONEOFITTOWORK

PARTIII:WILL

THEDISCIPLINEOFTHEWILL

BUILDYOURINNERCITADELANTICIPATION(THINKINGNEGATIVELY)THEARTOFACQUIESCENCELOVEEVERYTHINGTHATHAPPENS:AMORFATIPERSEVERANCESOMETHINGBIGGERTHANYOURSELFMEDITATEONYOURMORTALITYPREPARETOSTARTAGAIN

FinalThoughts:TheObstacleBecomestheWayPostscript:You’reNowAPhilosopher.CongratulationsAcknowledgmentsSelectedBibliographyTheStoicReadingListReadingRecommendations

PREFACE

In theyear170,atnight inhis tenton the front linesof thewar inGermania,Marcus Aurelius, the emperor of the Roman Empire, sat down to write. OrperhapsitwasbeforedawnatthepalaceinRome.Orhestoleafewsecondstohimself during thegames, ignoring the carnageon the floorof theColosseumbelow.Theexactlocationisnotimportant.Whatmattersisthatthisman,knowntodayasthelastoftheFiveGoodEmperors,satdowntowrite.Nottoanaudienceorforpublicationbuttohimself,forhimself.Andwhathe

wrote is undoubtedly one of history’smost effective formulas for overcomingeverynegativesituationwemayencounterinlife.Aformulaforthrivingnotjustinspiteofwhateverhappensbutbecauseofit.At thatmoment, hewroteonly aparagraph.Only a little of itwasoriginal.

Almosteverythoughtcould,insomeformoranother,befoundinthewritingsofhis mentors and idols. But in a scant eighty-five words Marcus Aurelius soclearlydefinedandarticulatedatimelessideathatheeclipsesthegreatnamesofthosewhocamebeforehim:Chrysippus,Zeno,Cleanthes,Ariston,Apollonius,JuniusRusticus,Epictetus,Seneca,MusoniusRufus.Itismorethanenoughforus.

Our actions may be impeded . . . but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions.Becausewe can accommodate and adapt. Themind adapts and converts to its own purposes theobstacletoouracting.

Andthenheconcludedwithpowerfulwordsdestinedformaxim.

Theimpedimenttoactionadvancesaction.Whatstandsinthewaybecomestheway.

InMarcus’swords is the secret toanartknownas turningobstaclesupsidedown.To actwith “a reverse clause,” so there is always awayoutor anotherroute toget towhereyouneed togo.So thatsetbacksorproblemsarealwaysexpected and never permanent. Making certain that what impedes us canempowerus.

Comingfromthisparticularman,thesewerenotidlewords.Inhisownreignof some nineteen years, he would experience nearly constant war, a horrificplague,possible infidelity,anattemptat the thronebyoneofhisclosestallies,repeated and arduous travel across the empire—from Asia Minor to Syria,Egypt, Greece, andAustria—a rapidly depleting treasury, an incompetent andgreedystepbrotherasco-emperor,andonandonandon.Andfromwhatweknow,hetrulysaweachandeveryoneoftheseobstacles

as an opportunity to practice some virtue: patience, courage, humility,resourcefulness,reason,justice,andcreativity.Thepowerheheldneverseemedtogotohishead—neitherdid thestressorburden.Herarelyrose toexcessoranger, and never to hatred or bitterness. As Matthew Arnold, the essayist,remarked in 1863, inMarcus we find a man who held the highest and mostpowerful station in theworld—and the universal verdict of the people aroundhimwasthatheprovedhimselfworthyofit.ItturnsoutthatthewisdomofthatshortpassagefromMarcusAureliuscanbe

foundinothersaswell,menandwomenwhofolloweditlikehedid.Infact,itisaremarkableconstantdownthroughtheages.OnecantracethethreadfromthosedaysinthedeclineandfalloftheRoman

EmpiretothecreativeoutpouringoftheRenaissancetothebreakthroughsoftheEnlightenment.It’sseenstarklyin thepioneerspiritof theAmericanWest, theperseveranceof theUnioncauseduring theCivilWar,and in thebustleof theIndustrialRevolution.Itappearedagaininthebraveryoftheleadersofthecivilrightsmovement and stood tall in the prison camps ofVietnam.And today itsurgesintheDNAoftheentrepreneursofSiliconValley.This philosophic approach is the driving force of self-made men and the

succor to those in positions with great responsibility or great trouble. On thebattlefieldorintheboardroom,acrossoceansandmanycenturies,membersofeverygroup, gender, class, cause, andbusinesshavehad to confront obstaclesandstruggletoovercomethem—learningtoturnthoseobstaclesupsidedown.Thatstruggleistheoneconstantinalloftheirlives.Knowinglyornot,each

individual was a part of an ancient tradition, employing it to navigate thetimelessterrainofopportunitiesanddifficulties,trialandtriumph.Wearetherightfulheirstothistradition.It’sourbirthright.Whateverweface,

wehaveachoice:Willwebeblockedbyobstacles,orwillweadvancethroughandoverthem?Wemightnotbeemperors,buttheworldisstillconstantlytestingus.Itasks:

Areyouworthy?Canyougetpast the things that inevitably fall inyourway?

Willyoustandupandshowuswhatyou’remadeof?Plentyofpeoplehaveanswered thisquestion in theaffirmative.Anda rarer

breedstillhasshownthat theynotonlyhavewhat it takes,but theythriveandrally at every such challenge. That the challenge makes them better than ifthey’dneverfacedtheadversityatall.Nowit’syourturntoseeifyou’reoneofthem,ifyou’lljointheircompany.Thisbookwillshowyoutheway.

INTRODUCTION

This thing in front of you. This issue. This obstacle—this frustrating,unfortunate,problematic,unexpectedproblempreventingyoufromdoingwhatyouwanttodo.Thatthingyoudreadorsecretlyhopewillneverhappen.Whatifitwasn’tsobad?What if embedded inside it or inherent in itwere certain benefits—benefits

onlyforyou?Whatwouldyoudo?Whatdoyouthinkmostpeoplewoulddo?Probably what they’ve always done, and what you are doing right now:

nothing.Let’s be honest: Most of us are paralyzed. Whatever our individual goals,

mostofussitfrozenbeforethemanyobstaclesthatlieaheadofus.Wewishitweren’ttrue,butitis.Whatblocksusisclear.Systemic:decayinginstitutions,risingunemployment,

skyrocketing costs of education, and technological disruption. Individual: tooshort, too old, too scared, too poor, too stressed, no access, no backers, noconfidence.Howskilledweareatcatalogingwhatholdsusback!Everyobstacle isunique to eachofus.But the responses theyelicit are the

same:Fear.Frustration.Confusion.Helplessness.Depression.Anger.Youknowwhatyouwanttodobutitfeelslikesomeinvisibleenemyhasyou

boxed in, holding you down with pillows. You try to get somewhere, butsomething invariablyblocks thepath, following and thwarting eachmoveyoumake.Youhavejustenoughfreedomtofeellikeyoucanmove;justenoughtofeel like it’s your fault when you can’t seem to follow through or buildmomentum.We’re dissatisfied with our jobs, our relationships, our place in the world.

We’retryingtogetsomewhere,butsomethingstandsintheway.Sowedonothing.Weblameourbosses,theeconomy,ourpoliticians,otherpeople,orwewrite

ourselvesoffasfailuresorourgoalsasimpossible.Whenreallyonlyonethingisatfault:ourattitudeandapproach.Therehavebeencountless lessons (andbooks) about achieving success,but

no one ever taught us how to overcome failure, how to think about obstacles,

how to treat and triumph over them, and sowe are stuck. Beset on all sides,manyofusaredisoriented,reactive,andtorn.Wehavenoideawhattodo.Ontheotherhand,noteveryoneisparalyzed.Wewatchinaweassomeseem

to turn those very obstacles, which stymie us, into launching pads forthemselves.Howdotheydothat?What’sthesecret?Evenmoreperplexing, earlier generations facedworseproblemswith fewer

safetynetsand fewer tools.Theydealtwith thesameobstacleswehave todayplus the ones they worked so hard to try to eliminate for their children andothers.Andyet...we’restillstuck.Whatdothesefigureshavethatwelack?Whatarewemissing?It’ssimple:a

method and a framework for understanding, appreciating, and acting upon theobstacleslifethrowsatus.John D. Rockefeller had it—for him it was cool headedness and self-

discipline. Demosthenes, the great Athenian orator, had it—for him it was arelentless drive to improve himself through action and practice. AbrahamLincolnhadit—forhimitwashumility,endurance,andcompassionatewill.There are other names you’ll see again and again in this book: Ulysses S.

Grant.ThomasEdison.MargaretThatcher. SamuelZemurray.AmeliaEarhart.Erwin Rommel. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Richard Wright. Jack Johnson.TheodoreRoosevelt.SteveJobs.JamesStockdale.LauraIngallsWilder.BarackObama.Some of these men and women faced unimaginable horrors, from

imprisonmenttodebilitatingillnesses,inadditiontoday-to-dayfrustrationsthatwere no different from ours. They dealt with the same rivalries, politicalheadwinds, drama, resistance, conservatism, breakups, stresses, and economiccalamities.Orworse.Subjected to thosepressures, these individualswere transformed.Theywere

transformed along the lines that Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel, outlinedwhen he described what happens to businesses in tumultuous times: “Badcompanies are destroyed by crisis. Good companies survive them. Greatcompaniesareimprovedbythem.”Greatindividuals,likegreatcompanies,findawaytotransformweaknessinto

strength. It’s a rather amazing and even touching feat.They tookwhat shouldhave held themback—what in factmight be holding you back right this verysecond—andusedittomoveforward.Asitturnsout,thisisonethingallgreatmenandwomenofhistoryhavein

common. Like oxygen to a fire, obstacles became fuel for the blaze that was

their ambition. Nothing could stop them, they were (and continue to be)impossibletodiscourageorcontain.Everyimpedimentonlyservedtomaketheinfernowithinthemburnwithgreaterferocity.Thesewere peoplewho flipped their obstacles upside down.Who lived the

wordsofMarcusAurelius and followed a groupwhichCicero called theonly“realphilosophers”—theancientStoics—evenifthey’dneverreadthem.*Theyhadtheabilitytoseeobstaclesforwhattheywere,theingenuitytotacklethem,andthewilltoendureaworldmostlybeyondtheircomprehensionandcontrol.Let’sbehonest.Mostofthetimewedon’tfindourselvesinhorriblesituations

wemustsimplyendure.Rather,wefacesomeminordisadvantageorgetstuckwithsomeless-than-favorableconditions.Orwe’retryingtodosomethingreallyhard and find ourselves outmatched, overstretched, or out of ideas.Well, thesamelogicapplies.Turnitaround.Findsomebenefit.Useitasfuel.It’ssimple.Simplebut,ofcourse,noteasy.Thisisnotabookofgushing,hazyoptimism.Thisisnotabookthattellsyou

to deny when stuff sucks or to turn the other cheek when you’ve beencompletely screwed over. There will be no folksy sayings or cute but utterlyineffectualproverbs.This is also not an academic study or history of Stoicism. There is plenty

writtenaboutStoicismoutthere,muchofitbysomeofthewisestandgreatestthinkerswhoeverlived.Thereisnoneedtorewritewhattheyhavewritten—goreadtheoriginals.Nophilosophicwritingismoreaccessible.Itfeelslikeitwaswrittenlastyear,notlastmillennium.ButIhavedonemybesttocollect,understand,andnowpublishtheirlessons

andtricks.Ancientphilosophynevercaredmuchforauthorshipororiginality—allwritersdid theirbest to translateandexplain thewisdomof thegreatsas ithasbeenpasseddowninbooks,diaries,songs,poems,andstories.Allofthese,refinedinthecrucibleofhumanexperienceoverthousandsofyears.This bookwill sharewith you their collectivewisdom in order to help you

accomplish the very specific and increasingly urgent goal we all share:overcoming obstacles. Mental obstacles. Physical obstacles. Emotionalobstacles.Perceivedobstacles.Wefacethemeverydayandoursocietyiscollectivelyparalyzedbythis.Ifall

this book does is make facing and dismantling such stumbling blocks a littleeasier, itwillbeenough.Butmyaimishigher.Iwanttoshowyouthewaytoturneveryobstacleintoanadvantage.So thiswill be a book of ruthless pragmatism and stories from history that

illustratetheartsofrelentlesspersistenceandindefatigableingenuity.Itteachesyou how to get unstuck, unfucked, and unleashed. How to turn the manynegative situationsweencounter inour lives intopositiveones—or at least tosnatch whatever benefit we can from them. To steal good fortune frommisfortune.It’snotjust:HowcanIthinkthisisnotsobad?No,itishowtowillyourself

to see that this must be good—an opportunity to gain a new foothold, moveforward,orgoinabetterdirection.Not“bepositive”butlearntobeceaselesslycreativeandopportunistic.Not:Thisisnotsobad.But:Icanmakethisgood.Becauseitcanbedone.Infact,ithasandisbeingdone.Everyday.That’sthe

powerwewillunlockinthisbook.

TheObstaclesThatLieBeforeUs

ThereisanoldZenstoryaboutakingwhosepeoplehadgrownsoftandentitled.Dissatisfiedwiththisstateofaffairs,hehopedtoteachthemalesson.Hisplanwas simple: He would place a large boulder in the middle of the main road,completelyblockingentryintothecity.Hewouldthenhidenearbyandobservetheirreactions.Howwouldtheyrespond?Wouldtheybandtogethertoremoveit?Orwould

theygetdiscouraged,quit,andreturnhome?Withgrowingdisappointment,thekingwatchedassubjectaftersubjectcame

tothisimpedimentandturnedaway.Or,atbest,triedhalfheartedlybeforegivingup. Many openly complained or cursed the king or fortune or bemoaned theinconvenience,butnonemanagedtodoanythingaboutit.Afterseveraldays,a lonepeasantcamealongonhisway into town.Hedid

notturnaway.Insteadhestrainedandstrained,tryingtopushitoutoftheway.Then an idea came to him: He scrambled into the nearby woods to findsomethinghecoulduseforleverage.Finally,hereturnedwithalargebranchhehadcrafted intoa leveranddeployed it todislodge themassive rock from theroad.Beneaththerockwereapurseofgoldcoinsandanotefromtheking,which

said:

“Theobstacleinthepathbecomesthepath.Neverforget,withineveryobstacleisanopportunityto

improveourcondition.”

Whatholdsyouback?ThePhysical?Size.Race.Distance.Disability.Money.TheMental?Fear.Uncertainty.Inexperience.Prejudice.Perhapspeopledon’ttakeyouseriously.Oryouthinkyou’retooold.Oryou

lack support or enough resources. Maybe laws or regulations restrict youroptions.Oryourobligationsdo.Orfalsegoalsandself-doubt.Whateveritis,hereyouare.Hereweallare.And...Theseareobstacles.Igetit.Nooneisdenyingthat.Butrundownthelistofthosewhocamebeforeyou.Athleteswhoweretoo

small.Pilotswhoseeyesightwasn’tgoodenough.Dreamersaheadoftheirtime.Members of this race or that. Dropouts and dyslexics. Bastards, immigrants,nouveaux riches, sticklers, believers, and dreamers. Or those who came fromnothing orworse, fromplaceswhere their very existencewas threatened on adailybasis.Whathappenedtothem?Well,fartoomanygaveup.Butafewdidn’t.Theytook“twiceasgood”asa

challenge. They practiced harder. Looked for shortcuts and weak spots.Discernedalliesamongstrangefaces.Gotkickedaroundabit.Everythingwasanobstacletheyhadtoflip.Andso?Withinthoseobstacleswasanopportunity.Theyseizedit.Theydidsomething

specialbecauseofit.Wecanlearnfromthem.Whetherwe’re having trouble getting a job, fighting against discrimination,

running low on funds, stuck in a bad relationship, locking horns with someaggressiveopponent,haveanemployeeorstudentwejustcan’tseemtoreach,or are in themiddleof a creativeblock,weneed toknow that there is away.When we meet with adversity, we can turn it to advantage, based on theirexample.All great victories, be they in politics, business, art, or seduction, involved

resolvingvexingproblemswithapotentcocktailofcreativity,focus,anddaring.Whenyouhaveagoal,obstaclesareactuallyteachingyouhowtogetwhereyouwant togo—carvingyouapath. “TheThingswhichhurt,”BenjaminFranklinwrote,“instruct.”Today,mostofourobstaclesareinternal,notexternal.SinceWorldWarIIwe

have lived in some of the most prosperous times in history. There are fewer

armiestoface,fewerfataldiseasesandfarmoresafetynets.Buttheworldstillrarelydoesexactlywhatwewant.Insteadofopposingenemies,wehaveinternaltension.Wehaveprofessional

frustration.Wehaveunmetexpectations.Wehavelearnedhelplessness.Andwestillhavethesameoverwhelmingemotionshumanshavealwayshad:grief,pain,loss.Many of our problems come from having too much: rapid technological

disruption, junkfood, traditionsthat tellusthewaywe’resupposedtoliveourlives.We’resoft,entitled,andscaredofconflict.Greattimesaregreatsofteners.Abundancecanbeitsownobstacle,asmanypeoplecanattest.Ourgenerationneedsanapproachforovercomingobstaclesandthrivingamid

chaosmorethanever.Onethatwillhelpturnourproblemsontheirheads,usingthemascanvasesonwhichtopaintmasterworks.Thisflexibleapproachisfitfor an entrepreneur or an artist, a conqueror or a coach, whether you’re astrugglingwriterorasageorahardworkingsoccermom.

TheWayThroughThem

Objectivejudgment,nowatthisverymoment.Unselfishaction,nowatthisverymoment.Willingacceptance—nowatthisverymoment—ofallexternalevents.That’sallyouneed.

—MARCUSAURELIUS

Overcomingobstaclesisadisciplineofthreecriticalsteps.Itbeginswithhowwelookatourspecificproblems,ourattitudeorapproach;

thentheenergyandcreativitywithwhichweactivelybreakthemdownandturnthemintoopportunities;finally,thecultivationandmaintenanceofaninnerwillthatallowsustohandledefeatanddifficulty.It’s three interdependent, interconnected, and fluidly contingent disciplines:

Perception,Action,andtheWill.It’sasimpleprocess(butagain,nevereasy).Wewill trace the use of this process by its practitioners throughout history,

business,andliterature.Aswelookatspecificexamplesofeachstepfromeveryangle, we’ll learn to inculcate this attitude and capture its ingenuity—and bydoingsodiscoverhowtocreatenewopeningswhereveradoorisshut.From the stories of the practitioners we’ll learn how to handle common

obstacles—whetherwe’re lockedout or hemmed in, thekindof obstacles that

haveimpededpeopleforall time—andhowtoapply theirgeneralapproach toourlives.Becauseobstaclesarenotonlytobeexpectedbutembraced.Embraced?Yes,becausetheseobstaclesareactuallyopportunitiestotestourselves,totry

newthings,and,ultimately,totriumph.TheObstacleIstheWay.

PARTI

Perception

WHATISPERCEPTION?It’showweseeandunderstandwhatoccursaroundus—andwhatwedecidethoseeventswillmean.Ourperceptionscanbeasourceof strength or of great weakness. If we are emotional, subjective andshortsighted,weonlyaddtoourtroubles.Topreventbecomingoverwhelmedbytheworldaroundus,wemust,astheancientspracticed,learnhowtolimitourpassionsandtheircontroloverourlives.Ittakesskillanddisciplinetobatawaythepestsofbadperceptions,toseparatereliablesignalsfromdeceptiveones,tofilter out prejudice, expectation, and fear. But it’s worth it, for what’s left istruth.Whileothersareexcitedorafraid,wewillremaincalmandimperturbable.Wewillseethingssimplyandstraightforwardly,astheytrulyare—neithergoodnorbad.Thiswillbeanincredibleadvantageforusinthefightagainstobstacles.

THEDISCIPLINEOFPERCEPTION

Beforehewasanoilman,JohnD.Rockefellerwasabookkeeperandaspiringinvestor—a small-time financier in Cleveland, Ohio. The son of an alcoholiccriminalwho’dabandonedhisfamily,theyoungRockefellertookhisfirstjobin1855attheageofsixteen(adayhecelebratedas“JobDay”fortherestofhislife).Allwaswellenoughatfiftycentsaday.Then the panic struck. Specifically, the Panic of 1857, a massive national

financial crisis that originated inOhio and hitCleveland particularly hard.Asbusinessesfailedandthepriceofgrainplummetedacrossthecountry,westwardexpansion quickly came to a halt. The result was a crippling depression thatlastedforseveralyears.Rockefellercouldhavegottenscared.Herewasthegreatestmarketdepression

in history and it hit him just as hewas finally getting the hang of things.Hecould have pulled out and run like his father. He could have quit financealtogether for a different career with less risk. But even as a young man,Rockefellerhadsangfroid:unflappablecoolnessunderpressure.Hecouldkeephis head while he was losing his shirt. Better yet, he kept his head whileeveryoneelselosttheirs.And so instead of bemoaning this economic upheaval, Rockefeller eagerly

observedthemomentousevents.Almostperversely,hechosetolookatitallasanopportunitytolearn,abaptisminthemarket.Hequietlysavedhismoneyandwatchedwhat others didwrong. He saw theweaknesses in the economy thatmany took for granted and how this left them all unprepared for change orshocks.He internalized an important lesson that would stay with him forever: The

market was inherently unpredictable and often vicious—only the rational anddisciplined mind could hope to profit from it. Speculation led to disaster, herealized,andheneededtoalwaysignorethe“madcrowd”anditsinclinations.Rockefellerimmediatelyputthoseinsightstouse.Attwenty-five,agroupof

investors offered to invest approximately$500,000 at his direction if he couldfind the right oil wells in which to deploy the money. Grateful for theopportunity,Rockefellersetouttotourthenearbyoilfields.Afewdayslater,he

shockedhisbackersbyreturningtoClevelandempty-handed,nothavingspentorinvestedadollarofthefunds.Theopportunitydidn’tfeelrighttohimatthetime, no matter how excited the rest of the market was—so he refunded themoneyandstayedawayfromdrilling.Itwas this intenseself-disciplineandobjectivity thatallowedRockefeller to

seizeadvantagefromobstacleafterobstacleinhislife,duringtheCivilWar,andthepanicsof1873,1907,and1929.Asheonceputit:Hewasinclinedtoseetheopportunityineverydisaster.Tothatwecouldadd:Hehadthestrengthtoresisttemptationorexcitement,nomatterhowseductive,nomatterthesituation.Within twenty years of that first crisis, Rockefeller would alone control 90

percent of the oil market. His greedy competitors had perished. His nervouscolleagueshadsoldtheirsharesandleftthebusiness.Hisweak-hearteddoubtershadmissedout.For the rest of his life, the greater the chaos, the calmerRockefellerwould

become,particularlywhenothersaroundhimwereeitherpanickedormadwithgreed.Hewouldmakemuchofhis fortuneduring thesemarket fluctuations—because he could see while others could not. This insight lives on today inWarrenBuffet’sfamousadageto“befearfulwhenothersaregreedyandgreedywhen others are fearful.” Rockefeller, like all great investors, could resistimpulseinfavorofcold,hardcommonsense.Onecritic,inaweofRockefeller’sempire,describedtheStandardOiltrustas

a“mythicalproteancreature”capableofmetamorphosingwitheveryattemptbythecompetitorsorthegovernmenttodismantleit.Theymeantitasacriticism,but itwas actually a functionofRockefeller’spersonality: resilient, adaptable,calm,brilliant.Hecouldnotberattled—notbyeconomiccrisis,notbyaglitterymirageoffalseopportunities,notbyaggressive,bullyingenemies,notevenbyfederal prosecutors (forwhomhewas a notoriously difficultwitness to cross-examine,neverrisingtotakethebaitordefendhimselforgetupset).Washeborn thisway?No.Thiswas learnedbehavior.AndRockefellergot

this lesson indiscipline somewhere. It began in that crisis of1857 inwhathecalled“theschoolofadversityandstress.”“Oh,howblessedyoungmenarewhohavetostruggleforafoundationand

beginninginlife,”heoncesaid.“Ishallneverceasetobegratefulforthethreeandhalfyearsofapprenticeshipandthedifficultiestobeovercome,allalongtheway.”Ofcourse,manypeopleexperiencedthesameperiloustimesasRockefeller—

theyallattendedthesameschoolofbadtimes.Butfewreactedashedid.Not

manyhad trained themselves to seeopportunity inside this obstacle, thatwhatbefell them was not unsalvageable misfortune but the gift of education—achancetolearnfromararemomentineconomichistory.Youwillcomeacrossobstaclesinlife—fairandunfair.Andyouwilldiscover,

timeandtimeagain,thatwhatmattersmostisnotwhattheseobstaclesarebuthowweseethem,howwereacttothem,andwhetherwekeepourcomposure.You will learn that this reaction determines how successful we will be inovercoming—orpossiblythrivingbecauseof—them.Where one person sees a crisis, another can see opportunity.Where one is

blinded by success, another sees reality with ruthless objectivity. Where onelosescontrolofemotions,anothercan remaincalm.Desperation,despair, fear,powerlessness—these reactions are functions of our perceptions. You mustrealize:Nothingmakesusfeel thisway;wechoose togivein tosuchfeelings.Or,likeRockefeller,choosenotto.Anditispreciselyatthisdivergence—betweenhowRockefellerperceivedhis

environment and how the rest of the world typically does—that his nearlyincomprehensiblesuccesswasborn.Hiscareful,cautiousself-confidencewasanincredibleformofpower.Toperceivewhatothersseeasnegative,assomethingtobeapproachedrationally,clearly,and,mostimportant,asanopportunity—notassomethingtofearorbemoan.Rockefellerismorethanjustananalogy.WeliveinourownGildedAge.Inlessthanadecade,we’veexperiencedtwo

major economic bubbles, entire industries are crumbling, lives have beendisrupted.Whatfeelslikeunfairnessabounds.Financialdownturns,civilunrest,adversity. People are afraid and discouraged, angry and upset and gathered inZuccottiParkorincommunitiesonline.Astheyshouldbe,right?Notnecessarily.Outward appearances are deceptive. What’s within them, beneath them, is

whatmatters.We can learn to perceive things differently, to cut through the illusions that

others believe or fear. We can stop seeing the “problems” in front of us asproblems.Wecanlearntofocusonwhatthingsreallyare.Toooftenwereactemotionally,getdespondent,andloseourperspective.All

that does is turn bad things into really bad things. Unhelpful perceptions caninvadeourminds—thatsacredplaceofreason,actionandwill—andthrowoffourcompass.Our brains evolved for an environment very different from the one we

currentlyinhabit.Asaresult,wecarryallkindsofbiologicalbaggage.Humansarestillprimedtodetect threatsanddangers thatno longerexist—thinkof thecoldsweatwhenyou’restressedaboutmoney,orthefight-or-flightresponsethatkicksinwhenyourbossyellsatyou.Oursafetyisnottrulyatriskhere—thereislittle danger that we will starve or that violence will break out—though itcertainlyfeelsthatwaysometimes.Wehaveachoiceabouthowwerespondtothissituation(oranysituation,for

thatmatter).Wecanbeblindlyledbytheseprimalfeelingsorwecanunderstandthemand learn to filter them.Discipline in perception lets you clearly see theadvantage and the proper course of action in every situation—without thepestilenceofpanicorfear.Rockefellerunderstoodthiswellandthrewoffthefettersofbad,destructive

perceptions.He honed the ability to control and channel and understand thesesignals.Itwaslikeasuperpower;becausemostpeoplecan’taccessthispartofthemselves,theyareslavestoimpulsesandinstinctstheyhaveneverquestioned.We can see disaster rationally. Or rather, like Rockefeller, we can see

opportunity in every disaster, and transform that negative situation into aneducation,askillset,orafortune.Seenproperly,everythingthathappens—beitaneconomiccrashorapersonaltragedy—isachancetomoveforward.Evenifitisonabearingthatwedidnotanticipate.There are a few things to keep in mind when faced with a seemingly

insurmountableobstacle.Wemusttry:

TobeobjectiveTocontrolemotionsandkeepanevenkeelTochoosetoseethegoodinasituationTosteadyournervesToignorewhatdisturbsorlimitsothersToplacethingsinperspectiveToreverttothepresentmomentTofocusonwhatcanbecontrolled

Thisishowyouseetheopportunitywithintheobstacle.Itdoesnothappenonitsown.Itisaprocess—onethatresultsfromself-disciplineandlogic.Andthatlogicisavailabletoyou.Youjustneedtodeployit.

RECOGNIZEYOURPOWER

Choosenottobeharmed—andyouwon’tfeelharmed.Don’tfeelharmed—andyouhaven’tbeen.

—MARCUSAURELIUS

Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a top contender for the middleweight title, at theheightofhisboxingcareerinthemid-1960s,waswronglyaccusedofahorrificcrimehedidnotcommit:triplehomicide.Hewentontrial,andabiased,bogusverdictfollowed:threelifesentences.Itwasadizzyingfallfromtheheightsofsuccessandfame.Carterreportedto

prisoninanexpensive,tailoredsuit,wearinga$5,000diamondringandagoldwatch.Andso,waitinginlinetobeenteredintothegeneralinmatepopulation,heaskedtospeaktosomeoneincharge.Lookingthewardenintheeye,Carterproceededtoinformhimandtheguards

thathewasnotgivingupthelastthinghecontrolled:himself.Inhisremarkabledeclaration,hetoldthem,insomanywords,“Iknowyouhadnothingtodowiththe injustice thatbroughtme to this jail, so I’mwilling tostayhereuntil Igetout.ButIwillnot,underanycircumstances,betreatedlikeaprisoner—becauseIamnotandneverwillbepowerless.”Insteadofbreakingdown—asmanywouldhavedoneinsuchableaksituation

—Carterdeclinedtosurrenderthefreedomsthatwereinnatelyhis:hisattitude,his beliefs, his choices. Whether they threw him in prison or threw him insolitary confinement for weeks on end, Carter maintained that he still hadchoices, choices that could not be taken from him even though his physicalfreedomhadbeen.Was he angry about what happened? Of course. He was furious. But

understandingthatangerwasnotconstructive,herefusedtorage.Herefusedtobreakorgrovelordespair.Hewouldnotwearauniform,eatprisonfood,acceptvisitors, attend parole hearings, or work in the commissary to reduce hissentence.Andhewouldn’tbetouched.Noonecouldlayahandonhim,unlesstheywantedafight.Allofthishadapurpose:Everysecondofhisenergywastobespentonhis

legal case. Every waking minute was spent reading—law books, philosophy,history.They hadn’t ruined his life—they’d just put him somewhere he didn’tdeservetobeandhedidnotintendtostaythere.Hewouldlearnandreadandmakethemostofthetimehehadonhishands.Hewouldleaveprisonnotonlyafreeandinnocentman,butabetterandimprovedone.Ittooknineteenyearsandtwotrialstooverturnthatverdict,butwhenCarter

walked out of prison, he simply resumed his life. No civil suit to recoverdamages,Carterdidnotevenrequestanapologyfromthecourt.Becausetohim,thatwouldimplythatthey’dtakensomethingofhisthatCarterfelthewasowed.Thathadneverbeenhisview,evenin thedarkdepthsofsolitaryconfinement.He hadmade his choice: This can’t harmme—Imight not havewanted it tohappen,butIdecidehowitwillaffectme.Nooneelsehastheright.Wedecidewhatwewillmakeofeachandeverysituation.Wedecidewhether

we’llbreakorwhetherwe’llresist.Wedecidewhetherwe’llassentorreject.Noonecanforceustogiveuportobelievesomethingthatisuntrue(suchas,thatasituation isabsolutelyhopelessor impossible to improve).Ourperceptionsarethethingthatwe’reincompletecontrolof.Theycanthrowusinjail,labelus,depriveusofourpossessions,butthey’ll

nevercontrolourthoughts,ourbeliefs,ourreactions.Whichistosay,wearenevercompletelypowerless.Even in prison, deprivedof nearly everything, some freedoms remain.Your

mindremainsyourown(ifyou’relucky,youhavebooks)andyouhavetime—lotsoftime.Carterdidnothavemuchpower,butheunderstoodthatthatwasnotthesamethingasbeingpowerless.Manygreatfigures,fromNelsonMandelatoMalcolmX,havecometounderstandthisfundamentaldistinction.It’showtheyturned prison into the workshop where they transformed themselves and theschoolhousewheretheybegantotransformothers.Ifanunjustprisonsentencecanbenotonlysalvagedbuttransformativeand

beneficial, then for our purposes, nothing we’ll experience is likely withoutpotentialbenefit. In fact, ifwehaveourwits fullyaboutus,wecanstepbackand remember that situations, by themselves, cannot be good or bad. This issomething—a judgment—that we, as human beings, bring to them with ourperceptions.To one person a situationmay be negative. To another, that same situation

maybepositive.“Nothingeithergoodorbad,butthinkingmakesitso,”asShakespeareputit.LauraIngallsWilder,authoroftheclassicseriesLittleHouse,livedthatidea,

facingsomeofthetoughestandunwelcomingelementsontheplanet:harshandunyielding soil, Indian territory,Kansas prairies, and the humid backwoods ofFlorida. Not afraid, not jaded—because she saw it all as an adventure.Everywherewasachancetodosomethingnew,toperseverewithcheerypioneerspiritwhateverfatebefellherandherhusband.That isn’t to say she saw theworld throughdelusional rose-coloredglasses.

Instead, she simply chose to see each situation for what it could be—accompaniedbyhardworkanda littleupbeatspirit.Othersmake theoppositechoice.Asforus,wefacethingsthatarenotnearlyasintimidating,andthenwepromptlydecidewe’rescrewed.Thisishowobstaclesbecomeobstacles.In other words, through our perception of events, we are complicit in the

creation—aswellasthedestruction—ofeveryoneofourobstacles.There is no good or bad without us, there is only perception. There is the

eventitselfandthestorywetellourselvesaboutwhatitmeans.That’sathoughtthatchangeseverything,doesn’tit?An employee in your company makes a careless mistake that costs you

business.Thiscanbeexactlywhatyouspendsomuchtimeandefforttryingtoavoid.Or,withashiftinperception,itcanbeexactlywhatyouwerelookingfor—thechancetopiercethroughdefensesandteacha lessonthatcanbelearnedonlybyexperience.Amistakebecomestraining.Again,theeventisthesame:Someonemessedup.Buttheevaluationandthe

outcome are different.With one approach you took advantage;with the otheryousuccumbedtoangerorfear.Justbecauseyourmindtellsyouthatsomethingisawfulorevilorunplanned

orotherwisenegativedoesn’tmeanyouhavetoagree.Justbecauseotherpeoplesay that something ishopelessorcrazyorbroken topiecesdoesn’tmean it is.Wedecidewhatstorytotellourselves.Orwhetherwewilltelloneatall.Welcometothepowerofperception.Applicableineachandeverysituation,

impossibletoobstruct.Itcanonlyberelinquished.Andthatisyourdecision.

STEADYYOURNERVES

Whatsuchamanneedsisnotcouragebutnervecontrol,coolheadedness.Thishecangetonlybypractice.

—THEODOREROOSEVELT

Ulysses S. Grant once sat for a photo shoot with the famous Civil Warphotographer, Mathew Brady. The studio was too dark, so Brady sent anassistantuptotherooftouncoveraskylight.Theassistantslippedandshatteredthewindow.Withhorror, the spectatorswatchedas shardsofglass two incheslongfellfromtheceilinglikedaggers,crashingaroundGrant—eachoneofthemplentylethal.Asthelastpieceshittheground,BradylookedoverandsawthatGranthadn’t

moved.Hewasunhurt.Grantglancedupattheholeintheceiling,thenbackatthecameraasthoughnothinghadhappenedatall.DuringtheOverlandCampaign,Grantwassurveyingthescenethroughfield

glasses when an enemy shell exploded, killing the horse immediately next tohim.Grant’s eyes stayed fixedon the front, never leaving theglasses.There’sanother story about Grant at City Point, Union headquarters, near Richmond.Troopswereunloadingasteamboatanditsuddenlyexploded.EveryonehitthedirtexceptGrant,whowas seen running toward the scene of the explosion asdebrisandshellsandevenbodiesraineddown.That’samanwhohassteadiedhimselfproperly.That’samanwhohasajob

todoandwouldbearanythingtogetitdone.That’snerve.Butbackinourlives...Weareapileofrawnerves.Competitorssurroundourbusiness.Unexpectedproblemssuddenlyreartheir

heads.Our bestworker suddenly quits.The computer system can’t handle theloadwe’reputtingonit.We’reoutofourcomfortzone.Thebossismakingusdo all the work. Everything is falling and crashing down around us, exactlywhenwefeellikewecan’thandleanymore.Do we stare it down? Ignore it? Blink once or twice and redouble our

concentration? Or do we get shaken up? Do we try to medicate these “bad”feelingsaway?And that’s just the stuff thathappensunintentionally.Don’t forget, thereare

alwayspeopleouttherelookingtogetyou.Theywanttointimidateyou.Rattleyou.Pressureyouintomakingadecisionbeforeyou’vegottenallthefacts.Theywantyouthinkingandactingontheirterms,notyours.Sothequestionis,areyougoingtoletthem?Whenwe aim high, pressure and stress obligingly come along for the ride.

Stuff is going to happen that catches us off guard, threatens or scares us.Surprises (unpleasant ones, mostly) are almost guaranteed. The risk of beingoverwhelmedisalwaysthere.Inthesesituations,talentisnotthemostsought-aftercharacteristic.Graceand

poise are, because these two attributes precede the opportunity to deploy anyotherskill.Wemustpossess,asVoltaireonceexplainedabout thesecret to thegreatmilitarysuccessofthefirstDukeofMarlborough,that“tranquilcourageinthemidstoftumultandserenityofsoulindanger,whichtheEnglishcallacoolhead.”Regardlessofhowmuchactualdangerwe’rein,stressputsusatthepotential

whimofourbaser—fearful—instinctualreactions.Don’t think for a second that grace and poise and serenity are the soft

attributes of some aristocrat. Ultimately, nerve is a matter of defiance andcontrol.Like:Irefusetoacknowledgethat.Idon’tagreetobeintimidated.Iresistthe

temptationtodeclarethisafailure.Butnerveisalsoamatterofacceptance:Well,Iguessit’sonmethen.Idon’t

have the luxury of being shaken up about this or replaying close calls in myhead.I’mtoobusyandtoomanypeoplearecountingonme.Defianceandacceptancecometogetherwellinthefollowingprinciple:There

is always a countermove, always an escape or a way through, so there is noreasontogetworkedup.Noonesaiditwouldbeeasyand,ofcourse,thestakesarehigh,butthepathisthereforthosereadytotakeit.Thisiswhatwe’vegottodo.Andweknowthatit’sgoingtobetough,maybe

evenscary.Butwe’re readyfor that.We’recollectedandseriousandaren’tgoing tobe

frightenedoff.Thismeanspreparingfortherealitiesofoursituation,steadyingournervesso

wecan throwourbest at it.Steelingourselves.Shakingoff thebad stuff as it

happens and soldiering on—staring straight ahead as though nothing hashappened.Because,asyounowrealize,it’strue.Ifyournerveholds,thennothingreally

did“happen”—ourperceptionmadesureitwasnothingofconsequence.

CONTROLYOUREMOTIONS

Wouldyouhaveagreatempire?Ruleoveryourself.

—PUBLIUSSYRUS

When America raced to send the first men into space, they trained theastronautsinoneskillmorethaninanyother:theartofnotpanicking.When people panic, they make mistakes. They override systems. They

disregard procedures, ignore rules. They deviate from the plan. They becomeunresponsiveandstopthinkingclearly.Theyjustreact—nottowhattheyneedtoreactto,buttothesurvivalhormonesthatarecoursingthroughtheirveins.Welcome to the source of most of our problems down here on Earth.

Everything is planned down to the letter, then something goeswrong and thefirstthingwedoistradeinourplanforagoodol’emotionalfreak-out.Someofus almost crave sounding the alarm, because it’s easier than dealing withwhateverisstaringusintheface.At 150miles above Earth in a spaceship smaller than a VW, this is death.

Panicissuicide.Sopanichastobetrainedout.Anditdoesnotgoeasily.Before the first launch, NASA re-created the fateful day for the astronauts

over and over, step by step, hundreds of times—from what they’d have forbreakfasttotheridetotheairfield.Slowly,inagradedseriesof“exposures,”theastronautswere introduced to every sight and soundof theexperienceof theirfiringintospace.Theydiditsomanytimesthatitbecameasnaturalandfamiliarasbreathing.They’dpracticeallthewaythrough,holdingnothingbackbuttheliftoffitself,makingsuretosolveforeveryvariableandremovealluncertainty.Uncertainty and fear are relieved by authority. Training is authority. It’s a

releasevalve.Withenoughexposure,youcanadaptoutthoseperfectlyordinary,even innate, fears that are bred mostly from unfamiliarity. Fortunately,unfamiliarity is simple to fix (again, not easy), which makes it possible toincreaseourtoleranceforstressanduncertainty.JohnGlenn,thefirstAmericanastronauttoorbittheearth,spentnearlyaday

inspacestillkeepinghisheart rateunderahundredbeatsperminute.That’samannotsimplysittingatthecontrolsbutincontrolofhisemotions.Amanwhohadproperlycultivated,whatTomWolfelatercalled,“theRightStuff.”Butyou...confrontaclientorastrangeronthestreetandyourheartisliable

to burst out of your chest; or you are called on to address a crowd and yourstomachcrashesthroughthefloor.It’s time to realize that this is a luxury, an indulgence of our lesser self. In

space,thedifferencebetweenlifeanddeathliesinemotionalregulation.Hittingthewrongbutton,readingtheinstrumentpanelsincorrectly,engaging

asequence tooearly—noneof thesecouldhavebeenaffordedona successfulApollomission—theconsequencesweretoogreat.Thus,thequestionforastronautswasnotHowskilledapilotareyou,butCan

youkeepanevenstrain?Canyoufighttheurgetopanicandinsteadfocusonlyonwhatyoucanchange?Onthetaskathand?Life is really no different. Obstacles make us emotional, but the only way

we’llsurviveorovercomethemisbykeeping thoseemotions incheck—ifwecankeep steadynomatterwhathappens,nomatterhowmuchexternal eventsmayfluctuate.TheGreekshadawordforthis:apatheia.It’s thekindofcalmequanimitythatcomeswiththeabsenceofirrationalor

extremeemotions.Notthelossoffeelingaltogether,justthelossoftheharmful,unhelpful kind. Don’t let the negativity in, don’t let those emotions even getstarted.Justsay:No,thankyou.Ican’taffordtopanic.This is the skill that must be cultivated—freedom from disturbance and

perturbation—so you can focus your energy exclusively on solving problems,ratherthanreactingtothem.A boss’s urgent e-mail. An asshole at a bar. A call from the bank—your

financinghasbeenpulled.Aknockatthedoor—there’sbeenanaccident.As Gavin de Becker writes in The Gift of Fear, “When you worry, ask

yourself,‘WhatamIchoosingtonotseerightnow?’Whatimportantthingsareyoumissingbecauseyouchoseworryoverintrospection,alertnessorwisdom?”Anotherwayofputtingit:Doesgettingupsetprovideyouwithmoreoptions?Sometimesitdoes.Butinthisinstance?No,Isupposenot.Well,then.Ifanemotioncan’tchangetheconditionorthesituationyou’redealingwith,

itislikelyanunhelpfulemotion.Or,quitepossibly,adestructiveone.

Butit’swhatIfeel.Right,noonesaidanythingaboutnot feeling it.Noonesaidyoucan’tever

cry.Forget“manliness.”Ifyouneedtotakeamoment,byallmeans,goahead.Realstrengthliesinthecontrolor,asNassimTalebputit,thedomesticationofone’semotions,notinpretendingtheydon’texist.Sogoahead, feel it.Justdon’t lie toyourselfbyconflatingemotingabouta

problem and dealing with it. Because they are as different as sleeping andwaking.You can always remind yourself: I am in control, not my emotions. I see

what’sreallygoingonhere.I’mnotgoingtogetexcitedorupset.Wedefeatemotionswith logic,orat least that’s the idea.Logic isquestions

andstatements.Withenoughofthem,weget torootcauses(whicharealwayseasiertodealwith).

Welostmoney.

Butaren’tlossesaprettycommonpartofbusiness?

Yes.

Aretheselossescatastrophic?

Notnecessarily.

Sothisisnottotallyunexpected,isit?Howcouldthatbesobad?Whyareyouallworkedupoversomethingthatisatleastoccasionallysupposedtohappen?

Well...uhh...I...

Andnotonlythat,butyou’vedealtwithworsesituationsthanthis.Wouldn’tyoubebetteroffapplyingsomeofthatresourcefulnessratherthananger?Try having that conversation with yourself and see how those extreme

emotionsholdup.Theywon’tlastlong,trustthat.Afterall,you’reprobablynotgoingtodiefromanyofthis.It might help to say it over and over again whenever you feel the anxiety

begintocomeon:Iamnotgoingtodiefromthis.Iamnotgoingtodiefromthis.Iamnotgoingtodiefromthis.OrtryMarcus’squestion:

Does what happened keep you from acting with justice, generosity, self-control, sanity, prudence,honesty,humility,straightforwardness?

Nope.Thengetbacktowork!Subconsciously,weshouldbeconstantlyaskingourselvesthisquestion:DoI

needtofreakoutaboutthis?Andtheanswer—likeitisforastronauts,forsoldiers,fordoctors,andforso

many other professionals—must be:No, because I practiced for this situationandIcancontrolmyself.Or,No,becauseIcaughtmyselfandI’mabletorealizethatthatdoesn’taddanythingconstructive.

PRACTICEOBJECTIVITY

Don’tlettheforceofanimpressionwhenitfirsthityouknockyouoffyourfeet;justsaytoit:Holdonamoment;letmeseewhoyouareandwhatyourepresent.Letmeputyoutothetest.

—EPICTETUS

Thephrase“Thishappenedanditisbad”isactuallytwoimpressions.Thefirst—“Thishappened”—isobjective.Thesecond—“itisbad”—issubjective.Thesixteenth-centurySamuraiswordsmanMiyamotoMusashiwoncountless

fights against feared opponents, even multiple opponents, in which he wasswordless.InTheBookofFiveRings,henotesthedifferencebetweenobservingand perceiving. The perceiving eye is weak, he wrote; the observing eye isstrong.Musashi understood that the observing eye sees simply what is there. The

perceivingeyeseesmorethanwhatisthere.The observing eye sees events, clear of distractions, exaggerations, and

misperceptions.Theperceivingeye sees “insurmountableobstacles”or “majorsetbacks”orevenjust“issues.”Itbringsitsownissuestothefight.Theformerishelpful,thelatterisnot.ToparaphraseNietzsche,sometimesbeingsuperficial—takingthingsonlyat

firstglance—isthemostprofoundapproach.Inourownlives,howmanyproblemsseemtocomefromapplyingjudgments

to thingswedon’t control, as though therewereaway theyweresupposed tobe?Howoftendoweseewhatwethinkis thereorshouldbethere, insteadofwhatactuallyisthere?Havingsteadiedourselvesandheldbackouremotions,wecanseethingsas

theyreallyare.Wecandothatusingourobservingeye.Perceptions are the problem. They give us the “information” that we don’t

need, exactly at themoment when it would be far better to focus onwhat isimmediatelyinfrontofus:thethrustofasword,acrucialbusinessnegotiation,anopportunity,aflashofinsightoranythingelse,forthatmatter.Everythingaboutouranimalisticbrains tries tocompress the spacebetween

impression and perception. Think, perceive, act—with milliseconds betweenthem.Adeer’sbraintellsittorunbecausethingsarebad.Itruns.Sometimes,right

intotraffic.Wecanquestion that impulse.Wecandisagreewith it.Wecanoverride the

switch,examinethethreatbeforeweact.Butthistakesstrength.It’samusclethatmustbedeveloped.Andmusclesare

developedbytension,byliftingandholding.This is why Musashi and most martial arts practitioners focus on mental

training as much as on physical training. Both are equally important—andrequireequallyvigorousexerciseandpractice.InthewritingsoftheStoicsweseeanexercisethatmightwellbedescribedas

ContemptuousExpressions.TheStoics use contempt as an agent to lay thingsbareand“tostripawaythelegendthatencruststhem.”Epictetus toldhisstudents,when they’dquotesomegreat thinker, topicture

themselvesobservingthepersonhavingsex.It’sfunny,youshouldtryitthenexttime someone intimidates you or makes you feel insecure. See them in yourmind,grunting,groaning,andawkwardintheirprivatelife—justliketherestofus.MarcusAureliushadaversionofthisexercisewherehe’ddescribeglamorous

or expensive thingswithout their euphemisms—roastedmeat is a dead animalandvintagewine isold, fermentedgrapes.Theaimwas to see these thingsastheyreallyare,withoutanyoftheornamentation.We can do this for anyone or to anything that stands in our way. That

promotionthatmeanssomuch,whatisitreally?Ourcriticsandnaysayerswhomakeusfeelsmall,let’sputthemintheirproperplace.It’ssomuchbettertoseethingsastheytruly,actuallyare,notaswe’vemadetheminourminds.Objectivitymeans removing“you”—thesubjectivepart—from theequation.

Justthink,whathappenswhenwegiveothersadvice?Theirproblemsarecrystalclear tous, thesolutionsobvious.Something that’spresentwhenwedealwithourownobstaclesisalwaysmissingwhenwehearotherpeople’sproblems:thebaggage.Withotherpeoplewecanbeobjective.We take the situation at face value and immediately set about helping our

friend to solve it. Selfishly—and stupidly—we save the pity and the sense ofpersecutionandthecomplaintsforourownlives.Takeyour situationandpretend it isnothappening toyou.Pretend it isnot

important,thatitdoesn’tmatter.Howmucheasierwoulditbeforyoutoknow

whattodo?Howmuchmorequicklyanddispassionatelycouldyousizeupthescenarioanditsoptions?Youcouldwriteitoff,greetitcalmly.Thinkofallthewaysthatsomeonecouldsolveaspecificproblem.No,really

think. Give yourself clarity, not sympathy—there’ll be plenty of time for thatlater. It’sanexercise,whichmeans it takesrepetition.Themoreyou try it, thebetteryougetatit.Themoreskilledyoubecomeseeingthingsforwhattheyare,themoreperceptionwillworkforyouratherthanagainstyou.

ALTERYOURPERSPECTIVE

Mandoesnotsimplyexistbutalwaysdecideswhathisexistencewillbe,whathewillbecomethenextmoment.Bythesametoken,everyhumanbeinghasthefreedomtochangeatanyinstant.

—VIKTORFRANKL

Once as the Athenian general Pericles cast off on a naval mission in thePeloponnesianWar,thesunwaseclipsedandhisfleetof150shipswascastintodarkness.Surprisedbythisunexpectedandconfusingevent,hismenwerethrownintoa

stateofpanic.Unlikethecrew,Pericleswasundaunted.Hewalkeduptoaleadsteersman,removedthecloakhewaswearing,andheldituparoundtheman’sface.Heaskedthemanifhewasscaredofwhathesaw.No,ofcoursenot.So what does it matter, Pericles replied, when the cause of the darkness

differs?TheGreekswere clever.Butbeneath thisparticularquip is the fundamental

notionthatgirdsnotjustStoicphilosophybutcognitivepsychology:Perspectiveiseverything.That is,when you can break apart something, or look at it from some new

angle,itlosesitspoweroveryou.Fearisdebilitating,distracting,tiring,andoftenirrational.Periclesunderstood

thiscompletely,andhewasabletousethepowerofperspectivetodefeatit.TheGreeksunderstoodthatweoftenchoosetheominousexplanationoverthe

simple one, to our detriment. That we are scared of obstacles because ourperspectiveiswrong—thatasimpleshiftinperspectivecanchangeourreactionentirely.Thetask,asPericlesshowed,isnottoignorefearbuttoexplainitaway.Takewhatyou’reafraidof—whenfearstrikesyou—andbreakitapart.Remember:Wechoosehowwe’lllookatthings.Weretaintheabilitytoinject

perspectiveintoasituation.Wecan’tchangetheobstaclesthemselves—thatpartof the equation is set—but the power of perspective can change how theobstacles appear. Howwe approach, view, and contextualize an obstacle, and

whatwetellourselvesitmeans,determineshowdauntingandtryingitwillbetoovercome.It’syourchoicewhetheryouwanttoputIinfrontofsomething(Ihatepublic

speaking.Iscrewedup.Iamharmedbythis).Theseaddanextraelement:youinrelationtothatobstacle,ratherthanjusttheobstacleitself.Andwiththewrongperspective, we become consumed and overwhelmed with something actuallyquitesmall.Sowhysubjectourselvestothat?Therightperspectivehasastrangewayofcuttingobstacles—andadversity—

downtosize.But for whatever reason, we tend to look at things in isolation. We kick

ourselvesforblowingadealorhavingtomissameeting.Individually,thatdoessuck—wejustmissed100percentofthatopportunity.What we’re forgetting in that instance, as billionaire serial entrepreneur

Richard Branson likes to say, is that “business opportunities are like buses;there’salwaysanothercomingaround.”Onemeetingisnothinginalifetimeofmeetings, one deal is just one deal. In fact, we may have actually dodged abullet.Thenextopportunitymightbebetter.Thewaywe lookout at theworld changeshowwe see these things. Is our

perspective truly giving us perspective or is it what’s actually causing theproblem?That’sthequestion.Whatwecandoislimitandexpandourperspectivetowhateverwillkeepus

calmestandmostreadyforthetaskathand.Thinkofitasselectiveediting—nottodeceiveothers,buttoproperlyorientourselves.Anditworks.Smalltweakscanchangewhatoncefelt likeimpossibletasks.

Suddenly,wherewe feltweak,we realizeweare strong.Withperspective,wediscoverleveragewedidn’tknowwehad.Perspectivehastwodefinitions.

1. Context: a sense of the larger picture of the world, not just what isimmediatelyinfrontofus

2. Framing: an individual’s uniqueway of looking at theworld, away thatinterpretsitsevents

Both matter, both can be effectively injected to change a situation thatpreviouslyseemedintimidatingorimpossible.George Clooney spent his first years in Hollywood getting rejected at

auditions.Hewantedtheproducersanddirectorstolikehim,buttheydidn’tand

ithurtandheblamedthesystemfornotseeinghowgoodhewas.This perspective should sound familiar. It’s the dominant viewpoint for the

rest of us on job interviews,whenwe pitch clients, or try to connectwith anattractive stranger in a coffee shop. We subconsciously submit to what SethGodin,authorandentrepreneur,referstoasthe“tyrannyofbeingpicked.”EverythingchangedforClooneywhenhetriedanewperspective.Herealized

thatcastingisanobstacleforproducers,too—theyneedtofindsomebody,andthey’reallhopingthatthenextpersontowalkintheroomistherightsomebody.Auditionswereachancetosolvetheirproblem,nothis.FromClooney’snewperspective,hewasthatsolution.Hewasn’tgoingtobe

someonegrovelingforashot.Hewassomeonewithsomethingspecialtooffer.Hewastheanswertotheirprayers,nottheotherwayaround.Thatwaswhathebeganprojecting in his auditions—not exclusively his acting skills but that hewas the man for the job. That he understood what the casting director andproducerswerelookingforinaspecificroleandthathewoulddeliveritineachandeverysituation,inpreproduction,oncamera,andduringpromotion.Thedifferencebetweentherightandthewrongperspectiveiseverything.Howweinterprettheeventsinourlives,ourperspective,istheframeworkfor

ourforthcomingresponse—whethertherewillevenbeoneorwhetherwe’lljustliethereandtakeit.Where the head goes, the body follows. Perception precedes action. Right

actionfollowstherightperspective.

ISITUPTOYOU?

In life our first job is this, to divide anddistinguish things into two categories: externals I cannotcontrol,butthechoicesImakewithregardtothemIdocontrol.WherewillIfindgoodandbad?Inme,inmychoices.

—EPICTETUS

TommyJohn,oneofbaseball’smostsavvyanddurablepitchers,playedtwenty-six seasons in the majors. Twenty-six seasons! His rookie year, Kennedy waspresident. His final year, it was George H. W. Bush. He pitched to MickeyMantleandMarkMcGwire.It’sanalmostsuperhumanaccomplishment.Buthewasabletodoitbecause

hegotreallygoodataskinghimselfandothers, invariousforms,onequestionoverandoveragain:Isthereachance?DoIhaveashot?IstheresomethingIcando?All he ever looked for was a yes, no matter how slight or tentative or

provisionalthechance.Iftherewasachance,hewasreadytotakeitandmakegooduseofit—readytogiveeveryounceofeffortandenergyhehadtomakeithappen.Ifeffortwouldaffecttheoutcome,hewoulddieonthefieldbeforeheletthatchancegotowaste.Thefirsttimecameduringthemiddleofthe1974seasonwhenTommyJohn

blew out his arm, permanently damaging the ulnar collateral ligament in hispitching elbow. Up until this point in baseball and sports medicine, when apitcherblewouthisarmthatwas it.Theycalled ita“deadarm”injury.Gameover.Johnwouldn’taccept that.Was thereanything thatcouldgivehimashot to

get back on the mound? It turns out there was. The doctors suggested anexperimental surgery in which they would try to replace the ligament in hispitchingelbowwitha tendon fromhisotherarm.Whatare thechancesofmecomingbackafterthissurgery?Oneinonehundred.Andwithoutit?Nochance,theysaid.Hecouldhaveretired.Buttherewasaoneinonehundredchance.Withrehab

and training, theopportunitywaspartially inhiscontrol.He took it.Andwon164moregamesoverthenextthirteenseasons.ThatprocedureisnowfamouslyknownasTommyJohnsurgery.Less than ten years later, John mustered the same spirit and effort he

marshaled for his elbow surgerywhen his young son fell horrifyingly from athird-storywindow,swallowedhistongue,andnearlydied.Eveninthechaosofthe emergency room, with doctors convinced that the boy probably wouldn’tsurvive,Johnremindedhisfamilythatwhetherittookoneyearortenyears,theywouldn’tgiveupuntiltherewasabsolutelynothingleftthattheycoulddo.Hissonmadeafullrecovery.ForJohn,hisbaseballcareerseemedtofinallycometoanendin1988,when,

attheageofforty-five,hewascutbytheYankeesattheendoftheseason.Still,hewouldnotaccept it.Hecalledthecoachanddemanded:Ifheshowedupatspring training as a walk-on the next spring, would he get a fair look? Theyrepliedthatheshouldn’tbeplayingbaseballathisage.Herepeatedthequestion:Bestraightwithme,ifIcomedownthere,wouldIhaveachance?Thebaseballofficialsanswered,Fine,yes,you’llgetonelook.SoTommyJohnwasthefirsttoreporttocamp.Hetrainedmanyhoursaday,

brought every lesson he’d learned playing the sport for a quarter century, andmadetheteam—astheoldestplayerinthegame.Hestartedtheseasonopener—and won, giving up a scant two runs over seven innings on the road atMinnesota.ThethingsthatTommyJohncouldchange—whenhehadachance—gotafull

100percentoftheefforthecouldmuster.Heusedtotellcoachesthathewoulddieonthefieldbeforehequit.Heunderstoodthatasaprofessionalathletehisjobwastoparsethedifferencebetweentheunlikelyandtheimpossible.Seeingthatminusculedistinctionwaswhatmadehimwhohewas.Toharnessthesamepower,recoveringaddictslearntheSerenityPrayer.

God,grantmetheserenitytoacceptthethingsIcannotchangeThecouragetochangethethingsIcan,Andthewisdomtoknowthedifference.

This ishow they focus their efforts. It’s a lot easier to fight addictionwhenyou aren’t also fighting the fact that you were born, that your parents weremonsters,orthatyoulosteverything.Thatstuffisdone.Delivered.Zeroinonehundredchancesthatyoucanchangeit.Sowhatifyoufocusedonwhatyoucanchange?That’swhereyoucanmake

adifference.Behind the Serenity Prayer is a two-thousand-year-old Stoic phrase: “ta

eph’hemin,taoukeph’hemin.”Whatisuptous,whatisnotuptous.Andwhatisuptous?

OuremotionsOurjudgmentsOurcreativityOurattitudeOurperspectiveOurdesiresOurdecisionsOurdetermination

Thisisourplayingfield,sotospeak.Everythingthereisfairgame.Whatisnotuptous?Well, you know, everything else.Theweather, the economy, circumstances,

otherpeople’semotionsorjudgments,trends,disasters,etcetera.Ifwhat’suptousistheplayingfield,thenwhatisnotuptousaretherules

andconditionsofthegame.Factorsthatwinningathletesmakethebestofanddon’tspendtimearguingagainst(becausethereisnopoint).To argue, to complain, orworse, to just giveup, these are choices.Choices

thatmoreoftenthannot,donothingtogetusacrossthefinishline.When it comes to perception, this is the crucial distinction to make: the

difference between the things that are in our power and the things that aren’t.That’sthedifferencebetweenthepeoplewhocanaccomplishgreatthings,andthe people who find it impossible to stay sober—to avoid not just drugs oralcoholbutalladdictions.In itsownway, themostharmfuldragonwechase is theone thatmakesus

thinkwe can change things that are simplynot ours to change.That someonedecidednottofundyourcompany,thisisn’tuptoyou.Butthedecisiontorefineandimproveyourpitch?Thatis.Thatsomeonestoleyourideaorgottoitfirst?No.Topivot,improveit,orfightforwhat’syours?Yes.Focusing exclusively on what is in our power magnifies and enhances our

power.Buteveryounceofenergydirectedatthingswecan’tactuallyinfluenceiswasted—self-indulgentandself-destructive.Somuchpower—ours,andotherpeople’s—isfritteredawayinthismanner.

Toseeanobstacleasachallenge,tomakethebestofitanyway,thatisalsoachoice—achoicethatisuptous.WillIhaveachance,Coach?Taeph’hemin?Isthisuptome?

LIVEINTHEPRESENTMOMENT

Thetricktoforgettingthebigpictureistolookateverythingcloseup.

—CHUCKPALAHNIUK

Do yourself a favor and run down the list of businesses started duringdepressionsoreconomiccrises.

Fortunemagazine(ninetydaysafterthemarketcrashof1929)FedEx(oilcrisisof1973)UPS(Panicof1907)Walt Disney Company (After eleven months of smooth operation, thetwelfthwasthemarketcrashof1929.)Hewlett-Packard(GreatDepression,1935)CharlesSchwab(marketcrashof1974–75)StandardOil(RockefellerboughtouthispartnersinwhatbecameStandardOilandtookoverinFebruary1865,thefinalyearoftheCivilWar.)Coors(Depressionof1873)Costco(recessioninthelate1970s)Revlon(GreatDepression,1932)GeneralMotors(Panicof1907)Proctor&Gamble(Panicof1837)UnitedAirlines(1929)Microsoft(recessionin1973–75)LinkedIn(2002,post–dot-combubble)

For themost part, these businesses had little awareness theywere in somehistorically significant depression.Why? Because the founders were too busyexistinginthepresent—actuallydealingwiththesituationathand.Theydidn’tknowwhetheritwouldgetbetterorworse,theyjustknewwhatwas.Theyhadajob theywanted todo, agreat idea theybelieved inoraproduct they thoughttheycouldsell.Theyknewtheyhadpayrolltomeet.

Yetinourownlives,wearen’tcontenttodealwiththingsastheyhappen.Wehave to dive endlessly into what everything “means,” whether something is“fair”ornot,what’s“behind”thisorthat,andwhateveryoneelseisdoing.Thenwewonderwhywedon’thavetheenergytoactuallydealwithourproblems.Orwegetourselvessoworkedupandintimidatedbecauseoftheoverthinking,thatifwe’djustgottentoworkwe’dprobablybedonealready.Ourunderstandingof theworldofbusiness isallmixedupwithstorytelling

andmythology.Whichisfunnybecausewe’remissingtherealstorybyfocusingonindividuals.Infact,halfthecompaniesintheFortune500werestartedduringabearmarketorrecession.Half.Thepointisthatmostpeoplestartfromdisadvantage(oftenwithnoideathey

aredoingso)anddojustfine.It’snotunfair,it’suniversal.Thosewhosurviveit,survivebecausetheytookthingsdaybyday—that’stherealsecret.Focusonthemoment,notthemonstersthatmayormaynotbeupahead.A business must take the operating constraints of the world around it as a

given and work for whatever gains are possible. Those people with anentrepreneurialspiritarelikeanimals,blessedtohavenotimeandnoabilitytothinkaboutthewaysthingsshouldbe,orhowthey’dpreferthemtobe.For all species other than us humans, things just are what they are. Our

problemisthatwe’realwaystryingtofigureoutwhatthingsmean—whythingsare the way they are. As though thewhy matters. Emerson put it best: “Wecannotspendthedayinexplanation.”Don’twastetimeonfalseconstructs.Itdoesn’tmatterwhetherthisistheworsttimetobealiveorthebest,whether

you’re in a good job market or a bad one, or that the obstacle you face isintimidatingorburdensome.Whatmattersisthatrightnowisrightnow.Theimplicationsofourobstaclearetheoretical—theyexistinthepastandthe

future.We live in themoment.And themorewe embrace that, the easier theobstaclewillbetofaceandmove.Youcan take the troubleyou’redealingwithanduse itasanopportunity to

focusonthepresentmoment.Toignorethetotalityofyoursituationandlearntobecontentwithwhathappens,as ithappens.Tohaveno“way” that thefutureneeds to be to confirm your predictions, because you didn’tmake any. To leteachnewmomentbearefreshwipingclearwhatcamebeforeandwhatotherswerehopingwouldcomenext.You’llfindthemethodthatworksbestforyou,buttherearemanythingsthat

canpullyouintothepresentmoment:Strenuousexercise.Unplugging.Awalkin the park. Meditation. Getting a dog—they’re a constant reminder of how

pleasantthepresentis.One thing is certain. It’s not simply amatter of saying:Oh, I’ll live in the

present.Youhavetoworkatit.Catchyourmindwhenitwanders—don’tletitget away from you. Discard distracting thoughts. Leave things well enoughalone—nomatterhowmuchyoufeellikedoingotherwise.Butit’seasierwhenthechoicetolimityourscopefeelslikeeditingratherthan

acting.Remember that thismoment isnotyour life, it’s justamoment inyourlife.Focusonwhatisinfrontofyou,rightnow.Ignorewhatit“represents”orit“means”or“whyithappenedtoyou.”Thereisplentyelsegoingonrightheretocareaboutanyofthat.

THINKDIFFERENTLY

Geniusistheabilitytoputintoeffectwhatisinyourmind.There’snootherdefinitionofit.

—F.SCOTTFITZGERALD

SteveJobswas famous forwhatobserverscalledhis“realitydistortion field.”Part motivational tactic, part sheer drive and ambition, this field made himnotoriouslydismissiveofphrasessuchas“Itcan’tbedone”or“Weneedmoretime.”Having learnedearly in life that realitywas falselyhemmed inby rulesand

compromises that people had been taught as children, Jobs had amuchmoreaggressive ideaofwhatwasorwasn’tpossible.Tohim,whenyou factored invisionandworkethic,muchoflifewasmalleable.Forinstance,inthedesignstagesforanewmouseforanearlyAppleproduct,

Jobs had high expectations.Hewanted it tomove fluidly in any direction—anewdevelopmentforanymouseat that time—buta leadengineerwas toldbyone of his designers that this would be commercially impossible. What Jobswanted wasn’t realistic and wouldn’t work. The next day, the lead engineerarrivedatworktofindthatSteveJobshadfiredtheemployeewho’dsaidthat.Whenthereplacementcamein,hisfirstwordswere:“Icanbuildthemouse.”Thiswas Jobs’sviewof realityatwork.Malleable, adamant, self-confident.

Notinthedelusionalsense,butforthepurposesofaccomplishingsomething.Heknewthattoaimlowmeanttoacceptmediocreaccomplishment.Butahighaimcould, if things went right, create something extraordinary. He was Napoleonshoutingtohissoldiers:“ThereshallbenoAlps!”Formostofus,suchconfidencedoesnotcomeeasy.It’sunderstandable.So

manypeopleinourliveshavepreachedtheneedtoberealisticorconservativeorworse—tonotrocktheboat.Thisisanenormousdisadvantagewhenitcomestotryingbigthings.Becausethoughourdoubts(andself-doubts)feelreal,theyhaveverylittlebearingonwhatisandisn’tpossible.Ourperceptionsdetermine,toanincrediblylargedegree,whatweareandare

notcapableof.Inmanyways,theydeterminerealityitself.Whenwebelievein

theobstaclemorethaninthegoal,whichwillinevitablytriumph?For instance, thinkofartists. It’s theiruniquevisionandvoice thatpush the

definitionof “art” forward.Whatwas possible for an artist beforeCaravaggioand after he stunned us with his dark masterpieces were two very differentthings.Pluginanyotherthinkerorwriterorpainterintheirowntime,andthesameapplies.This iswhywe shouldn’t listen too closely towhat other people say (or to

whatthevoiceinourheadsays,either).We’llfindourselveserringonthesideofaccomplishingnothing.Beopen.Question.Thoughofcoursewedon’tcontrolreality,ourperceptionsdoinfluenceit.One week before the first Macintosh computer was supposed to ship, the

engineers told Jobs they couldn’t make the deadline. On a hastily assembledconference call, the engineers explained that they needed just two additionalweeks’ work before it was ready. Jobs responded calmly, explaining to theengineersthatiftheycouldmakeitintwoweeks,theycouldsurelymakeitone—there was no real difference in such a short period of time. And, moreimportant,sincethey’dcomethisfaranddonesomuchgoodwork,therewasnoway theywouldnot ship on January 16, the original ship date. The engineersrallied andmade their deadline. His insistence pushed them, once again, pastwhattheyeverthoughtpossible.Now,howdoyouandIusuallydealwithanimpossibledeadlinehandeddown

fromsomeoneaboveus?Wecomplain.Wegetangry.Wequestion.Howcouldthey?What’sthepoint?WhodotheythinkIam?Welookforawayoutandfeelsorryforourselves.Of course, none of these things affect the objective reality of that deadline.

Not in theway that pushing forward can. Jobs refused to tolerate peoplewhodidn’tbelieveintheirownabilitiestosucceed.Evenifhisdemandswereunfair,uncomfortable,orambitious.Thegeniusandwonderofhisproducts—whichoftenfeltimpossiblyintuitive

and futuristic—embody that trait.He had pushed throughwhat others thoughtwerehardlimitationsand,asaresult,hecreatedsomethingtotallynew.NoonebelievedApplecouldmaketheproductsitmade.Infact,Jobswaspushedoutin1985 because the board members at that time felt that Apple’s foray intoconsumerproductswasa“lunaticplan.”Ofcourse,theywerewrong.Jobslearnedtorejectthefirstjudgmentsandtheobjectionsthatspringoutof

them because those objections are almost always rooted in fear. When he

orderedaspecialkindofglassforthefirstiPhone,themanufacturerwasaghastat the aggressive deadline. “We don’t have capacity,” they said. “Don’t beafraid,”Jobsreplied.“Youcando it.Getyourmindaroundit.Youcando it.”Nearly overnight, manufacturers transformed their facilities into glass-makingbehemoths,andwithinsixmonthsthey’dmadeenoughforthewholefirstrunofthephone.This is radically different from howwe’ve been taught to act.Be realistic,

we’retold.Listentofeedback.Playwellwithothers.Compromise.Well,whatifthe “other”party iswrong?What if conventionalwisdom is tooconservative?It’sthisall-too-commonimpulsetocomplain,defer,andthengiveupthatholdsusback.An entrepreneur is someone with faith in their ability to make something

wheretherewasnothingbefore.Tothem,theideathatnoonehaseverdonethisorthatisagoodthing.Whengivenanunfairtask,somerightlyseeitasachancetotestwhatthey’remadeof—togiveitallthey’vegot,knowingfullwellhowdifficultitwillbetowin.Theyseeitasanopportunitybecauseitisofteninthatdesperatenothing-to-losestatethatweareourmostcreative.Ourbestideascomefromthere,whereobstaclesilluminatenewoptions.

FINDINGTHEOPPORTUNITY

Agoodpersondyeseventswithhisowncolor...andturnswhateverhappenstohisownbenefit.

—SENECA

One of themost intimidating and shocking developments inmodern warfarewastheGermanBlitzkrieg(lightningwar).InWorldWarIItheGermanswantedto avoid the drawn-out trench fighting of previouswars. So they concentratedmobile divisions into rapid, narrow offensive forces that caught their enemiescompletelyunprepared.Like the tip of a spear, columns of panzer tanks rushed into Poland, the

Netherlands,Belgium,andFrancewithdevastatingresultsandlittleopposition.In most cases, the opposing commanders simply surrendered rather than facewhat felt like an invincible, indefatigablemonsterbearingdownon them.TheBlitzkrieg strategywas designed to exploit the flinch of the enemy—hemustcollapse at the sight of what appears to be overwhelming force. Its successdependscompletelyon this response.Thismilitary strategyworksbecause theset-upontroopsseetheoffensiveforceasanenormousobstaclebearingdownonthem.ThisishowtheAlliedoppositionregardedtheBlitzkriegformostofthewar.

Theycouldseeonlyitspower,andtheirownvulnerabilitytoit.IntheweeksandmonthsafterthesuccessfulinvasionofNormandybyAlliedforces,theyfaceditagain: a set of massive German counteroffensives. How could they stop it?Woulditthrowthembacktotheverybeachestheyjustpurchasedatsuchhighcost?A great leader answered that question. Striding into the conference room at

headquartersinMalta,GeneralDwightD.Eisenhowermadeanannouncement:He’dhavenomoreof thisquivering timidity fromhisdeflatedgenerals. “Thepresent situation is to be regarded as opportunity for us and not disaster,” hecommanded.“Therewillbeonlycheerfulfacesatthisconferencetable.”In the surging counteroffensive, Eisenhower was able to see the tactical

solutionthathadbeeninfrontofthemtheentiretime:theNazistrategycarried

itsowndestructionwithinitself.OnlythenweretheAlliesabletoseetheopportunityinsidetheobstaclerather

than simply the obstacle that threatened them. Properly seen, as long as theAlliescouldbendandnotbreak,thisattackwouldsendmorethanfiftythousandGermansrushingheadfirstintoanet—ora“meatgrinder,”asPattoneloquentlyputit.TheBattleoftheBulgeandbeforethattheBattleoftheFalaisePocket,both

ofwhichwerefearedtobemajorreversalsandtheendoftheAllies’momentum,infactweretheirgreatesttriumphs.ByallowingaforwardwedgeoftheGermanarmythroughandthenattackingfromthesides,theAlliesencircledtheenemycompletely from the rear. The invincible, penetrating thrust of the GermanPanzerswasn’tjustimpotentbutsuicidal—atextbookexampleofwhyyouneverleaveyourflanksexposed.Moreimportant,it’satextbookexampleoftheroleourownperceptionsplay

inthesuccessorfailuresofthosewhoopposeus.It’sonethingtonotbeoverwhelmedbyobstacles,ordiscouragedorupsetby

them.This is something that fewareable todo.Butafteryouhavecontrolledyour emotions, and you can see objectively and stand steadily, the next stepbecomespossible:amentalflip,soyou’relookingnotattheobstaclebutattheopportunitywithinit.AsLauraIngallsWilderputit:“Thereisgoodineverything,ifonlywelook

forit.”Yetwearesobadatlooking.Wecloseoureyestothegift.Imagineifyou’d

beeninEisenhower’sshoes,withanarmyracingtowardyou,andyoucouldseeonly impendingdefeat.Howmuch longerwould thewar have gone on?Howmanymoreliveslost?It’sourpreconceptionsthataretheproblem.Theytellusthatthingsshouldor

needtobeacertainway,sowhenthey’renot,wenaturallyassumethatweareatadisadvantageor thatwe’dbewastingour time topursueanalternatecourse.Whenreally,it’sallfairgame,andeverysituationisanopportunityforustoact.Let’stakeacircumstancewe’veallbeenin:havingabadboss.Allweseeis

thehell.Allweseeisthatthingbearingdownonus.Weflinch.Butwhatifyouregardeditasanopportunityinsteadofadisaster?Ifyoumeanitwhenyousayyou’reattheendofyourropeandwouldrather

quit,youactuallyhaveauniquechancetogrowandimproveyourself.Auniqueopportunitytoexperimentwithdifferentsolutions, to trydifferent tactics,or totakeonnewprojects toadd toyour skill set.Youcan study thisbadbossand

learnfromhim—whileyoufilloutyourrésuméandhitupcontactsforabetterjob elsewhere. You can prepare yourself for that job by trying new styles ofcommunication or standing up for yourself, all with a perfect safety net foryourself:quittingandgettingoutofthere.With this new attitude and fearlessness, who knows, you might be able to

extractconcessionsandfindthatyoulikethejobagain.Oneday,thebosswillmakeamistake,andthenyou’llmakeyourmoveandoutmaneuverthem.Itwillfeel so much better than the alternative—whining, bad-mouthing, duplicity,spinelessness.Or take that longtime rival at work (or that rival company), the one who

causesendlessheadaches?Notethefactthattheyalso:

keepyoualertraisethestakesmotivateyoutoprovethemwronghardenyouhelpyoutoappreciatetruefriendsprovide an instructive antilog—an example of whom you don’t want tobecome

Orthatcomputerglitchthaterasedallyourwork?Youwillnowbetwiceasgoodatitsinceyouwilldoitagain.Howabout thatbusinessdecisionthat turnedout tobeamistake?Well,you

hadahypothesisandit turnedout tobewrong.Whyshould thatupsetyou?Itwouldn’tpissoffascientist,itwouldhelphim.Maybedon’tbetsomuchonitnexttime.Andnowyou’velearnedtwothings:thatyourinstinctwaswrong,andthekindofappetiteforriskyoureallyhave.Blessingsandburdensarenotmutuallyexclusive.It’salotmorecomplicated.

Socrateshadamean,naggingwife;healwayssaidthatbeingmarriedtoherwasgoodpracticeforphilosophy.Ofcourseyou’dwanttoavoidsomethingnegativeifyoucould.Butwhatif

youwereabletoremember, inthemoment, thesecondact thatseemstocomewiththeunfortunatesituationswetrysohardtoavoid?Sports psychologists recently did a study of elite athletes who were struck

with someadversityor serious injury. Initially, each reported feeling isolation,emotionaldisruption,anddoubtsabouttheirathleticability.Yetafterward,eachreportedgainingadesiretohelpothers,additionalperspective,andrealizationof

their own strengths. In otherwords, every fear and doubt they felt during theinjuryturnedintogreaterabilitiesinthoseexactareas.It’s a beautiful idea. Psychologists call it adversarial growth and post-

traumatic growth. “That which doesn’t kill me makes me stronger” is not aclichébutfact.Thestruggleagainstanobstacleinevitablypropelsthefightertoanewlevel

of functioning.Theextentof the struggledetermines theextentof thegrowth.The obstacle is an advantage, not adversity.The enemy is anyperception thatpreventsusfromseeingthis.Ofall the strategieswe’ve talkedabout, this is theoneyoucanalwaysuse.

Everything can be flipped, seen with this kind of gaze: a piercing look thatignoresthepackageandseesonlythegift.Orwe can fight it the entireway.The result is the same.The obstacle still

exists.Onejusthurtsless.Thebenefitisstilltherebelowthesurface.Whatkindofidiotdecidesnottotakeit?Nowthethingsthatotherpeopleavoid,orflinchawayfrom,we’re thankful

for.Whenpeopleare:

—rudeordisrespectful:

Theyunderestimateus.Ahugeadvantage.

—conniving:

Wewon’thavetoapologizewhenwemakeanexampleoutofthem.

—criticalorquestionourabilities:

Lowerexpectationsareeasiertoexceed.

—lazy:

Makeswhateverweaccomplishseemallthemoreadmirable.

It’sstriking:Theseareperfectlyfinestartingpoints,better,insomecases,thanwhatever you’d have hoped for in the best scenario.What advantage do youderive from someone being polite? Or pulling their punches? Behind thebehaviors that provoke an immediate negative reaction is opportunity—some

exposedbenefitthatwecanseizementallyandthenactupon.So focus on that—on the poorly wrapped and initially repulsive present

you’ve been handed in every seemingly disadvantageous situation. Becausebeneaththepackagingiswhatweneed—oftensomethingofrealvalue.Agiftofgreatbenefit.Nooneistalkingglass-half-full-styleplatitudeshere.Thismustbeacomplete

flip.Seeing through thenegative,past itsunderside, and into its corollary: thepositive.

PREPARETOACT

Thenimitatetheactionofthetiger;stiffenthesinews,summonuptheblood.

—SHAKESPEARE

Problemsarerarelyasbadaswethink—orrather,theyarepreciselyasbadaswethink.It’sahugestepforwardtorealizethattheworstthingtohappenisneverthe

event, but the event and losing your head. Because then you’ll have twoproblems(oneofthemunnecessaryandposthoc).Thedemandonyouisthis:Onceyouseetheworldasitis,forwhatitis,you

mustact.Theproperperception—objective,rational,ambitious,clean—isolatestheobstacleandexposesitforwhatitis.Aclearerheadmakesforsteadierhands.Andthenthosehandsmustbeputtowork.Gooduse.We all have to make assumptions in life, we have to weigh the costs and

benefits.Nooneisaskingyoutolookattheworldthroughrose-coloredglasses.Nooneisaskingfornoblefailureormartyrdom.Butboldnessisactinganyway,eventhoughyouunderstandthenegativeand

the reality of your obstacle. Decide to tackle what stands in your way—notbecauseyou’reagamblerdefyingtheoddsbutbecauseyou’vecalculatedthemandboldlyembracedtherisk.Afterall,nowthatyou’vemanagedperceptionsproperly,what’snextistoact.Areyouready?

PARTII

Action

WHATISACTION?Actioniscommonplace,rightactionisnot.Asadiscipline,it’snotanykindofactionthatwilldo,butdirectedaction.Everythingmustbedoneintheserviceofthewhole.Stepbystep,actionbyaction,we’lldismantletheobstaclesinfrontofus.Withpersistenceandflexibility,we’llactinthebestinterest of our goals. Action requires courage, not brashness—creativeapplication and not brute force. Our movements and decisions define us:Wemustbe sure to actwithdeliberation,boldness, andpersistence.Thoseare theattributesofrightandeffectiveaction.Nothingelse—notthinkingorevasionoraidfromothers.Actionisthesolutionandthecuretoourpredicaments.

THEDISCIPLINEOFACTION

TherewaslittleevidencethatDemostheneswasdestinedtobecomethegreatestorator ofAthens, let alone all of history.Hewas born sickly and frailwith anearly debilitating speech impediment. At seven years old, he lost his father.Andthenthingsgotworse.The large inheritance left to him—intended to pay for tutors and the best

schools—wasstolenbytheguardiansentrustedtoprotecthim.Theyrefusedtopayhistutors,deprivinghimoftheeducationhewasentitledto.Stillweakandsick,Demostheneswas also unable to distinguish himself in the other criticalsphereofGreeklife:thefloorofthegymnasia.Herewas thisfatherless,effeminate,awkwardchildwhonooneunderstood,

whoeveryonelaughedat.Notexactlytheboyyou’dexpectwouldsoonholdthepowertomobilizeanationtowarbyhisvoicealone.Disadvantaged by nature, abandoned by the people he depended on, nearly

everywrongthatcanbeinflictedonachildbefellDemosthenes.Noneofitwasfair,noneofitwasright.Mostofus,wereweinhisposition,wouldhavegivenuprightthenandthere.ButDemosthenesdidnot.Stuck in his youngmindwas the image of a great orator, aman he’d once

witnessed speakingat thecourt atAthens.This lone individual, so skilledandpowerful,hadheldtheadmirationofthecrowd,whohungonhiseverywordforhours—subduingalloppositionwithnomorethanthesoundofhisvoiceandthestrengthofhisideas.ItinspiredandchallengedDemosthenes,weak,beatenon,powerless,andignored;forinmanyways,thisstrong,confidentspeakerwastheoppositeofhim.Sohedidsomethingaboutit.Toconquerhisspeechimpediment,hedevisedhisownstrangeexercises.He

would fill his mouth with pebbles and practice speaking. He rehearsed fullspeeches into thewind orwhile running up steep inclines.He learned to giveentire speecheswith a single breath.And soon, his quiet,weak voice eruptedwithbooming,powerfulclarity.Demostheneslockedhimselfawayunderground—literally—inadugouthe’d

hadbuiltinwhichtostudyandeducatehimself.Toensurehewouldn’tindulge

inoutsidedistractions,heshavedhalfhisheadsohe’dbetooembarrassedtogooutside.Andfromthatpoint forward,hedutifullydescendedeachday intohisstudytoworkwithhisvoice,hisfacialexpressions,andhisarguments.When he did venture out, itwas to learn evenmore. Everymoment, every

conversation,every transaction,wasanopportunityforhimto improvehisart.Allofitaimedatonegoal:tofacehisenemiesincourtandwinbackwhathadbeentakenfromhim.Whichhedid.When he came of age, he finally filed suits against the negligent guardians

whohadwrongedhim.Theyevadedhiseffortsandhiredtheirownlawyers,butherefusedtobestopped.Flexibleandcreative,hematchedthemsuitforsuitanddeliveredcountless speeches.Confident inhisnewstrengths, drivenonbyhisowntoil,theywerenomatch.Demostheneseventuallywon.Only a fraction of the original inheritance remained, but the money had

becomesecondary.Demosthenes’sreputationasanorator,abilitytocommandacrowdandhispeerlessknowledgeoftheintricaciesofthelaw,wasworthmorethanwhateverremainedofaonce-greatfortune.Everyspeechhedeliveredmadehimstronger,everydaythathestuckwithit

madehimmoredetermined.Hecouldseethroughbulliesandstaredownfear.Instruggling with his unfortunate fate, Demosthenes found his true calling: Hewould be the voice ofAthens, its great speaker and conscience.Hewould besuccessfulpreciselybecauseofwhathe’dbeenthroughandhowhe’dreactedtoit.Hehadchanneledhis rageandpain intohis training,and then later intohisspeeches,fuelingitallwithakindoffiercenessandpowerthatcouldbeneithermatchednorresisted.SomeacademiconceaskedDemostheneswhatthethreemostimportanttraits

ofspeechmakingwere.Hisreplysaysitall:“Action,Action,Action!”Sure, Demosthenes lost the inheritance he’d been born with, and that was

unfortunate.Butintheprocessofdealingwiththisreality,hecreatedafarbetterone—onethatcouldneverbetakenfromhim.Butyou,whenyou’redealtabadhand.What’syourresponse?Doyoufold?

Or do you play it for all you’ve got? There’s an explosion, metaphoric orotherwise. Are you the guy running toward it? Or running away from it? Orworse,areyouparalyzedanddonothing?Thislittletestofcharactersayseverythingaboutus.Andit’ssadthatsomanyofusfail—optingawayfromaction.Becauseaction

isnatural,innate.Youtripandfallrightnow,yourbody’sinstinctsprotectyou.You extend your hands to break your fall, so you don’t break your face. In a

viciousaccident,yougointoshockbutstillmanagetogetyourarmsuparoundyourface.That’swherethetermdefensivewoundscomesfrom.Wedon’tthink,we don’t complain, we don’t argue. We act. We have real strength—morestrengththanweknow.Butinourlives,whenourworstinstinctsareincontrol,wedally.Wedon’tact

likeDemosthenes,weact frailandarepowerless tomakeourselvesbetter.Wemay be able to articulate a problem, even potential solutions, but thenweeks,months,orsometimesyearslater,theproblemisstillthere.Orit’sgottenworse.Asthoughweexpectsomeoneelsetohandleit,as thoughwehonestlybelievethatthereisachanceofobstaclesunobstacle-ingthemselves.We’vealldoneit.Said:“Iamso[overwhelmed,tired,stressed,busy,blocked,

outmatched].”And thenwhat dowedo about it?Goout andparty.Or treat ourselves.Or

sleepin.Orwait.It feels better to ignoreor pretend.But youknowdeepdown that that isn’t

goingtotrulymakeitanybetter.You’vegottoact.Andyou’vegottostartnow.Weforget:Inlife, itdoesn’tmatterwhathappenstoyouorwhereyoucame

from. Itmatterswhatyoudowithwhathappensandwhatyou’vebeengiven.And the only way you’ll do something spectacular is by using it all to youradvantage.Peopleturnshitintosugarallthetime—shitthat’salotworsethanwhatever

we’redealingwith.I’mtalkingphysicaldisabilities,racialdiscrimination,battlesagainst overwhelmingly superior armies. But those people didn’t quit. Theydidn’t feel sorry for themselves. They didn’t delude themselveswith fantasiesabout easy solutions. They focused on the one thing that mattered: applyingthemselveswithgustoandcreativity.Bornwithnothing, intopoverty, strife,or thechaosofdecadespast, certain

types of people were freed from modern notions of fairness or good or bad.Becausenoneofitappliedtothem.Whatwasinfrontofthemwasalltheyknew—alltheyhad.Andinsteadofcomplaining,theyworkedwithit.Theymadethebestofit.Becausetheyhadto,becausetheydidn’thaveachoice.Noonewantstobebornweakortobevictimized.Noonewantstobedown

to their lastdollar.Noonewants tobestuckbehindanobstacle,blockedfromwheretheyneedtogo.Suchcircumstancesarenotimpressedbyperception,buttheyarenotindifferent—orratherimmune—fromaction.Infact,that’stheonlythingthesesituationswillrespondto.Nooneissayingyoucan’ttakeaminutetothink,Dammit,thissucks.Byall

means,vent.Exhale.Takestock.Justdon’ttaketoolong.Becauseyouhavetogetbacktowork.Becauseeachobstacleweovercomemakesusstrongerforthenextone.But...No.Noexcuses.Noexceptions.Nowayaroundit:It’sonyou.We don’t have the luxury of running away. Of hiding. Because we have

somethingveryspecificwe’retryingtodo.Wehaveanobstaclewehavetoleanintoandtransform.Nooneiscomingtosaveyou.Andifwe’dliketogowhereweclaimwewant

togo—toaccomplishwhatweclaimareourgoals—thereisonlyoneway.Andthat’stomeetourproblemswiththerightaction.Therefore,wecanalways(andonly)greetourobstacles

withenergywithpersistencewithacoherentanddeliberateprocesswithiterationandresiliencewithpragmatismwithstrategicvisionwithcraftinessandsavvyandaneyeforopportunityandpivotalmoments

Areyoureadytogettowork?

GETMOVING

Wemustalleitherwearoutorrustout,everyoneofus.Mychoiceistowearout.

—THEODOREROOSEVELT

AmeliaEarhartwantedtobeagreataviator.Butitwasthe1920s,andpeoplestillthoughtthatwomenwerefrailandweakanddidn’thavethestuff.Womansuffragewasnotevenadecadeold.Shecouldn’tmakeherlivingasapilot,soshetookajobasasocialworker.

Then one day the phone rang. The man on the line had a pretty offensiveproposition,alongthelinesof:Wehavesomeonewillingtofundthefirstfemaletransatlantic flight. Our first choice has already backed out. Youwon’t get toactuallyflytheplane,andwe’regoingtosendtwomenalongaschaperonesandguesswhat,we’llpaythemalotofmoneyandyouwon’tgetanything.Oh,andyouverywellmightdiewhiledoingit.Youknowwhatshesaidtothatoffer?Shesaidyes.Because that’s what peoplewho defy the odds do. That’s how people who

become great at things—whether it’s flying or blowing through genderstereotypes—do. They start. Anywhere. Anyhow. They don’t care if theconditionsareperfectorifthey’rebeingslighted.Becausetheyknowthatoncetheygetstarted,iftheycanjustgetsomemomentum,theycanmakeitwork.As it went for Amelia Earhart. Less than five years later she was the first

woman to fly solononstopacross theAtlantic andbecame, rightly, oneof themostfamousandrespectedpeopleintheworld.But none of that would have happened had she turned up her nose at that

offensive offer or sat around feeling sorry for herself. None of it could havehappenedifshe’dstoppedafterthatfirstaccomplishmenteither.Whatmatteredwasthatshetooktheopeningandthenpressedahead.Thatwasthereasonforhersuccess.Lifecanbefrustrating.Oftentimesweknowwhatourproblemsare.Wemay

evenknowwhat todoabout them.Butwe fear that takingaction is too risky,thatwedon’thavetheexperienceorthatit’snothowwepictureditorbecause

it’s too expensive, because it’s too soon, because we think something bettermightcomealong,becauseitmightnotwork.Andyouknowwhathappensasaresult?Nothing.Wedonothing.Tellyourself:Thetimeforthathaspassed.Thewindisrising.Thebell’sbeen

rung.Getstarted,getmoving.We often assume that the world moves at our leisure. We delay when we

shouldinitiate.Wejogwhenweshouldberunningor,betteryet,sprinting.Andthen we’re shocked—shocked!—when nothing big ever happens, whenopportunities never show up, when new obstacles begin to pile up, or theenemiesfinallygettheiracttogether.Ofcoursetheydid,wegavethemroomtobreathe.Wegavethemthechance.Sothefirststepis:Takethebatoffyourshoulderandgiveitaswing.You’ve

gottostart,togoanywhere.Now let’s say you’ve already done that. Fantastic. You’re already ahead of

mostpeople.But let’saskanhonestquestion:Couldyoubedoingmore?Youprobablycould—there’salwaysmore.Atminimum,youcouldbetryingharder.Youmighthavegottenstarted,butyourfulleffortisn’tinit—andthatshows.Isthatgoingtoaffectyourresults?Noquestion.InthefirstyearsofWorldWarII,therewasnoworseassignmentforBritish

troops than being sent to theNorthAfrican front.Methodical and orderly, theBritish hated the grueling weather and terrain that wreaked havoc on theirmachinesandtheirplans.Theyactedhowtheyfelt:slow,timid,cautious.GermanFieldMarshalGeneralErwinRommel, on the other hand, loved it.

He sawwar as a game.A dangerous, reckless, untidy, fast-paced game.And,mostimportant,hetooktothisgamewithincredibleenergyandwasperenniallypushinghistroopsforward.TheGerman troopshada sayingabouthim:WhereRommel is, there is the

front.That’sthenextstep:rammingyourfeetintothestirrupsandreallygoingfor

it.That’sdefinitelynotwhattheysayaboutmostleaderstoday.Whileoverpaid

CEOs take long vacations and hide behind e-mail autoresponders, someprogrammerisworkingeighteen-hourdayscodingthestart-upthatwilldestroythatCEO’sbusiness.Andifwewerehonest,we’reprobablyclosertotheformerthanthelatterwhenitcomestotheproblemsweface(ordon’tface).While you’re sleeping, traveling, attending meetings, or messing around

online, the same thing is happening to you. You’re going soft. You’re not

aggressiveenough.You’renotpressingahead.You’vegotamillionreasonswhyyoucan’tmoveatafasterpace.Thisallmakestheobstaclesinyourlife loomverylarge.For some reason, these days we tend to downplay the importance of

aggression,oftakingrisks,ofbarrelingforward.It’sprobablybecauseit’sbeennegativelyassociatedwithcertainnotionsofviolenceormasculinity.But of course Earhart shows that that isn’t true. In fact, on the side of her

plane shepainted thewords, “Always thinkwithyour stick forward.”That is:Youcan’teverletupyourflyingspeed—ifyoudo,youcrash.Bedeliberate,ofcourse,butyoualwaysneedtobemovingforward.Andthat’sthefinalpart:Staymoving,always.LikeEarhart,Rommelknewfromhistorythatthosewhoattackproblemsand

life with the most initiative and energy usually win. He was always pushingahead,keepingthestampedeonthemorecautiousBritishforcestodevastatingeffect.HisstringofoffensivesatCyrenaica,Tobruk,andTunisialedtosomeofthe

mostastonishingvictories in thehistoryofwarfare.Hegotstartedearly,whiletheBritishwerestilltryingtogetcomfortable,andasaresult,Rommelwasableto seize what appeared to be an unstoppable advantage in some of the mostuninhabitableterrainontheplanet.Heblewrightthroughthebleakbattlefieldsof North Africa, with its enormous distances, blinding sandstorms, scorchingheat,andlackofwater,becausehenever,everstoppedmoving.Itsurprisedevenhiscommandingofficers,whotimeandtimeagainattempted

to slow Rommel down. They preferred deliberation and discourse toadvancement. It had a devastating effect on themomentum that Rommel hadbuiltwithhistroops—justasitdoesinourownlives.Sowhen you’re frustrated in pursuit of your own goals, don’t sit there and

complainthatyoudon’thavewhatyouwantorthatthisobstaclewon’tbudge.Ifyou haven’t even tried yet, then of course youwill still be in the exact sameplace.Youhaven’tactuallypursuedanything.Wetalka lotaboutcourageasasociety,butweforget thatat itsmostbasic

level it’s really just takingaction—whether that’sapproachingsomeoneyou’reintimidatedbyordecidingtofinallycrackabookonasubjectyouneedtolearn.JustasEarhartdid,allthegreatsyouadmirestartedbysaying,Yes,let’sgo.Andtheyusuallydiditinlessdesirablecircumstancesthanwe’lleversuffer.Just because the conditions aren’t exactly to your liking, or you don’t feel

readyyet,doesn’tmeanyougetapass.Ifyouwantmomentum,you’llhaveto

createityourself,rightnow,bygettingupandgettingstarted.

PRACTICEPERSISTENCE

HesaysthebestwayoutisalwaysthroughAndIagreetothat,orinsofarAsIcanseenowayoutbutthrough.

—ROBERTFROST

For nearly a year, General Ulysses S. Grant tried to crack the defenses ofVicksburg, a city perched high on the cliffs of theMississippi, critical to theConfederacy’sstrangleholdonthemostimportantriverinthecountry.Hetriedattackinghead-on.Hetriedtogoaround.Hespentmonthsdigginganewcanalthat would change the course of the river. He blew the levees upstream andliterallytriedtofloatboatsdownintothecityoverfloodedland.Noneofitworked.Allthewhile,thenewspaperschattered.It’dbeenmonths

withoutprogress.Lincolnhad senta replacement, and themanwaswaiting inthewings.ButGrant refused to be rattled, refused to rush or cease.He knewtherewasaweakspotsomewhere.He’dfinditorhe’dmakeone.His next move ran contrary to nearly all conventional military theory. He

decidedtorunhisboatspastthegunbatteriesguardingtheriver—aconsiderablerisk, because once down, they could not come back up. Despite anunprecedentednighttimefirefight,nearlyalltheboatsmadetherununharmed.Afew days later, Grant crossed the river about thirty miles downstream at theappropriatelynamedHardTimes,Louisiana.Grant’splanwasbold:Leavingmostoftheirsuppliesbehind,histroopshad

toliveoffthelandandmaketheirwayuptheriver,takingtownaftertownalongtheway.BythetimeGrantlaidsiegetoVicksburgitself,themessagetohismenand his enemies was clear: He would never give up. The defenses wouldeventuallycrack.Grantwasunstoppable.Hisvictorywouldn’tbepretty,but itwasinexorable.If we’re to overcome our obstacles, this is the message to broadcast—

internally and externally. We will not be stopped by failure, we will not berushed or distracted by external noise. We will chisel and peg away at the

obstacleuntilitisgone.Resistanceisfutile.AtVicksburg,Grantlearnedtwothings.First,persistenceandpertinacitywere

incredibleassetsandprobablyhismainassetsasaleader.Second,asoftenistheresultfromsuchdedication,inexhaustingalltheothertraditionaloptions,he’dbeen forced to try somethingnew.That option—cutting loose fromhis supplytrains and living off the spoils of hostile territory—was a previously untestedstrategythattheNorthcouldnowusetoslowlydepletetheSouthofitsresourcesandwilltofight.Inpersistence,he’dnotonlybrokenthrough:Intryingitallthewrongways,

Grantdiscoveredatotallynewway—thewaythatwouldeventuallywinthewar.Grant’s story is not the exception to the rule. It is the rule. This is how

innovationworks.In 1878, Thomas Edison wasn’t the only person experimenting with

incandescent lights. But he was the only man willing to test six thousanddifferentfilaments—includingonemadefromthebeardhairofoneofhismen—inchingclosereachtimetotheonethatwouldfinallywork.And,ofcourse,heeventuallyfoundit—provingthatgeniusoftenreallyisjust

persistence in disguise. In applying the entirety of his physical and mentalenergy—innevergrowingwearyorgivingup—Edisonhadoutlastedimpatientcompetitors, investors, and the press to discover, in a piece of bamboo, of allthings,thepowertoilluminatetheworld.NikolaTesla,whospentafrustratedyearinEdison’slabduringtheinvention

of the lightbulb, once sneered that if Edison needed to find a needle in ahaystack,hewould“proceedatonce”tosimply“examinestrawafterstrawuntilhe found the object of his search.” Well, sometimes that’s exactly the rightmethod.As we butt up against obstacles, it is helpful to picture Grant and Edison.

Grantwithacigarclenchedinhismouth.Edisononhishandsandkneesinthelaboratoryfordaysstraight.Bothunceasing,embodyingcoolpersistenceandthespiritofthelinefromtheAlfredLordTennysonpoemaboutthatotherUlysses,“to strive, to seek, to find.” Both, refusing to give up. Turning over in theirmindsoptionafteroption,andtryingeachonewithequalenthusiasm.Knowingthateventually—inevitably—onewillwork.Welcoming theopportunity to testandtestandtest,gratefulforthepricelessknowledgethisreveals.The thing standing in your way isn’t going anywhere. You’re not going to

outthink it or outcreate it with someworld-changing epiphany. You’ve got tolookatitandthepeoplearoundyou,whohavebeguntheirinevitablechorusof

doubts and excuses, and say, asMargaretThatcher famouslydid: “You turn ifyouwantto.Thelady’snotforturning.”Toomany people think that great victories like Grant’s and Edison’s came

fromaflashofinsight.Thattheycrackedtheproblemwithpuregenius.Infact,itwastheslowpressure,repeatedfrommanydifferentangles,theeliminationofso many other more promising options, that slowly and surely churned thesolution to the top of the pile.Their geniuswas unity of purpose, deafness todoubt,andthedesiretostayatit.So what if this method isn’t as “scientific” or “proper” as others? The

importantpartisthatitworks.Workingatitworks.It’sthatsimple.(Butagain,noteasy.)Formost ofwhatwe attempt in life, chops are not the issue.We’re usually

skilledandknowledgeableandcapableenough.Butdowehavethepatiencetorefineour idea?Theenergytobeatonenoughdoorsuntilwefindinvestorsorsupporters?Thepersistence to slog through thepolitics anddramaofworkingwithagroup?Onceyoustartattackinganobstacle,quittingisnotanoption.Itcannotenter

your head. Abandoning one path for another that might be more promising?Sure,butthat’safarcryfromgivingup.Onceyoucanenvisionyourselfquittingaltogether,youmightaswellringthebell.It’sdone.Considerthismind-set.

neverinahurryneverworriedneverdesperateneverstoppingshort

RememberandremindyourselfofaphrasefavoredbyEpictetus:“persistandresist.”Persistinyourefforts.Resistgivingintodistraction,discouragement,ordisorder.There’snoneedtosweatthisorfeelrushed.Noneedtogetupsetordespair.

You’renotgoinganywhere—you’renotgoingtobecountedout.You’reinthisforthelonghaul.Becausewhenyouplayallthewaytothewhistle,there’snoreasontoworry

about the clock. You know youwon’t stop until it’s over—that every secondavailable isyours touse.So temporary setbacks aren’tdiscouraging.Theyarejustbumpsalongalongroadthatyouintendtotravelallthewaydown.

Doing new things invariablymeans obstacles.A newpath is, by definition,uncleared.Onlywithpersistenceand timecanwecutawaydebrisandremoveimpediments.Onlyinstrugglingwiththeimpedimentsthatmadeothersquitcanwe findourselvesonuntrodden territory—onlybypersisting and resisting canwelearnwhatothersweretooimpatienttobetaught.It’sokaytobediscouraged.It’snotokaytoquit.Toknowyouwanttoquitbut

to plant your feet and keep inching closer until you take the impenetrablefortressyou’vedecidedtolaysiegetoinyourownlife—that’spersistence.Edison once explained that in inventing, “the first step is an intuition—and

comeswithaburst—thendifficulties arise.”What setEdison apart fromotherinventorsistoleranceforthesedifficulties,andthesteadydedicationwithwhichheappliedhimselftowardsolvingthem.Inotherwords: It’ssupposed tobehard.Your first attemptsaren’t going to

work.It’sgoingstotakealotoutofyou—butenergyisanassetwecanalwaysfindmoreof.It’sarenewableresource.Stoplookingforanepiphany,andstartlooking forweakpoints.Stop looking for angels, and start looking for angles.There are options. Settle in for the long haul and then try each and everypossibility,andyou’llgetthere.When people ask where we are, what we’re doing, how that “situation” is

comingalong, the answer shouldbeclear:We’reworkingon it.We’regettingcloser.Whensetbackscome,werespondbyworkingtwiceashard.

ITERATE

Whatisdefeat?Nothingbuteducation;nothingbutthefirststepstosomethingbetter.

—WENDELLPHILLIPS

In Silicon Valley, start-ups don’t launch with polished, finished businesses.Instead, they release their “MinimumViableProduct” (MVP)—themost basicversionoftheircoreideawithonlyoneortwoessentialfeatures.Thepointistoimmediatelyseehowcustomersrespond.And,ifthatresponse

ispoor,tobeabletofailcheaplyandquickly.Toavoidmakingorinvestinginaproductcustomersdonotwant.Asengineersnowliketoquip:FailureisaFeature.But it’snojoke.Failurereallycanbeanasset ifwhatyou’re tryingtodois

improve, learn, or do something new. It’s the preceding feature of nearly allsuccesses.There’snothingshamefulaboutbeingwrong,aboutchangingcourse.Eachtimeithappenswehavenewoptions.Problemsbecomeopportunities.Theoldwayofbusiness—wherecompaniesguesswhatcustomerswantfrom

researchand thenproduce thoseproducts in a lab, isolatedand insulated fromfeedback—reflectsafearoffailureandisdeeplyfragile inrelationto it. If thehighly produced product flops on launch day, all that effort was wasted. If itsucceeds,noonereallyknowswhyorwhatwasresponsibleforthatsuccess.TheMVPmodel,ontheotherhand,embracesfailureandfeedback.Itgetsstrongerby failure, dropping the features that don’t work, that customers don’t findinteresting,andthenfocusingthedevelopers’limitedresourcesonimprovingthefeaturesthatdo.In a world where we increasingly work for ourselves, are responsible for

ourselves,itmakessensetoviewourselveslikeastart-up—astart-upofone.And that means changing the relationship with failure. It means iterating,

failing,andimproving.Ourcapacitytotry,try,tryisinextricablylinkedwithourabilityandtolerancetofail,fail,fail.On the path to successful action, we will fail—possibly many times. And

that’sokay.Itcanbeagoodthing,even.Actionandfailurearetwosidesofthe

same coin. One doesn’t come without the other. What breaks this criticalconnectiondowniswhenpeoplestopacting—becausethey’vetakenfailurethewrongway.Whenfailuredoescome,ask:Whatwentwronghere?Whatcanbeimproved?

WhatamImissing?Thishelpsbirthalternativewaysofdoingwhatneedstobedone,ways that are oftenmuch better thanwhatwe startedwith. Failure putsyouincornersyouhavetothinkyourwayoutof.Itisasourceofbreakthroughs.This is why stories of great success are often preceded by epic failure—

because the people in them went back to the drawing board. They weren’tashamedtofail,butspurredon,piquedbyit.Sometimesinsportsittakesacloselosstofinallyconvinceanunderdogthatthey’vegottheabilitytocompetethatcompetitor thathadintimidated(andbeat) themforsolong.Thelossmightbepainful,butasFranklinputit,itcanalsoinstruct.Withabusiness,wetakemostfailureslesspersonallyandunderstandthey’re

partoftheprocess.Ifaninvestmentoranewproductpaysoff,great.Ifitfails,we’refinebecausewe’repreparedfor it—wedidn’t investeverypennyin thatoption.Greatentrepreneursare:

neverweddedtoapositionneverafraidtolosealittleoftheirinvestmentneverbitterorembarrassedneveroutofthegameforlong

Theyslipmanytimes,buttheydon’tfall.Eventhoughweknowthattherearegreatlessonsfromfailure—lessonswe’ve

seenwithourowntwoeyes—werepeatedlyshrinkfromit.Wedoeverythingwecan to avoid it, thinking it’s embarrassing or shameful. We fail, kicking andscreaming.WellwhywouldIwanttofail?Ithurts.I would never claim it doesn’t. But can we acknowledge that anticipated,

temporaryfailurecertainlyhurtslessthancatastrophic,permanentfailure?Likeany good school, learning from failure isn’t free. The tuition is paid indiscomfortorlossandhavingtostartover.Beglad topay the cost.Therewill benobetter teacher foryour career, for

your book, for your new venture. There’s a saying about how the Irish shipcaptain located all the rocks in the harbor—using the bottom of his boat.

Whateverworks,right?Remember Erwin Rommel and the quick work hemade of the British and

AmericanforcesinNorthAfrica?There’sanotherparttothatstory.TheAlliedforces actually chose that disadvantageous battlefield on purpose. Churchillknew that they would have to take their first stand against the Germanssomewhere,buttodothatandloseinEuropewouldbedisastrousformorale.InNorthAfrica,theBritishlearnedhowtofighttheGermans—andearlyon

they learned mostly by failure. But that was acceptable, because they’danticipatedalearningcurveandplannedforit.Theywelcomeditbecausetheyknew,likeGrantandEdisondid,whatitmeant:victoryfurtherdowntheroad.Asaresult,theAlliedtroopsHitlerfacedinItalywerefarbetterthanthosehe’dfaced inAfricaand theonesheultimately faced inFranceandGermanywerebetterstill.Theonewaytoguaranteewedon’tbenefitfromfailure—toensureitisabad

thing—is tonot learnfromit.Tocontinue to try thesame thingoverandover(whichisthedefinitionofinsanityforareason).Peoplefailinsmallwaysallthetime.But theydon’t learn.Theydon’t listen.Theydon’tsee theproblemsthatfailureexposes.Itdoesn’tmakethembetter.Thickheaded and resistant to change, these are the types who are too self-

absorbed to realize that the world doesn’t have time to plead, argue, andconvincethemoftheirerrors.Softbodiedandhardheaded,theyhavetoomucharmorandegotofailwell.It’stimeyouunderstandthattheworldistellingyousomethingwitheachand

everyfailureandaction.It’sfeedback—givingyoupreciseinstructionsonhowtoimprove,it’stryingtowakeyouupfromyourcluelessness.It’stryingtoteachyousomething.Listen.Lessonscomehardonlyifyou’redeaftothem.Don’tbe.Being able to see and understand the world this way is part and parcel of

overturningobstacles.Here,anegativebecomesapositive.Weturnwhatwouldotherwise be disappointment into opportunity. Failure shows us the way—byshowinguswhatisn’ttheway.

FOLLOWTHEPROCESS

Underthecombthetangleandthestraightpatharethesame.

—HERACLITUS

CoachNickSabandoesn’tactually refer to itveryoften,buteveryoneofhisassistantsandplayerslivesbyit.Theysayitforhim,tattooingitatthefrontoftheir minds and on every action they take, because just two words areresponsiblefortheirunprecedentedsuccess:TheProcess.Saban, theheadcoachof theUniversityofAlabamafootball team—perhaps

themostdominantdynastyinthehistoryofcollegefootball—doesn’tfocusonwhateveryothercoachfocuseson,orat leastnot thewaytheydo.He teachesTheProcess.

“Don’t thinkaboutwinning theSECChampionship.Don’t thinkabout thenational championship.Thinkaboutwhatyouneededtodointhisdrill,onthisplay,inthismoment.That’stheprocess:Let’sthinkaboutwhatwecandotoday,thetaskathand.”

Inthechaosofsport,asinlife,processprovidesusaway.Itsays:Okay,you’vegottodosomethingverydifficult.Don’tfocusonthat.

Instead break it down into pieces. Simply dowhat youneed to do right now.Anddoitwell.Andthenmoveontothenextthing.Followtheprocessandnottheprize.The road toback-to-backchampionships is just that, a road.Andyou travel

alongaroadinsteps.Excellenceisamatterofsteps.Excellingatthisone,thenthat one, and then the one after that. Saban’s process is exclusively this—existing in the present, taking it one step at a time, not getting distracted byanythingelse.Nottheotherteam,notthescoreboardorthecrowd.The process is about finishing. Finishing games. Finishing workouts.

Finishing film sessions. Finishing drives. Finishing reps. Finishing plays.Finishingblocks.Finishingthesmallesttaskyouhaverightinfrontofyouandfinishingitwell.

Whetherit’spursuingthepinnacleofsuccessinyourfieldorsimplysurvivingsomeawfulortryingordeal,thesameapproachworks.Don’tthinkabouttheend—think about surviving. Making it from meal to meal, break to break,checkpointtocheckpoint,paychecktopaycheck,onedayatatime.Andwhenyoureallygetitright,eventhehardestthingsbecomemanageable.

Because the process is relaxing. Under its influence, we needn’t panic. Evenmammothtasksbecomejustaseriesofcomponentparts.This was what the great nineteenth-century pioneer of meteorology, James

PollardEspy,wasshowninachanceencounterasayoungman.Unabletoreadandwriteuntilhewaseighteen,Espyattendedarousingspeechbythefamousorator Henry Clay. After the talk, a spellbound Espy tried to make his waytowardClay, but he couldn’t form thewords to speak to his idol.One of hisfriends shouted out for him: “Hewants to be like you, even though he can’tread.”Clay grabbed one of his posters,which had thewordCLAYwritten in big

letters.He looked at Espy and said, “You see that, boy?” pointing to a letter.“That’sanA.Now,you’veonlygottwenty-fivemoreletterstogo.”Espyhadjustbeengiftedtheprocess.Withinayear,hestartedcollege.I know that seems almost too simple. But envision, for a second, amaster

practicinganexceedinglydifficultcraftandmakingitlookeffortless.There’snostrain,nostruggling.Sorelaxed.Noexertionorworry.Justonecleanmovementafteranother.That’saresultoftheprocess.Wecanchannelthis,too.Weneedn’tscramblelikewe’resoofteninclinedto

dowhensomedifficulttasksitsinfrontofus.Rememberthefirsttimeyousawacomplicatedalgebraequation?Itwasajumbleofsymbolsandunknowns.Butthen you stopped, took a deep breath, and broke it down. You isolated thevariables,solvedforthem,andallthatwasleftwastheanswer.Dothatnow,forwhateverobstaclesyoucomeacross.Wecantakeabreath,

dotheimmediate,compositepart infrontofus—andfollowits threadintothenextaction.Everythinginorder,everythingconnected.When it comes to our actions, disorder and distraction are death. The

unordered mind loses track of what’s in front of it—what matters—and getsdistracted by thoughts of the future. The process is order, it keeps ourperceptionsincheckandouractionsinsync.Itseemsobvious,butweforgetthiswhenitmattersmost.Rightnow,ifIknockedyoudownandpinnedyoutotheground,howwould

yourespond?You’dprobablypanic.Andthenyou’dpushwithallyourstrength

togetmeoffyou.Itwouldn’twork;justusingmybodyweight,Iwouldbeableto keep your shoulders against the ground with little effort—and you’d growexhaustedfightingit.That’stheoppositeoftheprocess.Thereisamucheasierway.First,youdon’tpanic,youconserveyourenergy.

You don’t do anything stupid like get yourself choked out by acting withoutthinking.Youfocusonnot letting itgetworse.Thenyougetyourarmsup, tobrace and create somebreathing room, some space.Nowwork toget onyourside.Fromthereyoucanstarttobreakdownmyholdonyou:Grabanarm,trapaleg,buckwithyourhips,slideinakneeandpushaway.It’ll takesome time,butyou’llgetyourselfout.Ateachstep, thepersonon

top is forced to give a little up, until there’s nothing left. Then you’re free—thankstotheprocess.Beingtrappedisjustaposition,notafate.Yougetoutofitbyaddressingand

eliminatingeachpartof thatpositionthroughsmall,deliberateactions—notbytrying(andfailing)topushitawaywithsuperhumanstrength.Withourbusiness rivals,werackourbrains to thinkofsomemind-blowing

newproductthatwillmakethemirrelevant,and,intheprocess,wetakeoureyeofftheball.Weshyawayfromwritingabookormakingafilmeventhoughit’sourdreambecauseit’ssomuchwork—wecan’timaginehowwegetfromheretothere.Howoftendowecompromiseorsettlebecausewefeelthattherealsolutionis

too ambitious or outside our grasp? How often do we assume that change isimpossiblebecauseit’stoobig?Involvestoomanydifferentgroups?Orworse,howmanypeopleareparalyzedbyall their ideasandinspirations?Theychasethem all and go nowhere, distracting themselves and never making headway.They’rebrilliant,sure,buttheyrarelyexecute.Theyrarelygetwheretheywantandneedtogo.Alltheseissuesaresolvable.Eachwouldcollapsebeneaththeprocess.We’ve

justwrongly assumed that it has to happen all at once, andwe give up at thethought of it.We areA-to-Z thinkers, fretting aboutA, obsessing over Z, yetforgettingallaboutBthroughY.We want to have goals, yes, so everything we do can be in the service of

somethingpurposeful.Whenweknowwhatwe’re really settingout todo, theobstacles that arise tend to seem smaller, more manageable.When we don’t,eachoneloomslargerandseemsimpossible.Goalshelpputtheblipsandbumpsinproperproportion.

Whenwegetdistracted,whenwestartcaringaboutsomethingotherthanourownprogressandefforts,theprocessisthehelpful,ifoccasionallybossy,voiceinourhead.Itisthebarkofthewise,olderleaderwhoknowsexactlywhoheisandwhathe’sgottodo:Shutup.Gobacktoyourstationsandtrytothinkaboutwhatwearegoingtodoourselvesinsteadofworryingaboutwhat’sgoingonoutthere.Youknowwhatyourjobis.Stopjawingandgettowork.Theprocessisthevoicethatdemandswetakeresponsibilityandownership.

Thatpromptsustoactevenifonlyinasmallway.Likearelentlessmachine,subjugatingresistanceeachandeverywayitexists,

littleby little.Moving forward,onestepat a time.Subordinate strength to theprocess.Replacefearwiththeprocess.Dependonit.Leanonit.Trustinit.Takeyourtime,don’trush.Someproblemsareharderthanothers.Dealwith

the ones right in front of you first. Come back to the others later. You’ll getthere.The process is about doing the right things, rightnow. Notworrying about

whatmighthappenlater,ortheresults,orthewholepicture.

DOYOURJOB,DOITRIGHT

Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble. (Quidvis recte factum quamvis humilepraeclarum.)

—SIRHENRYROYCE

Long past his humble beginnings, President Andrew Johnson would speakproudlyofhiscareerasatailorbeforeheenteredpolitics.“Mygarmentsneverrippedorgaveway,”hewouldsay.On the campaign trail, a heckler once tried to embarrass him by shouting

about his working-class credentials. Johnson replied without breaking stride:“Thatdoesnotdisconcertmeintheleast;forwhenIusedtobeatailorIhadthereputationofbeingagoodone,andmakingclosefits,alwayspunctualwithmycustomers,andalwaysdidgoodwork.”Anotherpresident, JamesGarfield,paidhisway throughcollege in1851by

persuadinghisschool, theWesternReserveEclecticInstitute, to lethimbe thejanitor inexchangefor tuition.Hedidthejobeverydaysmilingandwithoutahint of shame.Eachmorning, he’d ring the university’s bell tower to start theclasses—hisdayalreadyhavinglongbegun—andstomptoclasswithcheerandeagerness.Withinjustoneyearofstartingattheschoolhewasaprofessor—teachinga

fullcourse load inaddition tohisstudies.Byhis twenty-sixthbirthdayhewasthedean.Thisiswhathappenswhenyoudoyourjob—whateveritis—anddoitwell.Thesemenwent fromhumblepoverty topowerby alwaysdoingwhat they

wereaskedtodo—anddoingitrightandwithrealpride.Anddoingitbetterthananyoneelse.Infact,doingitwellbecausenooneelsewantedtodoit.Sometimes,on the road towherewearegoingorwherewewant tobe,we

have todo things thatwe’drathernotdo.Oftenwhenweare juststartingout,ourfirstjobs“introduceustothebroom,”asAndrewCarnegiefamouslyputit.There’snothingshamefulaboutsweeping.It’sjustanotheropportunitytoexcel—andtolearn.

Butyou,you’resobusythinkingaboutthefuture,youdon’ttakeanyprideinthe tasksyou’regivenrightnow.You justphone itall in,cashyourpaycheck,anddreamofsomehigherstationinlife.Oryouthink,Thisisjustajob,itisn’twhoIam,itdoesn’tmatter.Foolishness.Everythingwedomatters—whetherit’smakingsmoothieswhileyousaveup

moneyorstudyingforthebar—evenafteryoualreadyachievedthesuccessyousought. Everything is a chance to do and be your best. Only self-absorbedassholesthinktheyaretoogoodforwhatevertheircurrentstationrequires.Whereverweare,whateverwe’redoingandwhereverwearegoing,weowe

ittoourselves,toourart,totheworldtodoitwell.That’sourprimaryduty.Andourobligation.Whenactionisourpriority,vanityfallsaway.Anartistisgivenmanydifferentcanvasesandcommissionsintheirlifetime,

andwhatmattersisthattheytreateachoneasapriority.Whetherit’sthemostglamorous or highest paying is irrelevant. Each project matters, and the onlydegradingpartisgivinglessthanoneiscapableofgiving.Same goes for us.We will be and do many things in our lives. Some are

prestigious,someareonerous,nonearebeneathus.Towhateverweface,ourjobistorespondwith:

hardworkhonestyhelpingothersasbestwecan

Youshouldneverhave toaskyourself,ButwhatamIsupposed todonow?Becauseyouknowtheanswer:yourjob.Whetheranyonenotices,whetherwe’repaidforit,whethertheprojectturns

out successfully—it doesn’tmatter.We can and always should act with thosethreetraits—nomattertheobstacle.Therewillneverbeanyobstaclesthatcanevertrulypreventusfromcarrying

outourobligation—harderoreasierchallenges,sure,butneverimpossible.Eachand every task requires our best.Whetherwe’re facing down bankruptcy andangrycustomers,orrakinginmoneyanddecidinghowtogrowfromhere,ifwedoourbestwecanbeproudofourchoicesandconfidentthey’retherightones.Becausewedidourjob—whateveritis.Yeah,yeah,Igetit.“Obligations”soundstuffyandoppressive.Youwanttobe

abletodowhateveryouwant.

Butdutyisbeautiful,andinspiringandempowering.SteveJobscaredevenabouttheinsideofhisproducts,makingsuretheywere

beautifullydesignedeventhoughtheuserswouldneverseethem.Taughtbyhisfather—whofinishedeventhebackofhiscabinetsthoughtheywouldbehiddenagainst thewall—to think like a craftsman. In everydesignpredicament, Jobsknewhismarchingorders:Respectthecraftandmakesomethingbeautiful.Every situation is different, obviously.We’re not inventing the next iPador

iPhone, butwe aremaking something for someone—even if it’s just our ownrésumé.Everypart—especiallytheworkthatnobodysees,thetoughthingswewantedtoavoidorcouldhaveskatedawayfrom—wecantreatsamewayJobsdid:withprideanddedication.ThegreatpsychologistViktorFrankl,survivorof threeconcentrationcamps,

foundpresumptuousnessintheage-oldquestion:“Whatisthemeaningoflife?”As though it is someone else’s responsibility to tell you. Instead, he said, theworldisaskingyouthatquestion.Andit’syourjobtoanswerwithyouractions.Ineverysituation,lifeisaskingusaquestion,andouractionsaretheanswer.

Ourjobissimplytoanswerwell.Rightaction—unselfish,dedicated,masterful,creative—thatis theanswerto

thatquestion.That’sonewaytofindthemeaningoflife.Andhowtoturneveryobstacleintoanopportunity.Ifyouseeanyofthisasaburden,you’relookingatitthewrongway.Becauseallweneedtodoisthosethreelittleduties—totryhard,tobehonest,

andtohelpothersandourselves.That’sallthat’sbeenaskedofus.Nomoreandnoless.Sure, the goal is important. But never forget that each individual instance

matters,too—eachisasnapshotofthewhole.Thewholeisn’tcertain,onlytheinstancesare.Howyoudoanythingishowyoucandoeverything.Wecanalwaysactright.

WHAT’SRIGHTISWHATWORKS

Thecucumberisbitter?Thenthrowitout.Therearebramblesinthepath?Thengoaround.That’sallyouneedtoknow.

—MARCUSAURELIUS

In1915,deepinthejunglesofSouthAmerica,therisingconflictbetweentworival American fruit companies came to a head. Each desperately wanted toacquirethesamefivethousandacresofvaluableland.Theissue?Twodifferentlocalsclaimedtoownthedeedtotheplantation.In

theno-man’s-landbetweenHondurasandGuatemala,neithercompanywasabletotellwhowastherightfulownersotheycouldbuyitfromthem.How they each responded to this problemwas defined by their company’s

organizationandethos.Onecompanywasbigandpowerful,theothercraftyandcunning.Thefirst,oneof themostpowerfulcorporations in theUnitedStates:UnitedFruit.Thesecond,asmallupstartownedbySamuelZemurray.To solve the problem, United Fruit dispatched a team of high-powered

lawyers.Theysetout insearchofeveryfileandscrapofpaperinthecountry,readytopaywhateveritcosttowin.Money,time,andresourceswerenoobject.Zemurray, the tiny, uneducated competitor, was outmatched, right? He

couldn’tplay theirgame.Sohedidn’t.Flexible, fluid,anddefiant,he justmetseparatelywithbothof thesupposedownersandbought the landfromeachofthem.He paid twice, sure, but it was over. The landwas his. Forget the rulebook,settletheissue.This is pragmatism embodied. Don’t worry about the “right” way, worry

abouttherightway.Thisishowwegetthingsdone.Zemurrayalwaystreatedobstaclesthisway.Toldhecouldn’tbuildabridgehe

neededacrosstheUtilaRiver—becausegovernmentofficialshadbeenbribedbycompetitorstomakebridgesillegal—Zemurrayhadhisengineersbuildtwolongpiersinstead.Andinbetweenwhichreachedoutfarintothecenteroftheriver,they strung a temporary pontoon that could be assembled and deployed to

connect them in a matter of hours. Railroads ran down each side of theriverbank,goinginoppositedirection.WhenUnitedFruitcomplained,Zemurraylaughed and replied: “Why, that’s no bridge. It’s just a couple of little oldwharfs.”Sometimesyoudoitthisway.Sometimesthatway.Notdeployingthetactics

youlearnedinschoolbutadaptingthemtofiteachandeverysituation.Anywaythatworks—that’sthemotto.Wespendalotoftimethinkingabouthowthingsaresupposedtobe,orwhat

the rules saywe should do.Trying to get it all perfect.We tell ourselves thatwe’llgetstartedonce theconditionsare right,oroncewe’resurewecan trustthisorthat.When,really,it’dbebettertofocusonmakingduewithwhatwe’vegot.Onfocusingonresultsinsteadofprettymethods.AstheysayinBrazilianjujitsu,itdoesn’tmatterhowyougetyouropponents

totheground,afterall,onlythatyoutakethemdown.WhatZemurrayneverlostsightofwasthemission:gettingbananasacrossthe

river.Whether itwasabridgeor twopierswithadockinthemiddle, itdidn’tmattersolongasitgotthecargowhereitneededtogo.Whenhewantedtoplantbananasonaparticularplantation,itwasn’timportanttofindtherightfulowneroftheland—itwastobecometherightfulowner.You’vegotyourmission,whateverit is.Toaccomplishit, liketherestofus

you’re in the pinch between theway youwish thingswere and theway theyactuallyare(whichalwaysseemtobeadisaster).Howfarareyouwillingtogo?Whatareyouwillingtodoaboutit?Scratchthecomplaining.Nowaffling.Nosubmittingtopowerlessnessorfear.

Youcan’tjustrunhometoMommy.Howareyougoingtosolvethisproblem?Howareyougoingtogetaroundtherulesthatholdyouback?Maybe you’ll need to be a little more cunning or conniving than feels

comfortable. Sometimes that requires ignoring some outdated regulations oraskingforforgivenessfrommanagementlaterratherthanforpermission(whichwould be denied) right now. But if you’ve got an important mission, all thatmattersisthatyouaccomplishit.At twenty-one, RichardWright was not the world-famous author he would

eventuallybe.Butpoorandblack,hedecidedhewouldreadandnoonecouldstophim.Didhestormthelibraryandmakeascene?No,notintheJimCrowSouth he didn’t. Instead, he forged a note that said, “DearMadam:Will youpleaseletthisniggerboyhavesomebooksbyHLMencken?”(becausenoonewouldwritethataboutthemselves,right?),andcheckedthemoutwithastolen

librarycard,pretendingtheywereforsomeoneelse.With the stakes this high, you better be willing to bend the rules or do

something desperate or crazy. To thumb your nose at the authorities and say:What?Thisisnotabridge.Idon’tknowwhatyou’retalkingabout.Or,insomecases, giving the middle finger to the people trying to hold you down andblowingrightthroughtheirevil,disgustingrules.Pragmatismisnotsomuchrealismasflexibility.Therearealotofwaystoget

frompointAtopointB.Itdoesn’thavetobeastraightline.It’sjustgottogetyouwhereyouneedtogo.Butsomanyofusspendsomuchtimelookingfortheperfectsolutionthatwepassupwhat’srightinfrontofus.AsDengXiaopingoncesaid,“Idon’tcareifthecatisblackorwhite,solong

asitcatchesmice.”TheStoicshadtheirownreminder:“Don’tgoexpectingPlato’sRepublic.”Becauseyou’renevergoingtofindthatkindofperfection.Instead,dothebest

withwhatyou’vegot.Notthatpragmatismisinherentlyatoddswithidealismorpushingtheballforward.ThefirstiPhonewasrevolutionary,butitstillshippedwithout a copy-and-paste feature or a handful of other features Apple wouldhavelikedtohaveincluded.SteveJobs,thesupposedperfectionist,knewthatatsomepoint,youhave tocompromise.Whatmatteredwas thatyougot itdoneanditworked.Startthinkinglikearadicalpragmatist:stillambitious,aggressive,androoted

in ideals, but also imminently practical and guided by the possible. Not oneverything you would like to have, not on changing the world right at thismoment, but ambitious enough toget everythingyouneed.Don’t think small,butmakethedistinctionbetweenthecriticalandtheextra.Thinkprogress,notperfection.Under this kindof force, obstaclesbreak apart.Theyhaveno choice.Since

you’regoingaroundthemormakingthemirrelevant,thereisnothingforthemtoresist.

INPRAISEOFTHEFLANKATTACK

Whoevercannotseektheunforeseenseesnothing,fortheknownwayisanimpasse.

—HERACLITUS

Thepopular imageofGeorgeWashington inAmerican lore isof abrave andboldgeneral,toweringovereverythinghesurveyed,repellingtheoccupiedandtyrannicalBritish.Ofcourse,thetruepictureisalittlelessglorious.Washingtonwasn’taguerrilla,buthewascloseenough.Hewaswily,evasive,oftenrefusingtobattle.Hisarmywassmall,undertrained,undersupplied,andfragile.Hewagedawar

mostlyofdefense,deliberatelyavoidinglargeformationsofBritishtroops.Foralltherhetoric,mostofhismaneuverswerepinpricksagainstastronger,biggerenemy.Hitandrun.Stickandmove.Neverattackwhereitisobvious,Washingtontoldhismen.Don’tattackasthe

enemywouldexpect,heexplained,instead,“Wherelittledangerisapprehended,the more the enemy will be unprepared and consequently there is the fairestprospectofsuccess.”Hehadapowerfulsenseofwhichminorskirmisheswouldfeelandlooklikemajorvictories.His most glorious “victory” wasn’t even a direct battle with the British.

Instead,Washington,nearlyattheendofhisrope,crossedtheDelawareatdawnonChristmasDaytoattackagroupofsleepingGermanmercenarieswhomayormaynothavebeendrunk.Hewas actually better atwithdrawing than at advancing—skilled at saving

troops that otherwise would have been lost in defeat. Washington rarely gottrapped—he always had away out.Hoping simply to tire out his enemy, thisevasivenesswasapowerfulweapon—thoughnotnecessarilyaglamorousone.It’s not surprising then, as the general of the Continental Army and the

country’sfirstpresident,thathislegacyhasbeenwhitewashedandembellishedalittle.Andhe’snottheonlygeneralwe’vedoneitfor.Thegreatmythofhistory,

propagatedbymoviesandstoriesandourownignorance, is thatwarsarewonand lost by two great armies going head-to-head in battle. It’s a dramatic,courageousnotion—butalsovery,verywrong.In a study of some 30 conflicts comprisingmore than 280 campaigns from

ancienttomodernhistory,thebrilliantstrategistandhistorianB.H.LiddellHartcametoastunningconclusion:Inonly6ofthe280campaignswasthedecisivevictoryaresultofadirectattackontheenemy’smainarmy.Onlysix.That’s2percent.Ifnotfrompitchedbattles,wheredowefindvictory?From everywhere else. From the flanks. From the unexpected. From the

psychological. From drawing opponents out from their defenses. From theuntraditional.Fromanythingbut...AsHartwritesinhismasterworkStrategy:

[T]he Great Captain will take even the most hazardous indirect approach—if necessary overmountains,desertsorswamps,withonlyafractionoftheforces,evencuttinghimselfloosefromhiscommunications.Facing,infact,everyunfavorableconditionratherthanaccepttheriskofstalemateinvitedbydirectapproach.

When you’re at yourwit’s end, straining and strainingwith all yourmight,whenpeopletellyouyoulooklikeyoumightpopavein...Takeastepback,thengoaroundtheproblem.Findsomeleverage.Approach

fromwhatiscalledthe“lineofleastexpectation.”What’syour first instinctwhenfacedwithachallenge?Is it tooutspend the

competition?Arguewithpeopleinanattempttochangelong-heldopinions?Areyoutrying tobarge throughthefrontdoor?Because thebackdoor,sidedoors,andwindowsmayhavebeenleftwideopen.Whateveryou’redoing,it’sgoingtobeharder(tosaynothingofimpossible)

ifyourplanincludesdefyingphysicsorlogic.Instead, thinkofGrantrealizinghehadtobypassVicksburg—notgoatit—inordertocaptureit.ThinkofHallofFamecoachPhilJacksonandhisfamoustriangleoffense,whichisdesignedtoautomatically route the basketball away from defensive pressure rather thanattackitdirectly.If we’re starting from scratch and the established players have had time to

builduptheirdefenses,thereisjustnowaywearegoingtobeatthemontheirstrengths.Soit’ssmartertonoteventry,butinsteadfocusourlimitedresourceselsewhere.Part of the reason why a certain skill often seems so effortless for great

mastersisnotjustbecausethey’vemasteredtheprocess—theyreallyaredoingless than the rest ofuswhodon’t knowanybetter.Theychoose to exert onlycalculated forcewhere itwill be effective, rather than straining and strugglingwithpointlessattritiontactics.AssomeoneonceputitafterfightingJigoroKano,thelegendaryfive-foot-tall

founder of judo, “Trying to fight with Kano was like trying to fight with anemptyjacket!”Thatcanbeyou.Being outnumbered, coming from behind, being low on funds, these don’t

have tobedisadvantages.Theycanbegifts.Assets thatmakeus less likely tocommitsuicidewithahead-to-headattack.Thesethingsforceustobecreative,to find workarounds, to sublimate the ego and do anything to win besideschallengingourenemieswheretheyarestrongest.Thesearethesignsthattellustoapproachfromanobliqueangle.Infact,havingtheadvantageofsizeorstrengthorpowerisoftenthebirthing

groundfortrueandfatalweakness.Theinertiaofsuccessmakesitmuchharderto truly develop good technique. People or companies who have that sizeadvantageneverreallyhavetolearntheprocesswhenthey’vebeenabletocoastonbruteforce.Andthatworksforthem...untilitdoesn’t.Untiltheymeetyouandyoumakequickworkofthemwithdeftandobliquemaneuvers,whenyourefusetofacethemintheonesettingtheyknow:head-to-head.We’reinthegameoflittledefeatingbig.Therefore,Forcecan’ttrytomatch

Force.Of course, when pushed, the natural instinct is always to push back. But

martialartsteachusthatwehavetoignorethisimpulse.Wecan’tpushback,wehavetopulluntilopponentslosetheirbalance.Thenwemakeourmove.The art of the side-door strategy is a vast, creative space. And it is by no

meanslimitedtowar,business,orsales.The great philosopher Søren Kierkegaard rarely sought to convince people

directlyfromapositionofauthority.Insteadoflecturing,hepracticedamethodhe called “indirect communication.” Kierkegaard would write underpseudonyms,whereeachfakepersonalitywouldembodyadifferentplatformorperspective—writingmultipletimesonthesamesubjectfrommultipleanglestoconveyhispoint emotionallyanddramatically.Hewould rarely tell the reader“do this” or “think that.” Instead he would shownew ways of looking at orunderstandingtheworld.Youdon’tconvincepeoplebychallengingtheirlongestandmostfirmlyheld

opinions. You find common ground and work from there. Or you look forleveragetomakethemlisten.Oryoucreateanalterativewithsomuchsupportfromotherpeople that theoppositionvoluntarily abandons itsviewsand joinsyourcamp.Thewaythatworksisn’talwaysthemostimpressive.Sometimesitevenfeels

likeyou’retakingashortcutorfightingunfairly.There’salotofpressuretotryto match people move for move, as if sticking with what works for you issomehowcheating.Letmesaveyoutheguiltandself-flagellation:It’snot.You’re acting like a real strategist. You aren’t just throwing your weight

aroundandhopingitworks.You’renotwastingyourenergyinbattlesdrivenbyegoandprideratherthantacticaladvantage.Believeitornot,thisisthehardway.That’swhyitworks.Remember,sometimesthelongestwayaroundistheshortestwayhome.

USEOBSTACLESAGAINSTTHEMSELVES

Wisemenareabletomakeafittinguseevenoftheirenmities.

—PLUTARCH

Gandhididn’tfightforindependenceforIndia.TheBritishEmpiredidallofthefighting—and,asithappens,allofthelosing.Thatwasdeliberate,ofcourse.Gandhi’sextensivesatyagrahacampaignand

civildisobedienceshowthatactionhasmanydefinitions.It’snotalwaysmovingforwardorevenobliquely.Itcanalsobeamatterofpositions.Itcanbeamatteroftakingastand.Sometimesyouovercomeobstaclesnotbyattackingthembutbywithdrawing

andlettingthemattackyou.Youcanusetheactionsofothersagainstthemselvesinsteadofactingyourself.Weak compared to the forces he hoped to change, Gandhi leaned into that

weakness, exaggerated it, exposed himself. He said to the most powerfuloccupyingmilitary in the world, I’mmarching to the ocean to collect salt indirectviolationofyour laws.Hewasprovoking them—Whatareyougoing todo about it? There is nothing wrongwith what we’re doing—knowing that itplaced authorities in an impossible dilemma: Enforce a bankrupt policy orabdicate.Withinthatframework,themilitary’senormousstrengthisneutralized.Itsveryusageiscounterproductive.Martin Luther King Jr., taking Gandhi’s lead, told his followers that they

wouldmeet“physicalforcewithsoulforce.”Inotherwords,theywouldusethepowerofopposites.Inthefaceofviolencetheywouldbepeaceful,tohatetheywouldanswerwithlove—andintheprocess,theywouldexposethoseattributesasindefensibleandevil.Opposites work. Nonaction can be action. It uses the power of others and

allowsustoabsorbtheirpowerasourown.Lettingthem—ortheobstacle—dotheworkforus.Just ask theRussians,who defeatedNapoléon and theNazis not by rigidly

protectingtheirbordersbutbyretreatingintotheinteriorandleavingthewinter

todotheirworkontheenemy,boggeddowninbattlesfarfromhome.Isthisanaction?Youbetitis.Perhapsyourenemyorobstaclereallyisinsurmountable—asitwasformany

ofthesegroups.Perhapsinthiscase,youhaven’tgottheabilitytowinthroughattrition (persistence) or you don’t want to risk learning on the job (iterate).Okay.You’restillalongwayfromneedingtogiveup.Itis,however,timetoacknowledgethatsomeadversitymightbeimpossible

foryoutodefeat—nomatterhowhardyoutry.Instead,youmustfindsomewaytousetheadversity,itsenergy,tohelpyourself.Beforetheinventionofsteampower,boatcaptainshadaningeniouswayof

defeating the wickedly strong current of the Mississippi River. A boat goingupriverwouldpullalongsideaboatabouttoheaddownriver,andafterwrappingaropearoundatreeorarock,theboatswouldtiethemselvestoeachother.Thesecondboatwouldletgoandlettherivertakeitdownstream,slingshottingtheothervesselupstream.So instead of fighting obstacles, find a means of making them defeat

themselves.There is a famous story ofAlexander theGreat doing just that—and itwas

Alexander’smasterfuluseofanobstacleagainstitselfthatgaveobserverstheirfirst hint that the ambitious teenager might one day conquer the world. As ayoungman, he trained his famous horseBucephalus—the horse that even hisfather,KingPhilip II ofMacedon, could not break—by tiring him out.Whileothers had tried sheer force and whips and ropes, only to be bucked off,Alexandersucceededbylightlymountingandsimplyhangingonuntilthehorsewascalm.Havingexhaustedhimself,Bucephalushadnochoicebuttosubmittohisrider’sinfluence.Alexanderwouldrideintobattleonthisfaithfulhorseforthenexttwentyyears.Nowwhatofyourobstacles?Yes, sometimeswe need to learn fromAmeliaEarhart and just take action.

Butwealsohavetobereadytoseethatrestraintmightbethebestactionforustotake.Sometimesinyourlifeyouneedtohavepatience—waitfortemporaryobstacles to fizzle out. Let two jousting egos sort themselves out instead ofjumping immediately into the fray. Sometimes a problemneeds less of you—fewerpeopleperiod—andnotmore.When we want things too badly we can be our own worst enemy. In our

eagerness,we strip the very screwwewant to turn andmake it impossible toevergetwhatwewant.Wespinourtiresinthesnowormudanddigadeeperrut

—onethatwe’llnevergetoutof.Wegetsoconsumedwithmovingforwardthatweforgetthatthereareother

waystogetwhereweareheading.Itdoesn’tnaturallyoccurtousthatstandingstill—or in some cases, even going backward—might be the best way toadvance.Don’tjustdosomething,standthere!We push and push—to get a raise, a new client, to prevent some exigency

fromhappening.Infact,thebestwaytogetwhatwewantmightbetoreexaminethosedesiresinthefirstplace.Oritmightbetoaimforsomethingelseentirely,andusetheimpedimentasanopportunity toexploreanewdirection.Indoingso,wemightendupcreatinganewventurethatreplacesourinsufficientincomeentirely.Orwemightdiscoverthatinignoringclients,weattractmore—findingthattheywanttoworkwithsomeonewhodoesnotsobadlywanttoworkwiththem.Orwerethinkthatdisasterwefeared(alongwitheveryoneelse)andcomeupwithawaytoprofitfromitwhenandifithappens.Wewronglyassumethatmovingforwardistheonlywaytoprogress,theonly

waywecanwin.Sometimes,stayingput,goingsideways,ormovingbackwardisactuallythebestwaytoeliminatewhatblocksorimpedesyourpath.There isacertainhumility required in theapproach. Itmeansaccepting that

thewayyouoriginallywantedtodothingsisnotpossible.Youjusthaven’tgotitinyoutodoitthe“traditional”way.Butsowhat?Whatmattersiswhetheracertainapproachgetsyoutowhereyouwanttogo.

And let’s be clear, using obstacles against themselves is very different fromdoingnothing.Passiveresistanceis,infact,incrediblyactive.Butthoseactionscome in the form of discipline, self-control, fearlessness, determination, andgrandstrategy.Thegreat strategistSaulAlinskybelieved that if you“push anegativehard

enough and deep enough it will break through into its counterside.” Everypositive has its negative. Every negative has its positive. Theaction is in thepushingthrough—allthewaythroughtotheotherside.Makinganegativeintoapositive.Thisshouldbegreatsolace.Itmeansthatveryfewobstaclesareevertoobig

forus.Becausethatbignessmightinfactbeanadvantage.Becausewecanusethat bigness against the obstacle itself. Remember, a castle can be anintimidating, impenetrable fortress, or it can be turned into a prison whensurrounded.Thedifferenceissimplyashiftinactionandapproach.We can use the things that block us to our advantage, letting them do the

difficultworkforus.Sometimesthismeansleavingtheobstacleasis,insteadof

tryingsohardtochangeit.TheharderBucephalusran,thesoonerhegottiredout.Themoreviciousthe

policeresponsetocivildisobedience,themoresympatheticthecausebecomes.Themoretheyfight,theeasieritbecomes.Theharderyoufight,thelessyou’llachieve(otherthanexhaustion).Soitgoeswithourproblems.

CHANNELYOURENERGY

Whenjarred,unavoidably,bycircumstancerevertatoncetoyourselfanddon’tlosetherhythmmorethanyoucanhelp.You’llhaveabettergraspofharmonyifyoukeepgoingbacktoit.

—MARCUSAURELIUS

As a tennis player, Arthur Ashe was a beautiful contradiction. To survivesegregation in the 1950s and 1960s, he learned from his father to mask hisemotionsandfeelingsonthecourt.Noreacting,nogettingupsetatmissedshots,andnochallengingbadcalls.Certainly,asablackplayerhecouldnotaffordtoshowoff,celebrate,orbeseenastryingtoohard.Buthisactual formandplayingstylewassomethingquitedifferent.All the

energyandemotionhehadtosuppresswaschanneledintoaboldandgracefulplayingform.Whilehisfacewascontrolled,hisbodywasalive—fluid,brilliant,and all over the court.His style is best described in the epithet he created forhimself:“physicallylooseandmentallytight.”ForArthurAshe, this combination created anearlyunbeatable tennisgame.

Asapersonhe’dcontrolhis emotions, but as aplayerhewas swashbuckling,bold,andcool.Hedove forballsand took—andmade—thekindof shots thatmadeotherplayersgasp.Hewasable todo thisbecausehewas free.Hewasfreewhereitmattered:inside.Otherplayers,free tocelebrate,free to throwtantrumsorgloweratrefsand

opponents, never seemed to be able to handle the pressure of high-stakesmatches thewayAshecould.TheyoftenmistookAsheas inhuman,asbottledup. Feelings need an outlet, of course, but Ashe deployed them to fuel hisexplosivespeed,inhisslamsandchipsanddives.Intheabandonwithwhichheplayed,therewasnoneofthequietprudencewithwhichhecomposedhimself.Adversitycanhardenyou.Or itcan loosenyouupandmakeyoubetter—if

youletit.Rename it and claim it, that’s what Ashe did—as have many other black

athletes.TheboxerJoeLouis, forexample,knewthat racistwhiteboxingfanswould not tolerate an emotional black fighter, so he sublimated all displays

behind a steely, blank face.Known as theRingRobot, he greatly intimidatedopponents by seeming almost inhuman.He took a disadvantage and turned itintoanunexpectedassetinthering.Weallhaveourownconstraints todealwith—rulesandsocialnormswe’re

required to observe that we’d rather not. Dress codes, protocols, procedures,legalobligations,andcompanyhierarchiesthatarealltellingushowwehavetobehave. Think about it too much and it can start to feel oppressive, evensuffocating.Ifwe’renotcareful,thisislikelytothrowusoffourgame.Insteadofgivingintofrustration,wecanputittogooduse.Itcanpowerour

actions,which, unlike our disposition, become stronger and betterwhen looseand bold. While others obsess with observing the rules, we’re subtlyundermining them and subverting them to our advantage. Thinkwater.Whendammed by aman-made obstacle, it does not simply sit stagnant. Instead, itsenergyisstoredanddeployed,fuelingthepowerplantsthatrunentirecities.ToussaintLouverture,theformerHaitianslaveturnedgeneral,soexasperated

hisFrenchenemiesthattheyonceremarked:“Cethommefaitdoncl’ouverturepartout” (“This man makes an opening everywhere”). He was so fluid, souncontainable, he was actually given the surname Louverture, meaning “theopening.” Itmakes sense. Everything in his life had been an obstacle, and heturnedasmanyofhisexperiencesashecouldintoopenings.WhyshouldtroopsorpoliticsormountainsorNapoléonhimselfhavebeenanydifferent?And yetwe feel like going to pieceswhen the PowerPoint projectorwon’t

work(insteadofthrowingitasideanddeliveringanexcitingtalkwithoutnotes).Westirupgossipwithourcoworkers(insteadofpoundingsomethingproductiveoutonourkeyboards).Weactout,insteadofact.Butthinkofanathlete“inthepocket,”“inthezone,”“onastreak,”andthe

seemingly insurmountableobstacles that fall in the faceof thateffortlessstate.Enormous deficits collapse, every pass or shot hits its intended target, fatiguemelts away. Those athletes might be stopped from carrying out this or thataction,butnot from theirgoal.External factors influence thepath,butnot thedirection:forward.What setbacks in our lives could resist that elegant, fluid, and powerful

mastery?Tobephysicallyandmentallyloosetakesnotalent.That’sjustrecklessness.

(Wewantrightaction,notactionperiod.)Tobephysicallyandmentally tight?That’scalledanxiety. Itdoesn’twork,either.Eventuallywesnap.Butphysicalloosenesscombinedwithmentalrestraint?Thatispowerful.

It’sapowerthatdrivesouropponentsandcompetitorsnuts.Theythinkwe’retoyingwiththem.It’smaddening—likewearen’teventrying,likewe’vetunedout theworld. Likewe’re immune to external stressors and limitations on themarchtowardourgoals.Becauseweare.

SEIZETHEOFFENSIVE

Thebestmenarenotthosewhohavewaitedforchancesbutwhohavetakenthem;besiegedchance,conqueredthechance,andmadechancetheservitor.

—E.H.CHAPIN

Inthespringof2008,BarackObama’spresidentialcandidacywasimperiled.Aracescandal involvinginflammatoryremarksbyhispastor,ReverendJeremiahWright, threatened to unravel his campaign—to break the thin bond he’destablishedbetweenblackandwhitevotersatacriticalmomentintheprimaries.Race,religion,demographics,controversyemulsifiedintoone.Itwasthekind

of political disaster that political campaigns do not survive, leaving mostcandidates so paralyzed by fear that they defer taking action. Their typicalresponseistohide,ignore,obfuscate,ordistancethemselves.WhateveronethinksaboutObama’spolitics,noonecandenywhathappened

next. He turned one of the lowest moments in his campaign into a surpriseoffensive.Againstalladviceandconvention,hedecidedthathewouldtakeactionand

that this negative situation was actually a “teachable moment.” Obamachanneled the attention and energy swirling around the controversy to draw anationalaudienceandspeakdirectlytotheAmericanpeopleofthedivisiveissueofrace.This speech, known today as the “A More Perfect Union” speech, was a

transformative moment. Instead of distancing himself, Obama addressedeverything directly. In doing so, he not only neutralized a potentially fatalcontroversy but created an opportunity to seize the electoral high ground.Absorbing the power of that negative situation, his campaign was instantlyinfusedwithanenergythatpropelleditintotheWhiteHouse.If you think it’s simply enough to take advantage of the opportunities that

arise inyour life,youwill fallshortofgreatness.Anyonesentientcandothat.Whatyoumustdoislearnhowtopressforwardpreciselywheneveryonearoundyouseesdisaster.

It’sattheseeminglybadmoments,whenpeopleleastexpectit,thatwecanactswiftlyandunexpectedlytopulloffabigvictory.Whileothersarearrestedbydiscouragement,wearenot.Weseethemomentdifferently,andactaccordingly.Ignore the politics and focus on the brilliant strategic advice that Obama’s

adviserRahmEmanuel,oncegavehim.“Youneverwantaseriouscrisistogotowaste.Thingsthatwehadpostponedfortoolong,thatwerelong-term,arenowimmediateandmustbedealtwith.[A]crisisprovidestheopportunityforustodothingsthatyoucouldnotdobefore.”Ifyoulookathistory,someofourgreatestleadersusedshockingornegative

events to push through much-needed reforms that otherwise would have hadlittlechanceofpassing.Wecanapplythatinourownlives.You always planned to do something. Write a screenplay. Travel. Start a

business.Approachapossiblementor.Launchamovement.Well,nowsomethinghashappened—somedisruptiveevent likea failureor

anaccidentoratragedy.Useit.Perhaps you’re stuck in bed recovering.Well, now you have time towrite.

Perhapsyouremotionsareoverwhelmingandpainful,turnitintomaterial.Youlost your job or a relationship? That’s awful, but now you can travelunencumbered. You’re having a problem? Now you know exactly what toapproachthatmentorabout.Seizethismomenttodeploytheplanthathaslongsatdormantinyourhead.Everychemicalreactionrequiresacatalyst.Letthisbeyours.Ordinary people shy away from negative situations, just as they do with

failure.Theydotheirbesttoavoidtrouble.Whatgreatpeopledoistheopposite.Theyaretheirbestinthesesituations.Theyturnpersonaltragedyormisfortune—reallyanything,everything—totheiradvantage.But this crisis in front of you?You’rewasting it feeling sorry for yourself,

feelingtiredordisappointed.Youforget:Lifespeedsontheboldandfavorsthebrave.Wesithereandcomplainthatwe’renotbeinggivenopportunitiesorchances.

Butweare.At certain moments in our brief existences we are faced with great trials.

Often those trials are frustrating, unfortunate, or unfair. They seem to comeexactlywhenwe thinkweneed them the least.Thequestion is:Doweacceptthisasanexclusivelynegativeevent,orcanwegetpastwhatevernegativityoradversity it represents andmount anoffensive?Ormoreprecisely, canwe seethatthis“problem”presentsanopportunityforasolutionthatwehavelongbeen

waitingfor?Ifyoudon’ttakethat,it’sonyou.Napoleondescribedwarinsimpleterms:Twoarmiesaretwobodiesthatclash

andattempttofrighteneachother.Atimpact,thereisamomentofpanicanditisthatmomentthatthesuperiorcommanderturnstohisadvantage.Rommel, for instance,was renowned forhisFronterführing, his sixth sense

forthedecisivepointinbattle.Hehadanacuteabilitytofeel—evenintheheatofthemoment—thepreciseinstancewhengoingontheoffensivewouldbemosteffective. It’s what allowed him to, repeatedly and often unbelievably, snatchvictoryfromthejawsofdefeat.Whereotherssawdisasteror,atbest,simply thenormalnoiseanddustofa

battle,Rommelsensedopportunities.“Itisgiventome,”hesaid,“tofeelwheretheenemyisweak.”Andonthesefeelingshewouldattackwitheveryiotaofhisenergy.Seizingcontrolofthetempoandnevergivingitup.Greatcommanderslookfordecisionpoints.Foritisburstsofenergydirected

atdecisivepoints thatbreak thingswideopen.Theypressandpressandpressandthen,exactlywhenthesituationseemshopeless—or,morelikely,hopelesslydeadlocked—theypressoncemore.Inmanybattles,asinlife,thetwoopposingforceswilloftenreachapointof

mutualexhaustion. It’s theonewhorises thenextmorningaftera longdayoffightingand rallies, insteadof retreating—theonewhosays, I intend toattackand whip them right here and now—who will carry victory home . . .intelligently.ThisiswhatObamadid.Notshirking,notgivingintoexhaustiondespitethe

longneck-and-neckprimary.Butrallyingat the lastmoment.Transcendingthechallenge and reframing it, triumphing as a result of it. He turned an uglyincident into that“teachablemoment,”andoneof themostprofoundspeechesonraceinourhistory.Theobstacleisnotonlyturnedupsidedownbutusedasacatapult.

PREPAREFORNONEOFITTOWORK

In themeantime,cling toothandnail to the followingrule:not togive in toadversity,not to trustprosperity,andalwaystakefullnoteoffortune’shabitofbehavingjustasshepleases.

—SENECA

Perceptionscanbemanaged.Actionscanbedirected.Wecanalways thinkclearly, respondcreatively.Look foropportunity, seize

theinitiative.Whatwecan’tdoiscontroltheworldaroundus—notasmuchaswe’dliketo,

anyway.Wemightperceivethingswell,thenactrightly,andfailanyway.Runit throughyourheadlikethis:Nothingcaneverpreventusfromtrying.

Ever.Allcreativityanddedicationaside,afterwe’vetried,someobstaclesmayturn

outtobeimpossibletoovercome.Someactionsarerenderedimpossible,somepathsimpassable.Somethingsarebiggerthanus.Thisisnotnecessarilyabadthing.Becausewecanturnthatobstacleupside

down,too,simplybyusingitasanopportunitytopracticesomeothervirtueorskill—even if it is just learning toaccept thatbad thingshappen,orpracticinghumility.It’saninfinitelyelasticformula:Ineverysituation,thatwhichblocksourpath

actuallypresentsanewpathwithanewpartofus. If someoneyou lovehurtsyou,thereisachancetopracticeforgiveness.Ifyourbusinessfails,nowyoucanpracticeacceptance.Ifthereisnothingelseyoucandoforyourself,atleastyoucantrytohelpothers.Problems,asDukeEllingtononcesaid,areachanceforustodoourbest.Justourbest,that’sit.Nottheimpossible.Wemustbewillingtorollthediceandlose.Prepare,attheendoftheday,for

noneofittowork.Anyoneinpursuitofagoalcomesface-to-facewiththistimeandtimeagain.

Sometimes,noamountofplanning,noamountofthinking—nomatterhowhardwetryorpatientlywepersist—willchangethefactthatsomethingsjustaren’t

goingtowork.Theworldcouldusefewermartyrs.Wehaveitwithinustobethetypeofpeoplewhotrytogetthingsdone,try

witheverythingwe’vegotand,whateververdictcomesin,arereadytoacceptitinstantlyandmoveontowhateverisnext.Isthatyou?Becauseitcanbe.

PARTIII

Will

WHATISWILL?Willisourinternalpower,whichcanneverbeaffectedbytheoutsideworld.It isourfinal trumpcard.Ifactioniswhatwedowhenwestillhave some agency over our situation, the will is what we depend on whenagency has all but disappeared. Placed in some situation that seemsunchangeableandundeniablynegative,wecanturnitintoalearningexperience,ahumblingexperience,achancetoprovidecomforttoothers.That’swillpower.But thatneedstobecultivated.Wemustprepareforadversityandturmoil,wemustlearntheartofacquiescenceandpracticecheerfulnessevenindarktimes.Toooftenpeoplethinkthatwillishowbadwewantsomething.Inactuality,thewillhasa lotmore todowithsurrender thanwithstrength.Try“Godwilling”over“thewilltowin”or“willingitintoexistence,”foreventhoseattributescanbebroken.Truewillisquiethumility,resilience,andflexibility;theotherkindofwillisweaknessdisguisedbyblusterandambition.Seewhichlastslongerunderthehardestofobstacles.

THEDISCIPLINEOFTHEWILL

Because he has becomemoremyth thanman, most people are unaware thatAbrahamLincolnbattledcripplingdepressionhisentirelife.Knownatthetimeas melancholy, his depression was often debilitating and profound—nearlydrivinghimtosuicideontwoseparateoccasions.His penchant for jokes and bawdy humor, which we findmore pleasant to

remember him for, was in many ways the opposite of what life must haveseemed like to himduringhis darkermoments.Thoughhe could be light andjoyous,Lincolnsufferedperiodsofintensebrooding,isolation,andpain.Inside,hestruggledtomanageaheavyburdenthatoftenfeltimpossibletolift.Lincoln’s life was defined by enduring and transcending great difficulty.

Growing up in rural poverty, losing his mother while he was still a child,educating himself, teaching himself the law, losing the woman he loved as ayoung man, practicing law in a small country town, experiencing multipledefeatsattheballotboxashemadehiswaythroughpolitics,and,ofcourse,theboutsofdepression,whichat thetimewerenotunderstoodorappreciatedasamedical condition.Allof thesewere impediments thatLincoln reducedwith akindofprodding,graciousambition,andsmiling,tenderendurance.Lincoln’spersonalchallengeshadbeensointensethathecametobelievethey

weredestined for him in someway, and that thedepression, especially,was auniqueexperiencethatpreparedhimforgreaterthings.Helearnedtoendureallthis,articulateit,andfindbenefitandmeaningfromit.Understandingthisiskeytounderstandingtheman’sgreatness.FormostofLincoln’spoliticalcareer,slaverywasadarkcloudthathungover

our entire nation, a cloud that portended an awful storm. Some ran from it,othersresignedthemselvestoitorbecameapologists,mostassumeditmeantthepermanentbreakupoftheUnion—orworse,theendoftheworldastheyknewit.ItcametobethateveryqualityproducedbyLincoln’spersonaljourneywas

exactlywhatwasrequiredto leadthenationthroughitsownjourneyandtrial.Unlikeotherpoliticians,hewasnottemptedtolosehimselfinpettyconflictanddistractions,hecouldnotbe sanguine,hecouldnot find it inhisheart tohate

likeotherswould.Hisownexperiencewith sufferingdrovehis compassion toallayitinothers.Hewaspatientbecauseheknewthatdifficultthingstooktime.Above all, he foundpurpose and relief in a causebigger thanhimself andhispersonalstruggles.Thenationcalledforaleaderofmagnanimityandforceofpurpose—itfound

one in Lincoln, a political novicewhowas nevertheless a seasoned expert onmatters of will and patience. These attributes were born of his own “severeexperience,”asheoftencalledit,andthecharacteristicswererepresentativeofasingular ability to lead thenation throughoneof itsmostdifficult andpainfultrials:theCivilWar.Ascraftyandambitiousandsmartashewas,Lincoln’srealstrengthwashis

will:thewayhewasabletoresignhimselftoanoneroustaskwithoutgivingintohopelessness, thewayhecouldcontainbothhumoranddeadly seriousness,thewayhecouldusehisownprivateturmoiltoteachandhelpothers,thewayhewasabletoriseabovethedinandseepoliticsphilosophically.“Thistooshallpass”wasLincoln’sfavoritesaying,oneheoncesaidwasapplicableinanyandeverysituationonecouldencounter.Tolivewithhisdepression,Lincolnhaddevelopedastronginnerfortressthat

girdedhim.And in1861 itagaingavehimwhatheneeded inorder toendureandstrugglethroughawarthatwasabouttobegin.Overfouryears,thewarwastobecomenearlyincomprehensiblyviolent,andLincoln,who’datteptedatfirstto prevent it, would fight towin justly, and finally try to end it with “malicetowards none.”AdmiralDavid Porter,whowaswithLincoln in his last days,describeditasthoughLincoln“seemedtothinkonlythathehadanunpleasantdutytoperform”andsethimselfto“performitassmoothlyaspossible.”We should count ourselves lucky to never experience such a trial, or be

required, asLincoln had been, to hold and be able to draw fromour personalwoeinordertosurmountit.Butwecertainlycanandmustlearnfromhispoiseandcourage.Clearheadednessandactionarenotalwaysenough,inpoliticsorinlife.Some

obstacles are beyond a snap of the fingers or novel solution. It is not alwayspossible for one man to rid the world of a great evil or stop a country benttoward conflict.Of course,we try—because it can happen. Butwe should beready for it not to. And we need to be able to find a greater purpose in thissufferingandhandleitwithfirmnessandforbearance.This was Lincoln: always ready with a new idea or innovative approach

(whether itwas sending a supply boat instead of reinforcements to the troops

besiegedatFortSumter,ortimingtheEmancipationProclamationwithaUnionvictory at Antietam to back it with the appearance of strength) but equallypreparedfortheworst.Andthenpreparedtomakethebestoftheworst.Leadershiprequiresdeterminationandenergy.Andcertainsituations,attimes,

callonleaderstomarshalthatdeterminedenergysimplytoendure.Toprovidestrengthinterribletimes.BecauseofwhatLincolnhadgonethrough,becauseofwhathe’dstruggledwithandlearnedtocopewithinhisownlife,hewasabletolead.Toholdanation,acause,aneffort,together.Thisistheavenueforthefinaldiscipline:theWill.IfPerceptionandAction

werethedisciplinesofthemindandthebody,thenWillisthedisciplineoftheheart and the soul. The will is the one thingwe control completely, always.Whereas Ican try tomitigateharmfulperceptionsandgive100percentofmyenergy to actions, those attempts can be thwarted or inhibited. My will isdifferent,becauseitiswithinme.Willisfortitudeandwisdom—notjustaboutspecificobstaclesbutaboutlife

itself andwhere the obstacles we are facing fit within it. It gives us ultimatestrength.Asin: thestrengthtoendure,contextualize,andderivemeaningfromtheobstacleswecannot simplyovercome (which, as it happens, is thewayofflippingtheunflippable).Eveninhisowntime,Lincoln’scontemporariesmarveledatthecalmness,the

gravity,andcompassionoftheman.Today,thosequalitiesseemalmostgodlike—almost superhuman.His senseofwhatneeded tobedone sethimapart.Asthoughhewereaboveorbeyondthebitterdivisionsthatweighedeveryoneelsedown.Asthoughhewerefromanotherplanet.Inaway,hewas.Oratleasthehadtraveledfromsomewhereveryfaraway,

somewhere deep inside himself, from where others hadn’t. Schooled insuffering, to quote Virgil, Lincoln learned “to comfort those who suffer too.”This, too, ispartof thewill—to thinkofothers, tomake thebestofa terriblesituation that we tried to prevent but could not, to deal with fate withcheerfulnessandcompassion.Lincoln’s words went to the people’s hearts because they came from his,

becausehehadaccesstoapartofthehumanexperiencethatmanyhadwalledthemselvesofffrom.Hispersonalpainwasanadvantage.Lincolnwasstronganddecisiveasa leader.ButhealsoembodiedtheStoic

maxim: sustine et abstine. Bear and forbear. Acknowledge the pain but trodonwardinyourtask.Hadthewargoneonevenlonger,Lincolnwouldhaveleadhispeople through it.Had theUnion lost theCivilWar,he’dhaveknown that

he’ddoneeverythinghecouldinpursuitofvictory.Moreimportant,ifLincolnhadbeendefeated,hewaspreparedtobearwhatevertheresultingconsequenceswith dignity and strength and courage. Providing an example for others, invictoryorindefeat—whicheveroccurred.With all our modern technology has come the conceited delusion that we

control theworldaroundus.We’reconvincedthatwecannow,finally,controltheuncontrollable.Ofcourse that isnot true. It’shighlyunlikelywewilleverget ridofall the

unpleasantandunpredictablepartsof life.Oneneedsonlytolookathistorytoseehowrandomandviciousandawfultheworldcanbe.Theincomprehensiblehappensallthetime.Certain things in lifewillcutyouopen likeaknife.When thathappens—at

thatexposingmoment—theworldgetsaglimpseofwhat’strulyinsideyou.Sowhatwillberevealedwhenyou’reslicedopenbytensionandpressure?Iron?Orair?Orbullshit?Assuch,thewillisthecriticalthirddiscipline.Wecanthink,act,andfinally

adjust toaworld that is inherentlyunpredictable.Thewill iswhatpreparesusforthis,protectsusagainstit,andallowsustothriveandbehappyinspiteofit.It is also themost difficult of all the disciplines. It’swhat allows us to standundisturbedwhileotherswiltandgiveintodisorder.Confident,calm,readytoworkregardlessoftheconditions.Willingandabletocontinue,evenduringtheunthinkable,evenwhenourworstnightmareshavecometrue.It’smucheasiertocontrolourperceptionsandemotionsthanitistogiveup

ourdesiretocontrolotherpeopleandevents.It’seasiertopersistinoureffortsandactionsthantoenduretheuncomfortableorthepainful.It’seasiertothinkandactthanitistopracticewisdom.These lessons comeharder but are, in the end, themost critical towresting

advantagefromadversity.Ineverysituation,wecan

Alwaysprepareourselvesformoredifficulttimes.Alwaysacceptwhatwe’reunabletochange.Alwaysmanageourexpectations.Alwayspersevere.Alwayslearntoloveourfateandwhathappenstous.Alwaysprotectourinnerself,retreatintoourselves.Alwayssubmittoagreater,largercause.Alwaysremindourselvesofourownmortality.

And,ofcourse,preparetostartthecycleoncemore.

BUILDYOURINNERCITADEL

Ifthyfaintinthedayofadversity,thystrengthissmall.

—PROVERBS24:10

Byagetwelve,TheodoreRoosevelthadspentalmosteverydayofhisshortlifestrugglingwithhorribleasthma.Despitehisprivilegedbirth,his lifehung inaprecarious balance—the attackswere an almost nightly near-death experience.Tall,gangly,andfrail, theslightestexertionwouldupsettheentirebalanceandleavehimbedriddenforweeks.One day his father came into his roomand delivered amessage thatwould

changetheyoungboy’slife:“Theodore,youhavethemindbuthaven’tgotthebody.I’mgivingyouthetoolstomakeyourbody.It’sgoingtobeharddrudgeryandIthinkyouhavethedeterminationtogothroughwithit.”You’d think thatwouldbe lostonachild,especiallya fragileoneborn into

great wealth and status. But according to Roosevelt’s younger sister, whowitnessed theconversation, itwasn’t.His response,usingwhatwouldbecomehistrademarkcheerfulgrit,wastolookathisfatherandsaywithdetermination:“I’llmakemybody.”At thegym thathis fatherbuilton the second-floorporch,youngRoosevelt

proceeded to work out feverishly every day for the next five years, slowlybuildingmuscleandstrengtheninghisupperbodyagainsthisweaklungsandforthefuture.Byhisearly twenties thebattleagainstasthmawasessentiallyover,he’dworked—almostliterally—thatweaknessoutofhisbody.That gym work prepared a physically weak but smart young boy for the

uniquely challenging course onwhich the nation and theworldwere about toembark. Itwas thebeginningofhispreparation forand fulfillmentofwhathewouldcall“theStrenuousLife.”AndforRoosevelt, life threwa lotathim:He lostawifeandhismother in

rapidsuccession,hefacedpowerful,entrenchedpoliticalenemieswhodespisedhisprogressiveagenda,wasdealtdefeatinelections,thenationwasembroiledinforeign wars, and he survived nearly fatal assassination attempts. But he was

equippedforitallbecauseofhisearlytrainingandbecausehekeptat iteverysingleday.Are you similarly prepared? Could you actually handle yourself if things

suddenlygotworse?Wetakeweaknessforgranted.Weassumethatthewaywe’rebornistheway

wesimplyare,thatourdisadvantagesarepermanent.Andthenweatrophyfromthere.That’snotnecessarilythebestrecipeforthedifficultiesoflife.Noteveryoneacceptstheirbadstartinlife.Theyremaketheirbodiesandtheir

liveswithactivitiesandexercise.Theypreparethemselvesforthehardroad.Dotheyhopetheyneverhavetowalkit?Sure.Buttheyarepreparedforit inanycase.Areyou?Nobodyisbornwithasteelbackbone.Wehavetoforgethatourselves.We craft our spiritual strength through physical exercise, and our physical

hardinessthroughmentalpractice(menssanaincorporesano—soundmindinastrongbody).This approach goes back to the ancient philosophers. Every bit of the

philosophy they developedwas intended to reshape, prepare, and fortify themforthechallengestocome.Manysawthemselvesasmentalathletes—afterall,thebrain is amuscle like anyother active tissue. It canbebuilt up and tonedthrough the rightexercises.Over time, theirmusclememorygrew to thepointthattheycouldintuitivelyrespondtoeverysituation.Especiallyobstacles.ItissaidoftheJews,deprivedofastablehomelandforsolong,theirtemples

destroyed, and their communities in the Diaspora, that they were forced torebuildnotphysicallybutwithintheirminds.Thetemplebecameametaphysicalone, located independently in themindofeverybeliever.Eachone—whereverthey’dbeendispersedaroundtheworld,whateverpersecutionorhardshiptheyfaced—coulddrawuponitforstrengthandsecurity.Consider the line from the Haggadah: “In every generation a person is

obligatedtoviewhimselfasifheweretheonewhowentoutofEgypt.”DuringPassoverSeder, themenu is bitter herbs and unleavened bread—the

“bread of affliction.” Why? In some ways, this taps into the fortitude thatsustained the community for generations. The ritual not only celebrates andhonorsJewishtraditions,butitpromptsthosepartakinginthefeasttovisualizeandpossessthestrengththathaskeptthemgoing.This is strikingly similar to what the Stoics called the Inner Citadel, that

fortress inside of us that no external adversity can ever break down. Animportantcaveat is thatwearenotbornwithsuchastructure; itmustbebuiltandactivelyreinforced.Duringthegoodtimes,westrengthenourselvesandourbodies so that during the difficult times,we can depend on it.Weprotect ourinnerfortresssoitmayprotectus.To Roosevelt, life was like an arena and he was a gladiator. In order to

survive, heneeded tobe strong, resilient, fearless, ready for anything.Andhewaswillingtoriskgreatpersonalharmandexpendmassiveamountsofenergytodevelopthathardiness.You’llhavefarbetterlucktougheningyourselfupthanyoueverwilltryingto

take the teeth out of a world that is—at best—indifferent to your existence.Whether wewere bornweak like Roosevelt or we are currently experiencinggoodtimes,weshouldalwaysprepareforthingstogettough.Inourownway,inourownfight,weareallinthesamepositionRooseveltwasin.No one is born a gladiator. No one is bornwith an Inner Citadel. If we’re

goingtosucceedinachievingourgoalsdespitetheobstaclesthatmaycome,thisstrengthinwillmustbebuilt.To be great at something takes practice. Obstacles and adversity are no

different.Thoughitwouldbeeasiertositbackandenjoyacushymodernlife,theupsideofpreparationisthatwe’renotdisposedtoloseallofit—leastofallourheads—whensomeoneorsomethingsuddenlymesseswithourplans.It’salmostaclichéatthispoint,buttheobservationthatthewaytostrengthen

anarchistoputweightonit—becauseitbindsthestonestogether,andonlywithtensiondoesitholdweight—isagreatmetaphor.Thepathofleastresistanceisaterribleteacher.Wecan’taffordtoshyaway

from the things that intimidate us.We don’t need to take our weaknesses forgranted.Areyouokaybeingalone?Areyoustrongenoughtogoafewmoreroundsif

itcomestothat?Areyoucomfortablewithchallenges?Doesuncertaintybotheryou?Howdoespressurefeel?Because these thingswill happen to you. No one knowswhen or how, but

theirappearanceiscertain.Andlifewilldemandananswer.Youchosethisforyourself,alifeofdoingthings.Nowyoubetterbepreparedforwhatitentails.It’s your armor plating. It doesn’tmakeyou invincible, but it helps prepare

youforwhenfortuneshifts...anditalwaysdoes.

ANTICIPATION(THINKINGNEGATIVELY)

Offeraguaranteeanddisasterthreatens.

—ANCIENTINSCRIPTIONATTHEORACLEOFDELPHI

ACEOcallsher staff into theconference roomon theeveof the launchofamajornewinitiative.Theyfileinandtaketheirseatsaroundthetable.Shecallsthemeeting to attention and begins: “I have bad news. The project has failedspectacularly.Tellmewhatwentwrong?”What?!Butwehaven’tevenlaunchedyet...That’s the point. TheCEO is forcing an exercise in hindsight—in advance.

She is using a technique designed by psychologist Gary Klein known as apremortem.In a postmortem, doctors convene to examine the causes of a patient’s

unexpected death so they can learn and improve for the next time a similarcircumstance arises. Outside of the medical world, we call this a number ofthings—a debriefing, an exit interview, a wrap-up meeting, a review—butwhatever it’s called, the idea is the same: We’re examining the project inhindsight,afterithappened.Apremortem is different. In it, we look to envision what could go wrong,

what will go wrong, in advance, before we start. Far too many ambitiousundertakings fail for preventable reasons. Far too many people don’t have abackupplanbecausetheyrefusetoconsiderthatsomethingmightnotgoexactlyastheywish.Yourplanandthewaythingsturnoutrarelyresembleeachother.Whatyou

thinkyoudeserveisalsorarelywhatyou’llget.Yetweconstantlydenythisfactandarerepeatedlyshockedbytheeventsoftheworldastheyunfold.It’sridiculous.Stopsettingyourselfupforafall.No one has ever said this better than Mike Tyson, who, reflecting on the

collapseofhisfortuneandfame,toldareporter,“Ifyou’renothumble,lifewillvisithumblenessuponyou.”Ifonlymorepeoplehadbeenthinkingworst-casescenarioatcriticalpointsin

our lifetimes, the tech bubble, Enron, 9/11, the invasion of Iraq, and the realestatebubblemighthavebeenavoidable.Noonewantedtoconsiderwhatcouldhappen,andtheresult?Catastrophe.Today, thepremortem is increasinglypopular inbusinesscircles, fromstart-

ups to Fortune 500 companies and theHarvard Business Review. But like allgreatideas,itisactuallynothingnew.ThecreditgoestotheStoics.Theyevenhadabettername:premeditatiomalorum(premeditationofevils).AwriterlikeSenecawouldbeginbyreviewingorrehearsinghisplans,say,to

takeatrip.Andthenhewouldgoover,inhishead(orinwriting),thethingsthatcouldgowrongorprevent it fromhappening: a stormcouldarise, thecaptaincouldfallill,theshipcouldbeattackedbypirates.“Nothing happens to the wise man against his expectation,” he wrote to a

friend.“...nordoallthingsturnoutforhimashewishedbutashereckoned—andaboveallhereckonedthatsomethingcouldblockhisplans.”Alwayspreparedfordisruption,alwaysworkingthatdisruptionintoourplans.

Fitted,astheysay,fordefeatorvictory.Andlet’sbehonest,apleasantsurpriseisalotbetterthananunpleasantone.Whatif...ThenIwill...Whatif...InsteadI’lljust...Whatif...Noproblem,wecanalways...And in thecasewherenothingcouldbedone, theStoicswoulduse itasan

important practice to do something the rest of us toooften fail to do:manageexpectations.Becausesometimestheonlyanswerto“Whatif...”is,Itwillsuckbutwe’llbeokay.Your world is ruled by external factors. Promises aren’t kept. You don’t

alwaysgetwhat is rightfullyyours,even ifyouearned it.Noteverything isascleanandstraightforwardasthegamestheyplayinbusinessschool.Bepreparedforthis.Youhavetomakeconcessionsfortheworldaroundyou.Wearedependenton

other people. Not everyone can be counted on like you can (though, let’s behonest,we’reallourownworstenemysometimes).Andthatmeanspeoplearegoing tomakemistakesandscrewupyourplans—notalways,buta lotof thetime.Ifthiscomesasaconstantsurpriseeachandeverytimeitoccurs,you’renot

onlygoingtobemiserable,you’regoingtohaveamuchhardertimeacceptingitandmoving on to attempts number two, three, and four. The only guarantee,ever,isthatthingswillgowrong.Theonlythingwecanusetomitigatethisisanticipation.Becausetheonlyvariablewecontrolcompletelyisourselves.Commonwisdomprovidesuswiththemaxims:

Bewarethecalmbeforethestorm.Hopeforthebest,preparefortheworst.Theworstisyettocome.Itgetsworsebeforeitgetsbetter.

Theworldmightcallyouapessimist.Whocares?It’sfarbettertoseemlikeadownerthantobeblindsidedorcaughtoffguard.It’sbettertomeditateonwhatcouldhappen,toprobeforweaknessesinourplans,sothoseinevitablefailurescanbecorrectlyperceived,appropriatelyaddressed,orsimplyendured.Then,therealreasonwewon’thaveanyproblemthinkingaboutbadluckis

because we’re not afraid of what it portends. We’re prepared in advance foradversity—it’sotherpeoplewhoarenot.Inotherwords,thisbadluckisactuallyachanceforustomakeupsometime.We’relikerunnerswhotrainonhillsorataltitudesotheycanbeattherunnerswhoexpectedthecoursewouldbeflat.Anticipation doesn’t magically make things easier, of course. But we are

preparedforthemtobeashardastheyneedtobe,ashardastheyactuallyare.Asaresultofouranticipation,weunderstandtherangeofpotentialoutcomes

and know that they are not all good (they rarely are). We can accommodateourselvestoanyofthem.Weunderstandthatitcouldpossiblyallgowrong.Andnowwecangetbacktothetaskathand.You know you want to accomplish X, so you invest time, money, and

relationships into achieving it. About the worst thing that can happen is notsomething going wrong, but something going wrong and catching you bysurprise. Why? Because unexpected failure is discouraging and being beatenbackhurts.Butthepersonwhohasrehearsedintheirmindwhatcouldgowrongwillnot

becaughtbysurprise.Thepersonreadytobedisappointedwon’tbe.Theywillhavethestrengthtobearit.Theyarenotaslikelytogetdiscouragedortoshirkfromthetaskthatliesbeforethem,ormakeamistakeinthefaceofit.Youknowwhat’sbetterthanbuildingthingsupinyourimagination?Building

thingsup in real life.Of course, it’s a lotmore fun tobuild thingsup inyour

imagination than it is to tear themdown.Butwhatpurposedoes that serve? Itonlysetsyouupfordisappointment.Chimerasarelikebandages—theyhurtonlywhentornaway.Withanticipation,wehavetimetoraisedefenses,orevenavoidthementirely.

We’rereadytobedrivenoffcoursebecausewe’veplottedawayback.Wecanresistgoing topieces if thingsdidn’tgoasplanned.Withanticipation,wecanendure.Wearepreparedforfailureandreadyforsuccess.

THEARTOFACQUIESCENCE

TheFatesguidethepersonwhoacceptsthemandhinderthepersonwhoresiststhem.

—CLEANTHES

ThomasJefferson:bornquiet,contemplative,andreserved—purportedlywithaspeech impediment.Compared to thegreatoratorsofhis time—PatrickHenry,JohnWesley,EdmundBurke—hewasaterriblepublicspeaker.Hisheart setonpolitics,hehad twooptions:Fight against this sentence,or

acceptit.Hechose the latter,channeling theenergy intohiswriting,whichothersput

into oratory instead. There he found his medium. He found he could expresshimself clearly.Writing was his strength. Jefferson was the one the foundingfathers turnedtowhentheyneededtheDeclarationofIndependence.Hewroteoneofthemostimportantdocumentsinhistory,inasingledraft.Jeffersonjustwasn’tapublicspeaker—thatdoesn’tmakehimlessofaman

foracknowledgingitandactingaccordingly.Same goes for Edison, who, as most people have no idea, was almost

completelydeaf.OrHelenKeller,whowasdeafandblind.Forboth,itwasthedeprivationofthesesenses—andacceptancerather thanresentmentof thatfact—thatallowedthemtodevelopdifferent,butacutelypowerful,sensestoadjusttotheirreality.It doesn’t always feel that way but constraints in life are a good thing.

Especiallyifwecanacceptthemandletthemdirectus.Theypushustoplacesandtodevelopskillsthatwe’dotherwiseneverhavepursued.Wouldweratherhaveeverything?Sure,butthatisn’tuptous.“Truegenius,”astheinfamousDr.SamuelJohnsononcesaid,“isamindof

largegeneralpowersaccidentallydeterminedinsomeparticulardirection.”That channeling requires consent. It requires acceptance.We have to allow

someaccidentstohappentous.Ican’tjustgiveup!Iwanttofight!You know you’re not the only one who has to accept things you don’t

necessarilylike,right?It’spartofthehumancondition.If someone we knew took traffic signals personally, we would judge them

insane.Yetthisisexactlywhatlifeisdoingtous.Ittellsustocometoastophere.Or

that some intersection is blocked or that a particular road has been reroutedthroughan inconvenientdetour.Wecan’targueoryell thisproblemaway.Wesimplyacceptit.That is not to say we allow it to prevent us from reaching our ultimate

destination.Butitdoeschangethewaywetraveltogetthereandthedurationofthetrip.Whenadoctorgivesyouordersor adiagnosis—even if it’s theoppositeof

what youwanted—what do you do?You accept it.You don’t have to like orenjoythetreatmentbutyouknowthatdenyingitonlydelaysthecure.After you’ve distinguished between the things that are up to you and the

thingsthataren’t(taeph’hemin,taoukeph’hemin),andthebreakcomesdowntosomethingyoudon’tcontrol...you’vegotonlyoneoption:acceptance.Theshotdidn’tgoin.Thestockwenttozero.Theweatherdisruptedtheshipment.Sayitwithme:C’estlavie.It’sallfine.Youdon’thavetolikesomethingtomasterit—ortouseittosomeadvantage.

Whenthecauseofourproblemliesoutsideofus,wearebetterforacceptingitandmoving on. For ceasing to kick and fight against it, and coming to termswithit.TheStoicshaveabeautifulnameforthisattitude.TheycallittheArtofAcquiescence.Let’sbeclear,thatisnotthesamethingasgivingup.Thishasnothingtodo

withaction—this is for the things thatare immune toaction. It is fareasier totalkofthewaythingsshouldbe.Ittakestoughness,humility,andwilltoacceptthemforwhattheyactuallyare.Ittakesarealmanorwomantofacenecessity.Allexternaleventscanbeequallybeneficialtousbecausewecanturnthem

all upside down andmake use of them. They can teach us a lessonwewerereluctanttootherwiselearn.For instance, in 2006 a long-term hip injury finally caught upwithLakers’

coachPhilJackson,andthesurgeryhehadtofixitseverelylimitedhiscourtsidemovement. Relegated to a special captain’s-style chair near the players, hecouldn’t pace the sideline or interact with the team the same way. Initially,Jacksonwasworriedthiswouldaffecthiscoaching.Infact,sittingbackonthe

sidelineabovetherestof thebench increasedhisauthority.Helearnedhowtoasserthimselfwithouteverbeingoverbearingthewayhe’dbeeninthepast.But to get theseunexpectedbenefitswe first have to accept theunexpected

costs—eventhoughwe’drathernothavetheminthefirstplace.Unfortunately,weareoftentoogreedytodothis.Weinstinctivelythinkabout

howmuch betterwe’d like any given situation to be.We start thinking aboutwhatwe’d rather have. Rarely dowe consider howmuchworse things couldhavebeen.Andthingscanalwaysbeworse.Nottobeglib,butthenexttimeyou:

Losemoney?Remember,youcouldhavelostafriend.Lostthatjob?Whatifyou’dlostalimb?Lostyourhouse?Youcouldhavelosteverything.

Yet we squirm and complain about what was taken from us.We still can’t

appreciatewhatwehave.The hubris at the core of this notion that we can change everything is

somewhatnew.Inaworldwherewecanbeamdocumentsaroundtheworldinnanoseconds, chat in high-definition videowith anyone anywhere, predict theweather down to theminute, it’s very easy to internalize the assumption thatnaturehasbeendomesticatedandsubmitstoourwhim.Ofcourseithasn’t.People didn’t always think thisway.The ancients (and the not so ancients)

used the word fate far more frequently than us because they were betteracquaintedwithandexposedtohowcapriciousandrandomtheworldcouldbe.Eventswereconsideredtobethe“willoftheGods.”TheFateswereforcesthatshapedourlivesanddestinies,oftennotwithmuchconsent.Letters used to be signed “Deo volente”—Godwilling. Becausewho knew

whatwouldhappen?Think of GeorgeWashington, putting everything he had into the American

Revolution,andthensaying,“TheeventisinthehandofGod.”OrEisenhower,writing tohiswifeon theeveof theAllied invasionatSicily:“Everythingwecouldthinkofhavebeendone,thetroopsarefiteverybodyisdoinghisbest.Theanswer is in the lap of the gods.” These were not guys prone to settling orleavingthedetailsuptootherpeople—buttheyunderstoodultimatelythatwhat

happenedwouldhappen.Andthey’dgofromthere.It’s time tobehumble and flexible enough to acknowledge the same inour

own lives. That there is always someone or something that could change theplan. And that person is not us. As the saying goes, “Man proposes but Goddisposes.”

Asfatewouldhaveit.Heavenforbid.Naturepermitting.Murphy’sLaw.

Whatever version you prefer, it’s all the same. Not thatmuch has changedbetweentheirtimeandours—theywerejustmorecognizantofit.Look:Ifwewanttousethemetaphorthatlifeisagame,itmeansplayingthe

diceorthechipsorthecardswheretheyfall.Playitwhereitlies,agolferwouldsay.Thewaylifeisgivesyouplentytoworkwith,plentytoleaveyourimprinton.

Takingpeople and events as they are is quite enoughmaterial already.Followwheretheeventstakeyou,likewaterrollingdownahill—italwaysgetstothebottomeventually,doesn’tit?Because(a)you’rerobustandresilientenoughtohandlewhateveroccurs,(b)

youcan’tdoanythingabout itanyway,and(c)you’re lookingatabig-enoughpictureandlong-enoughtimelinethatwhateveryouhavetoacceptisstillonlyanegligiblebliponthewaytoyourgoal.We’reindifferentandthat’snotaweakness.As Francis Bacon once said, nature, in order to be commanded, must be

obeyed.

LOVEEVERYTHINGTHATHAPPENS:AMORFATI

Myformulaforgreatnessinahumanbeingisamorfati:thatonewantsnothingtobedifferent,notforward,notbackward,notinalleternity.Notmerelybearwhatisnecessary,stilllessconcealit...butloveit.

—NIETZSCHE

At age sixty-seven, Thomas Edison returned home early one evening fromanotherdayatthelaboratory.Shortlyafterdinner,amancamerushingintohishouse with urgent news: A fire had broken out at Edison’s research andproductioncampusafewmilesaway.Fireenginesfromeightnearbytownsrushedtothescene,buttheycouldnot

containtheblaze.Fueledbythestrangechemicalsinthevariousbuildings,greenandyellowflamesshotupsixandsevenstories,threateningtodestroytheentireempireEdisonhadspenthislifebuilding.Edisoncalmlybutquicklymadehiswaytothefire,throughthenowhundreds

of onlookers and devastated employees, looking for his son. “Go get yourmotherandallherfriends,”hetoldhissonwithchildlikeexcitement.“They’llneverseeafirelikethisagain.”What?!Don’tworry,Edisoncalmedhim.“It’sallright.We’vejustgotridofalotof

rubbish.”That’saprettyamazingreaction.Butwhenyouthinkaboutit,therereallywas

nootherresponse.WhatshouldEdisonhavedone?Wept?Gottenangry?Quitandgonehome?What,exactly,wouldthathaveaccomplished?You know the answer now: nothing. So he didn’t waste time indulging

himself.Todogreatthings,weneedtobeabletoenduretragedyandsetbacks.We’vegottolovewhatwedoandallthatitentails,goodandbad.Wehavetolearntofindjoyineverysinglethingthathappens.Of course, therewasmore than just a little “rubbish” inEdison’sbuildings.

Yearsandyearsofpricelessrecords,prototypes,andresearchwereturnedtoash.

The buildings, which had been made of what was supposedly fire-proofedconcrete,hadbeeninsuredforonlyafractionoftheirworth.Thinkingtheywereimmune to such disasters, Edison and his investors were covered for about athirdofthedamage.Still, Edisonwasn’t heartbroken, not as he could have and probably should

have been. Instead, it invigorated him.As he told a reporter the next day, hewasn’ttoooldtomakeafreshstart.“I’vebeenthroughalotofthingslikethis.Itpreventsamanfrombeingafflictedwithennui.”Within about three weeks, the factory was partially back up and running.

Within a month, its men were working two shifts a day churning out newproducts theworldhadnever seen.Despitea lossofalmost$1milliondollars(morethan$23millionintoday’sdollars),Edisonwouldmarshalenoughenergyto make nearly $10 million dollars in revenue that year ($200-plus milliontoday).Henotonlysufferedaspectaculardisaster,butherecoveredandrepliedtoitspectacularly.Thenext stepafterwediscardourexpectationsandacceptwhathappens to

us,afterunderstandingthatcertainthings—particularlybadthings—areoutsideourcontrol, is this: lovingwhateverhappens tousand facing itwithunfailingcheerfulness.Itistheactofturningwhatwemustdointowhatwegettodo.We put our energies and emotions and exertions where they will have real

impact.Thisisthatplace.Wewilltellourselves:ThisiswhatI’vegottodoorputupwith?Well,Imightaswellbehappyaboutit.Here’s an image to consider: the great boxer Jack Johnson in his famous

fifteen-roundbrawlwithJimJeffries.Jeffries,theGreatWhiteHope,calledoutof retirement like some deranged Cincinnatus to defeat the ascendant blackchampion.And Johnson, genuinely hatedbyhis opponent and the crowd, stillenjoyingeveryminuteofit.Smiling,joking,playingthewholefight.Why not? There’s no value in any other reaction. Should he hate them for

hatinghim?BitternesswastheirburdenandJohnsonrefusedtopickitup.Not that he simply took the abuse. Instead, Johnsondesignedhis fight plan

aroundit.AteverynastyremarkfromJeffries’scorner,he’dgivehisopponentanotherlacing.AteverylowtrickorrushfromJeffries,Johnsonwouldquipandbeatitback—butneverlosehiscool.Andwhenonewell-placedblowopenedacutonJohnson’slip,hekeptsmiling—agory,bloody,butneverthelesscheerfulsmile.Everyround,hegothappier,friendlier,ashisopponentgrewenragedandtired,eventuallylosingthewilltofight.

In your worst moments, picture Johnson: always calm, always in control,genuinely loving the opportunity to prove himself, to perform for people,whethertheywantedhimtosucceedornot.Eachremarkbringingtheresponseitdeservedandnomore—letting theopponentdighisowngrave.Until thefightendedwithJeffriesonthefloorandeverydoubtaboutJohnsonsilenced.AsJackLondon,thefamousnovelist,reportedfromringsideseats:

Nooneunderstandshim,thismanwhosmiles.Well, thestoryofthefightisthestoryofasmile.Ifeveramanwonbynothingmorefatiguingthanasmile,Johnsonwontoday.

Thatman isus—orrather, itcanbeus ifwestrive tobecomelikehim.Forwe’reinourownfightwithourownobstacles,andwecanwearthemdownwithour relentless smile (frustrating the people or impediments attempting tofrustrateus).WecanbeEdison,ourfactoryonfire,notbemoaningourfatebutenjoying the spectacular scene. And then starting the recovery effort the verynextday—roaringbacksoonenough.Your obstacle may not be so serious or violent. But they are nevertheless

significantandoutsideyourcontrol.Theywarrantonlyoneresponse:asmile.As the Stoics commanded themselves: Cheerfulness in all situations,

especially the bad ones. Who knows where Edison and Johnson learned thisepithet,buttheyclearlydid.Learningnottokickandscreamaboutmatterswecan’tcontrolisonething.

Indifference and acceptance are certainly better than disappointment or rage.Veryfewunderstandorpracticethatart.Butitisonlyafirststep.Betterthanallofthatisloveforallthathappenstous,foreverysituation.Thegoalis:

Not:I’mokaywiththis.Not:IthinkIfeelgoodaboutthis.But:Ifeelgreataboutit.Becauseifithappened,thenitwasmeanttohappen,andIamgladthatitdidwhenitdid.Iammeanttomakethebestofit.

Andproceedtodoexactlythat.Wedon’tgettochoosewhathappenstous,butwecanalwayschoosehowwe

feelaboutit.Andwhyonearthwouldyouchoosetofeelanythingbutgood?Wecanchoosetorenderagoodaccountofourselves.Iftheeventmustoccur,Amorfati(aloveoffate)istheresponse.

Don’twaste a second looking back at your expectations. Face forward, andfaceitwithasmuglittlegrin.It’s important to look at Johnson and Edison because theyweren’t passive.

They didn’t simply roll over and tolerate adversity. They accepted whathappenedtothem.Theylikedit.It’salittleunnatural,Iknow,tofeelgratitudeforthingsweneverwantedto

happen in the first place. But we know, at this point, the opportunities andbenefits that lie within adversities. We know that in overcoming them, weemerge stronger, sharper, empowered. There is little reason to delay thesefeelings.Tobegrudgingly acknowledge later that itwas for thebest,whenwecouldhavefeltthatinadvancebecauseitwasinevitable.You love it because it’s all fuel.Andyoudon’t justwant fuel.Youneed it.

Youcan’tgoanywherewithoutit.Nooneornothingcan.Soyou’regratefulforit.Thatisnottosaythatthegoodwillalwaysoutweighthebad.Orthatitcomes

free and without cost. But there is always some good—even if only barelyperceptibleatfirst—containedwithinthebad.Andwecanfinditandbecheerfulbecauseofit.

PERSEVERANCE

“Gentleman,Iamhardeningonthisenterprise.Irepeat,Iamnowhardeningtowardsthisenterprise.”

—WINSTONCHURCHILL

OdysseusleavesTroyaftertenlongyearsofwardestinedforIthaca,forhome.If only he knewwhat was ahead of him: tenmore years of travel. That he’dcomesoclosetotheshoresofhishomeland,hisqueenandyoungson,onlytobeblownbackagain.That he’d face storms, temptation, aCyclops, deadlywhirlpools, and a six-

headedmonster.Orthathe’dbeheldcaptiveforsevenyearsandsufferthewrathofPoseidon.And,ofcourse,thatbackinIthacahisrivalswerecircling,tryingtotakehiskingdomandhiswife.Howdidhegetthroughit?Howdidtheheromakeithomedespiteitall?Creativity, of course. And craftiness and leadership and discipline and

courage.Butaboveall:perseverance.WetalkedaboutUlyssesS.GrantacrosstheriverfromVicksburg,searching

forsomeway,anyway, togetacrossand take it.That’spersistence.ThatwasOdysseusstandingat thegatesofTroy,tryingeverythingbeforethesuccessoftheTrojanhorse.Persistence.Everythingdirectedatoneproblem,untilitbreaks.But a ten-year voyage of trials and tribulations. Of disappointment and

mistakeswithout giving in.Of checking your bearings each day and trying toincha littlecloser tohome—whereyou’ll faceawholeotherhostofproblemsonceyouarrive.IronheartedandreadytoendurewhateverpunishmenttheGodsdecideyoumust,andtodoitwithcourageandtenacityinordertomakeitbacktoIthaca?That’smorethanpersistence,that’sperseverance.If persistence is attempting to solve some difficult problem with dogged

determinationandhammeringuntil thebreakoccurs, thenplentyofpeoplecanbesaidtobepersistent.Butperseveranceissomethinglarger.It’sthelonggame.It’saboutwhathappensnotjustinroundonebutinroundtwoandeveryroundafter—andthenthefightafterthatandthefightafterthat,untiltheend.

The Germans have a word for it: Sitzfleisch. Staying power. Winning bystickingyourasstotheseatandnotleavinguntilafterit’sover.Life isnotaboutoneobstacle,butmany.What’s requiredofus isnot some

shortsightedfocusonasinglefacetofaproblem,butsimplyadeterminationthatwewillgettowhereweneedtogo,somehow,someway,andnothingwillstopus.Wewillovercomeeveryobstacle—and therewillbemany in life—untilwe

get there. Persistence is an action. Perseverance is a matter of will. One isenergy.Theother,endurance.And,ofcourse,theyworkinconjunctionwitheachother.ThatTennysonlineinfull:Madeweakbytimeandfate,butstronginwillTostrive,toseek,tofind,andnottoyield

Persistandpersevere.Throughouthumanhistory, therehavebeenmany strategies for overcoming

the seemingly endless problems that affect us as individuals and as a group.Sometimesthesolutionwastechnology,sometimesitwasviolence,sometimesitwasaradicalnewwayofthinkingthatchangedeverything.We’ve lookedat a lotof thoseexamples.Butacross theboard,one strategy

hasbeenmoreeffectivethanalltheothers,anditisresponsibleforfarmorethananything else. It works in good situations and in bad situations, dangeroussituationsandseeminglyhopelesssituations.When Antonio Pigafetta, the assistant to Magellan on his trip around the

world, reflected on his boss’s greatest andmost admirable skill, what do youthink he said? It had nothing to do with sailing. The secret to his success,Pigafettasaid,wasMagellan’sabilitytoendurehungerbetterthantheothermen.Thereare farmore failures in theworlddue toacollapseofwill than there

willeverbefromobjectivelyconclusiveexternalevents.Perseverance. Force of purpose. Indomitable will. Those traits were once

uniquelypartoftheAmericanDNA.Butthey’vebeenweakeningforsometime.AsEmersonwrotein1841,

Ifouryoungmenmiscarryintheirfirstenterprises,theyloseallheart.Iftheyoungmerchantfails,mensayhe is ruined. If the finestgenius studiesatoneofourcolleges,and isnot installed inanofficewithin one year afterwards in the cities or suburbs of Boston orNewYork, it seems to hisfriendsandtohimselfthatheisrightinbeingdisheartened,andincomplainingtherestofhislife.

Thinkofwhathe’dsayaboutusnow.Whatwouldhesayaboutyou?Themajority of my generation decides to move back in with their parents

aftercollege.Unemployment,forthem,istwicethenationalaverage.Accordingtoone2011 studyby theUniversity ofMichigan,manygraduates aren’t evenbotheringtolearnhowtodrive.Theroadisblocked,theyaresaying,sowhygetalicenseIwon’tbeabletouse?We whine and complain and mope when things won’t go our way. We’re

crushedwhenwhatwewere“promised”isrevoked—asifthat’snotallowedtohappen.Insteadofdoingmuchaboutit,wesitathomeandplayvideogamesortravel or worse, pay for more school with more loan debt that will never beforgiven.Andthenwewonderwhyitisn’tgettinganybetter.We’d be so much better following the lead of Emerson’s counterexample.

Someonewhoiswillingtotrynotonething,but“triesalltheprofessions,whoteamsit,farmsit,peddles,keepsaschool,preaches,editsanewspaper,goestoCongress,buysatownship,andsoforth,insuccessiveyears,andalways,likeacat,fallsonhisfeet.”This is perseverance.Andwith it,Emerson said, “with the exercise of self-

trust,newpowersshallappear.”Thegoodthingabouttrueperseveranceisthatitcan’tbestoppedbyanythingbesidesdeath.ToquoteBeethoven:“Thebarriersarenoterectedwhichcansay toaspiring talentsand industry,Thusfarandnofarther.”Wecangoaroundorunderorbackward.Wecandecidethatmomentumand

defeatarenotmutuallyexclusive—wecankeepgoing,advancing,evenifwe’vebeenstoppedinoneparticulardirection.Our actions can be constrained, but ourwill can’t be.Our plans—even our

bodies—canbebroken.Butbeliefinourselves?Nomatterhowmanytimeswearethrownback,wealoneretainthepowertodecidetogooncemore.Ortotryanotherroute.Or,attheveryleast,toacceptthisrealityanddecideuponanewaim.Determination, if you think about it, is invincible.Nothingother thandeath

canpreventusfromfollowingChurchill’soldacronym:KBO.KeepBuggeringOn.Despair?That’sonyou.Nooneelseistoblamewhenyouthrowinthetowel.Wedon’tcontrolthebarriersorthepeoplewhoputthemthere.Butwecontrol

ourselves—andthatissufficient.The true threat to determination, then, is not what happens to us, but us

ourselves.Whywouldyoubeyourownworstenemy?Holdonandholdsteady.

SOMETHINGBIGGERTHANYOURSELF

Aman’sjobistomaketheworldabetterplacetolivein,sofarasheisable—alwaysrememberingtheresultswillbeinfinitesimal—andtoattendtohisownsoul.

—LEROYPERCY

AUnitedStatesNavy fighterpilotnamed JamesStockdalewas shotdown inNorthVietnamin1965.Ashedriftedbackdowntoearthafterejectingfromhisplane,hespentthosefewminutescontemplatingwhatawaitedhimdownbelow.Imprisonment?Certainly.Torture?Likely.Death?Possibly.Whoknewhowlongitwouldalltake,orifhe’deverseehisfamilyorhomeagain.But the second Stockdale hit the ground, that contemplation stopped. He

wouldn’tdarethinkabouthimself.See,hehadamission.DuringtheKoreanWaradecadeearlier, individualself-preservationshowed

itsuglyside.Intheterrible,freezingprisoncampsofthatwar,ithadverymuchbecome every American soldier for himself. Scared to death, the survivalinstincts ofAmerican prisoners ofwar kicked in so overwhelmingly that theyendedupfightingandevenkillingoneanothersimplytostayalive,ratherthanfightingagainsttheircaptorstosurviveorescape.Stockdale (then, a commander), aware that hewouldbe thehighest-ranking

Navy POW the North Vietnamese had ever captured, knew he couldn’t doanything about his fate. But as a commanding officer, he could provideleadershipandsupportanddirectiontohisfellowprisoners(whoincludedfuturesenatorJohnMcCain).Hecouldchangethatsituationandnotlethistoryrepeatitself—this would be his cause, and he would help his men and lead them.Which is exactlywhat he proceeded to do formore than seven years; two ofwhichwerespentwearinglegironsinsolitaryconfinement.Stockdaledidn’ttakehisobligationasacommanderlightly.Hewentsofaras

toattemptsuicideatonepoint,nottoendhissufferingbuttosendamessagetotheguards.Othersoldiersinthewarefforthadgiventheirlives.Hewouldnotdisgracethemortheirsacrificebyallowinghimselftobeusedasatoolagainsttheircommoncause.Hewouldratherhurthimselfthancontribute—evenagainst

his will—to hurting or undermining others. He proved himself formidable towhateverphysicalharmhiscaptorsthreatenedhimwith.Buthewashuman.Andheunderstoodthathismenwere,too.Thefirstthing

hedidwasthrowoutanyidealisticnotionsaboutwhathappenstoasoldierwhenaskedtogiveupinformationunderhoursoftorture.Sohesetupanetworkofsupport inside the camp, specifically to help soldiers who felt ashamed forhavingbrokenunderthepressure.We’reinthistogether,hetoldthem.Hegavethemawatchwordtoremindthem:U.S.—UnityoverSelf.JohnMcCain in his owncell nearby responded in essentially the sameway

andwas able to endure indescribable torture for the same reasons. Hoping tostaintheMcCainfamily’sprestigiousmilitarylegacyandtheUnitedStates,theVietcong repeatedly offeredMcCain the opportunity to be released and returnhome. He wouldn’t take it. He would not undermine the cause, despite self-interest.Hestayedandwastortured—bychoice.Thesetwomenwerenotzealotsforthecause—theycertainlyhadtheirown

doubts about the war in Vietnam. But their cause was their men. They caredabouttheirfellowprisonersanddrewgreatstrengthbyputtingtheirwell-beingaheadoftheirown.Hopefully,youwillnotfindyourself inaPOWcampanytimesoon.Butwe

are in our own tough economic times—in fact, they can sometimes feeldownrightdesperate.You’reyoung, youdidn’t cause this, it isn’t your fault.Weall got screwed.

Thisonlymakesiteasiertoloseoursenseofself,tosaynothingofoursenseofothers.Tothink—ifonlyprivately—Idon’tcareaboutthem,I’vegottogetminebeforeit’stoolate.Especiallywhen the leaders inyour supposedcommunitymake it clear that

thatisexactlyhowtheyfeelaboutyouwhenitcomesdowntothecrunch.Butno,ignorethat.Itisinthismomentthatwemustshowthetruestrengthofwillwithinus.Afewyearsago,inthemiddleofthefinancialcrisis,theartistandmusician

Henry Rollins managed to express this deeply human obligation better thanmillenniaofreligiousdoctrineeverhave:

People are getting a little desperate.Peoplemight not show their best elements to you. Youmustnever loweryourself tobeingapersonyoudon’t like.There isnobetter time thannow tohaveamoralandcivicbackbone.Tohaveamoralandcivictruenorth.Thisisatremendousopportunityforyou,ayoungperson,tobeheroic.

Not that you need to martyr yourself. See, when we focus on others, onhelping themorsimplyprovidingagoodexample,ourownpersonalfearsandtroubleswilldiminish.Withfearorheartachenolongerourprimaryconcern,wedon’thavetimeforit.Sharedpurposegivesusstrength.Thedesire toquit or compromiseonprinciples suddenly feels rather selfish

whenweconsider thepeoplewhowouldbeaffectedby thatdecision.Whenitcomes to obstacles and whatever reactions they provoke—boredom, hatred,frustration,orconfusion—justbecauseyoufeelthatway,doesn’tmeaneveryoneelsedoes.Sometimeswhenwearepersonallystuckwithsomeintractableorimpossible

problem, one of the best ways to create opportunities or new avenues formovementistothink:IfIcan’tsolvethisformyself,howcanIatleastmakethisbetter forotherpeople?Take it forgranted, forasecond, that there isnothingelseinitforus,nothingwecandoforourselves.Howcanweusethissituationtobenefitothers?Howcanwesalvagesomegoodoutofthis?Ifnotforme,thenformyfamilyortheothersI’mleadingorthosewhomightlaterfindthemselvesinasimilarsituation.Whatdoesn’thelpanyoneismakingthisallaboutyou,allthetime.Whydid

thishappentome?WhatamIgoingtodoaboutthis?You’llbeshockedbyhowmuchofthehopelessnessliftswhenwereachthat

conclusion. Because now we have something to do. Like Stockdale, now wehaveamission.Inthelightofblindingfutility,we’vegotmarchingordersandthingsthatmustbedone.StopmakingitharderonyourselfbythinkingaboutI, I, I.Stopputtingthat

dangerous“I”infrontofevents.Ididthis.Iwassosmart.Ihadthat.Ideservebetter than this.Nowonderyou take lossespersonally, nowonderyou feel soalone.You’veinflatedyourownroleandimportance.Startthinking:UnityoverSelf.We’reinthistogether.Evenifwecan’tcarrytheloadall theway,we’regoingtotakeourcrackat

pickinguptheheavyend.We’regoingtobeofservicetoothers.Helpourselvesbyhelpingthem.Becomingbetterbecauseofit,drawingpurposefromit.Whateveryou’regoingthrough,whateverisholdingyoudownorstandingin

yourway,canbeturnedintoasourceofstrength—bythinkingofpeopleotherthanyourself.Youwon’thavetimetothinkofyourownsufferingbecausethereareotherpeoplesufferingandyou’retoofocusedonthem.Pride can be broken. Toughness has its limits. But a desire to help? No

harshness, no deprivation, no toil should interfere with our empathy toward

others.Compassionisalwaysanoption.Camaraderieaswell.That’sapowerofthewillthatcanneverbetakenaway,onlyrelinquished.Stoppretendingthatwhatyou’regoingthroughissomehowspecialorunfair.

Whatever troubleyou’rehaving—nomatterhowdifficult—isnot someuniquemisfortunepickedoutespeciallyforyou.Itjustiswhatitis.Thiskindofmyopia iswhatconvincesus, toourowndetriment, thatwe’re

the center of the universe. When really, there is a world beyond our ownpersonal experience filled with people who have dealt with worse.We’re notspecialoruniquesimplybyvirtueofbeing.We’reall,atvaryingpoints inourlives,thesubjectofrandomandoftenincomprehensibleevents.Remindingourselvesofthisisanotherwayofbeingabitmoreselfless.You can always remember that a decade earlier, a century earlier, a

millenniumearlier,someonejustlikeyoustoodrightwhereyouareandfeltverysimilarthings,strugglingwiththeverysamethoughts.Theyhadnoideathatyouwouldexist,butyouknowthattheydid.Andacenturyfromnow,someonewillbeinyourexactsameposition,oncemore.Embrace this power, this sense of being part of a larger whole. It is an

exhilarating thought.Let itenvelopyou.We’reall justhumans,doing thebestwe can. We’re all just trying to survive, and in the process, inch the worldforwardalittlebit.Helpyour fellowhumans thriveandsurvive,contributeyour littlebit to the

universe before it swallows you up, and be happy with that. Lend a hand toothers.Bestrongforthem,anditwillmakeyoustronger.

MEDITATEONYOURMORTALITY

Whenamanknowsheistobehangedinafortnight,itconcentrateshismindwonderfully.

—DR.JOHNSON

Inlate1569,aFrenchnoblemannamedMicheldeMontaignewasgivenupasdeadafterbeingflungfromagallopinghorse.Ashisfriendscarriedhislimpandbloodiedbodyhome,Montaignewatched

lifeslipawayfromhisphysicalself,not traumaticallybutalmostflimsily, likesome dancing spirit on the “tip of his lips.”Only to have it return at the lastpossiblesecond.ThissublimeandunusualexperiencemarkedthemomentMontaignechanged

his life.Within a few years, he would be one of the most famous writers inEurope. After his accident, Montaigne went on to write volumes of popularessays,servetwotermsasmayor,travelinternationallyasadignitary,andserveasaconfidanteoftheking.It’sastoryasoldastime.Mannearlydies,hetakesstock,andemergesfrom

theexperienceacompletelydifferent,andbetter,person.AndsoitwasforMontaigne.Comingsoclosetodeathenergizedhim,made

himcurious.No longerwasdeathsomething tobeafraidof—looking it in theeyeshadbeenarelief,eveninspiring.Deathdoesn’tmakelifepointless,butratherpurposeful.And,fortunately,we

don’thavetonearlydietotapintothisenergy.InMontaigne’sessays,weseeproofofthefactthatonecanmeditateondeath

—bewell awareofourownmortality—withoutbeingmorbidor adowner. Infact,hisexperiencegavehimauniquelyplayfulrelationshipwithhisexistenceand a sense of clarity and euphoria that he carried with him from that pointforward.Thisisencouraging:Itmeansthatembracingtheprecariousnessofourownexistencecanbeexhilaratingandempowering.Ourfearofdeath isa loomingobstacle inour lives. Itshapesourdecisions,

ouroutlook,andouractions.ButforMontaigne,fortherestofhislife,hewoulddwellandmeditateonthat

moment,re-creatingthenear-deathmomentasbesthecould.Hestudieddeath,discussing it, learning of its place in other cultures. For instance, Montaigneoncewroteofanancientdrinkinggameinwhichparticipantstookturnsholdingupapaintingofacorpseinsideacoffinandtoastingtoit:“Drinkandbemerryforwhenyou’redeadyouwilllooklikethis.”AsShakespearewroteinTheTempestnotmanyyearslater,ashehimselfwas

growingolder,“Everythirdthoughtshallbemygrave.”Everyculturehasitsownwayofteachingthesamelesson:Mementomori,the

Romanswouldremindthemselves.Rememberyouaremortal.Itseemsweirdtothinkthatwe’dforgetthisorneedtoberemindedofit,but

clearlywedo.Part of the reasonwehave somuch troublewith acceptance is because our

relationshipwithourownexistenceistotallymessedup.Wemaynotsayit,butdeepdownweact andbehave likewe’re invincible.Likewe’re impervious tothetrialsandtribulationsofmorality.Thatstuffhappenstootherpeople,nottoME.Ihaveplentyoftimeleft.Weforgethowlightourgriponlifereallyis.Otherwise, we wouldn’t spend so much time obsessing over trivialities, or

trying tobecome famous,makemoremoney thanwecould ever spend inourlifetime,ormakeplansfaroff in thefuture.Allof thesearenegatedbydeath.Alltheseassumptionspresumethatdeathwon’taffectus,oratleast,notwhenwe don’t want it to. The paths of glory, Thomas Gray wrote, lead but to thegrave.Itdoesn’tmatterwhoyouareorhowmanythingsyouhaveleft tobedone,

somewherethereissomeonewhowouldkillyouforathousanddollarsorforavileofcrackorforgettingintheirway.Acarcanhityouinanintersectionanddrive your teeth back into your skull. That’s it. It will all be over. Today,tomorrow,somedaysoon.It’saclichéquestiontoask,WhatwouldIchangeaboutmylifeifthedoctor

toldme Ihadcancer?Afterouranswer,we inevitablycomfortourselveswiththesameinsidiouslie:Well,thankGodIdon’thavecancer.Butwedo.Thediagnosisisterminalforallofus.Adeathsentencehasbeen

decreed. Each second, probability is eating away at the chances that we’ll bealive tomorrow; something is coming and you’ll never be able to stop it. Bereadyforwhenthatdaycomes.Remembertheserenityprayer:Ifsomethingisinourcontrol,it’sworthevery

ounceofoureffortsandenergy.Deathisnotoneofthosethings—itisnotinour

controlhowlongwewillliveorwhatwillcomeandtakeusfromlife.But thinkingaboutandbeingawareofourmortalitycreatesrealperspective

andurgency.Itdoesn’tneedtobedepressing.Becauseit’sinvigorating.And since this is true, we ought tomake use of it. Instead of denying—or

worse,fearing—ourmortality,wecanembraceit.Remindingourselveseachdaythatwewilldiehelpsustreatourtimeasagift.

Someoneonadeadlinedoesn’tindulgehimselfwithattemptsattheimpossible,hedoesn’twastetimecomplainingabouthowhe’dlikethingstobe.Theyfigureoutwhattheyneedtodoanddoit,fittinginasmuchaspossible

beforetheclockexpires.Theyfigureouthow,whenthatmomentstrikes,tosay,Ofcourse,Iwouldhavelikedtolastalittlelonger,butImadealotofoutwhatIwasalreadygivensothisworkstoo.There’snoquestionaboutit:Deathisthemostuniversalofourobstacles.It’s

theonewecandotheleastabout.Attheverybest,wecanhopetodelayit—andeventhen,we’llstillsuccumbeventually.But that isnot tosay it isnotwithoutvalue touswhilewearealive. In the

shadow of death, prioritization is easier.As are graciousness and appreciationandprinciples.Everythingfallsinitsproperplaceandperspective.Whywouldyoudothewrongthing?Whyfeelfear?Whyletyourselfandothersdown?Lifewillbeoversoonenough;deathchidesusthatwemayaswelldoliferight.We can learn to adjust and come to terms with death—this final andmost

humblingfactoflife—andfindreliefintheunderstandingthatthereisnothingelsenearlyashardleft.Andso,ifevenourownmortalitycanhavesomebenefit,howdareyousay

that you can’t derive value from each and every other kind of obstacle youencounter?

PREPARETOSTARTAGAIN

Liveoninyourblessings,yourdestiny’sbeenwon.Butourscallsusonfromoneordealtothenext.

—VIRGIL

Thegreat lawofnature is that itnever stops.There isnoend. Justwhenyouthinkyou’vesuccessfullynavigatedoneobstacle,anotheremerges.Butthat’swhatkeepslifeinteresting.Andasyou’restartingtosee,that’swhat

createsopportunities.Lifeisaprocessofbreakingthroughtheseimpediments—aseriesoffortified

linesthatwemustbreakthrough.Each time, you’ll learn something. Each time, you’ll develop strength,

wisdom,andperspective.Eachtime,alittlemoreofthecompetitionfallsaway.Untilallthatisleftisyou:thebestversionofyou.AstheHaitianproverbputsit:Behindmountainsaremoremountains.Elysiumisamyth.Onedoesnotovercomeanobstacletoenterthelandofno

obstacles.Onthecontrary,themoreyouaccomplish,themorethingswillstandinyour

way.Therearealwaysmoreobstacles,biggerchallenges.You’realwaysfightinguphill.Getusedtoitandtrainaccordingly.Knowingthatlifeisamarathonandnotasprintisimportant.Conserveyour

energy.Understandthateachbattleisonlyoneofmanyandthatyoucanuseittomake the next one easier. More important, you must keep them all in realperspective.Passingoneobstaclesimplysaysyou’reworthyofmore.Theworldseemsto

keep throwing them at you once it knows you can take it. Which is good,becausewegetbetterwitheveryattempt.Neverrattled.Neverfrantic.Alwayshustlingandactingwithcreativity.Never

anythingbutdeliberate.Neverattemptingtodotheimpossible—buteverythinguptothatline.Simplyflippingtheobstaclesthatlifethrowsatyoubyimprovinginspiteof

them,becauseofthem.

Andthereforenolongerafraid.Butexcited,cheerful,andeagerlyanticipatingthenextround.

FINALTHOUGHTSTheObstacleBecomestheWay

Late in his reign, sick and possibly near death, Marcus Aurelius receivedsurprisingnews.Hisold friendandmost trustedgeneral,AvidiusCassius,hadrebelledinSyria.Havingheardtheemperorwasvulnerableorpossiblydead,theambitiousgeneralhaddecided todeclarehimselfCaesarandforciblyseize thethrone.Marcusshouldhavebeenangry.Historywouldhaveforgivenhimforwanting

toavengethisenemy.Tocrushthismanwhohadbetrayedhim,whothreatenedhislife,hisfamily,andhislegacy.Instead,Marcusdidnothing—goingasfarasto keep the news secret from his troops, who might have been enraged orprovokedonhisbehalf—butwaitedtoseeifCassiuswouldcometohissenses.Themandidnot.AndsoMarcusAureliuscalledacouncilofhissoldiersand

madea ratherextraordinaryannouncement.TheywouldmarchagainstCassiusandobtainthe“greatprizeofwarandofvictory.”Butofcourse,becauseitwasMarcus,thiswarprizewassomethingwhollydifferent.TheywouldcaptureCassiusandendeavornottokillhim,but“...forgivea

man who has wronged one, to remain a friend to one who has transgressedfriendship,tocontinuefaithfultoonewhohasbrokenfaith.”Marcushadcontrolledhisperceptions.Hewasn’tangry,hedidn’tdespisehis

enemy. He would not say an ill word against him. He would not take itpersonally.Thenheacted—rightlyandfirmly—orderingtroopstoRometocalmthe panicking crowds and then set out to do what must be done: protect theempire,putdownathreat.Ashetoldhismen,iftherewasoneprofittheycouldderivefromthisawful

situationthattheyhadnotwanted,itwouldbeto“settlethisaffairwellandshowtoallmankindthatthereisarightwaytodealevenwithcivilwars.”Theobstaclebecomestheway.Ofcourse,assooftenhappens,even themostwell-intentionedplanscanbe

interruptedbyothers.ForbothCassiusandMarcus, theirdestinywaschangedwhen a lone assassin struck Cassius down in Egypt, three months later. His

dreamofempireendedrightthere.Marcus’sinitialhopetobeabletoforgive,inperson,hisbetrayerendedaswell.But this itself created a better opportunity—the opportunity to practice

forgivenessonasignificantlylargerscale.TheStoicslikedtousethemetaphoroffire.Writinginhisjournal,Marcusonceremindedhimselfthat“whenthefireis strong, it soon appropriates to itself the matter which is heaped on it, andconsumesit,andriseshigherbymeansofthisverymaterial.”Theunexpecteddeathofhisrival,themanwhomMarcushadbeendeprived

of granting clemency to, was this metaphor embodied. Marcus would nowforgive essentially everyone involved. He wouldn’t take any of it personally.He’dbeabetterperson,abetterleaderforit.ArrivingintheprovincesshortlyafterthedeathofCassius,Marcusrefusedto

putanycoconspiratorstodeath.Hedeclinedtoprosecuteanyofthesenatorsorgovernorswhohad endorsedor expressed support for the uprising.Andwhenother senators insisted on death sentences for their peers associated with therebellion, hewrote them simply: “I imploreyou, the senate, tokeepmy reignunstainedbythebloodofanysenator.Mayitneverhappen.”Theobstaclebecomestheway,becomestheway.Foreverandeverandever.Yes, it’s unlikely that anyone is going tomake an armed run at our throne

anytime soon. But peoplewillmake pointed remarks. Theywill cut us off intraffic.Ourrivalswillstealourbusiness.Wewillbehurt.Forceswilltrytoholdusback.Badstuffwillhappen.Wecanturneventhistoouradvantage.Always.Itisanopportunity.Always.Andifouronlyoption—aswas thecasewithMarcus—becauseofsomeone

else’s greed or lust for power, is simply to be a good person and practiceforgiveness?Well,that’sstillaprettygoodoption.This,I’msureyou’venoticed,isthepatternineveryoneofthestoriesinthis

book.Something stands in someone’s way. They stare it down, they aren’t

intimidated. Leaning into their problem or weakness or issue, they giveeverythingtheyhave,mentallyandphysically.Eventhoughtheydidnotalwaysovercome it in the way they intended or expected, each individual emergedbetter,stronger.What stood in thewaybecame theway.What impededaction in someway

advancedit.

It’sinspiring.It’smoving.It’sanartweneedtobringtoourownlives.Not everyone looks at obstacles—often the sameones you and I face—and

seesreasontodespair.Infact,theyseetheopposite.Theyseeaproblemwithareadysolution.Theyseeachancetotestandimprovethemselves.Nothingstandsintheirway.Rather,everythingguidesthemontheway.It is so much better to be this way, isn’t it? There is a lightness and a

flexibility to this approach that seem very different from how we—and mostpeople—choose to live. With our disappointments and resentments andfrustrations.Wecansee the“bad” things thathappen inour liveswithgratitudeandnot

withregretbecausewe turn themfromdisaster to realbenefit—fromdefeat tovictory.Fatedoesn’thavetobefatalistic.Itcanbedestinyandfreedomjustaseasily.There is no special school that these individuals attended (aside from, for

many,afamiliaritywiththeancientwisdomofStoicism).Nothingthattheydoisout of reach for us. Rather, they have unlocked something that is verymuchwithineachandeveryperson.Testedinthecrucibleofadversityandforgedinthefurnaceoftrial,theyrealizedtheselatentpowers—thepowersofperception,action,andthewill.Withthistriad,they:

First,seeclearly.Next,actcorrectly.Finally,endureandaccepttheworldasitis.

Perceivethingsastheyare,leavenooptionunexplored,thenstandstrongandtransformwhatever can’t be changed.And they all feed intoone another:Ouractions give us the confidence to ignore or control our perceptions.We proveandsupportourwillwithouractions.ThephilosopherandwriterNassimNicholasTalebdefinedaStoicassomeone

who “transforms fear into prudence, pain into transformation, mistakes intoinitiationanddesireintoundertaking.”It’saloopthatbecomeseasierovertime.Tobesure,nooneissayingyou’vegottodoitallatonce.MargaretThatcher

didn’tbecomeknownastheIronLadyuntilshewassixtyyearsold.There’sasayinginLatin:Viresacquiriteundo(Wegatherstrengthaswego).That’showitworks.That’sourmotto.In mastering these three disciplines we have the tools to flip any obstacle

upsidedown.Weareworthyofanyandeverychallenge.Ofcourse,itisnotenoughtosimplyreadthisorsayit.Wemustpracticethese

maxims,rollingthemoverandoverinourmindsandactingonthemuntiltheybecomemusclememory.Sothatunderpressureandtrialwegetbetter—becomebetterpeople,leaders,

andthinkers.Becausethosetrialsandpressureswillinevitablycome.Andtheywon’teverstopcoming.But don’t worry, you’re prepared for this now, this life of obstacles and

adversity.Youknowhowtohandlethem,howtobrushasideobstaclesandevenbenefitfromthem.Youunderstandtheprocess.You are schooled in the art ofmanaging your perceptions and impressions.

LikeRockefeller,you’recoolunderpressure,immunetoinsultsandabuse.Youseeopportunityinthedarkestofplaces.You are able to direct your actions with energy and persistence. Like

Demosthenes, you assume responsibility for yourself—teaching yourself,compensatingfordisadvantages,andpursuingyourrightfulcallingandplaceintheworld.Youareiron-spinedandpossessagreatandpowerfulwill.LikeLincoln,you

realize that life is a trial. It will not be easy, but you are prepared to give iteverythingyouhaveregardless,readytoendure,persevere,andinspireothers.Thenamesofcountlessotherpractitionersescapeus,buttheydealtwiththe

same problems and obstacles. This philosophy helped them navigate thosesuccessfully.Theyquietlyovercamewhatlifethrewatthemand,infact,thrivedbecauseofit.Theywerenothingspecial,nothing thatwearenot justascapableofbeing.

Whattheydidwassimple(simple,noteasy).Butlet’ssayitonceagainjusttoremindourselves:

Seethingsforwhattheyare.Dowhatwecan.Endureandbearwhatwemust.

Whatblockedthepathnowisapath.Whatonceimpededactionadvancesaction.TheObstacleistheWay.

POSTSCRIPTYou’reNowaPhilosopher.Congratulations.

Tobeaphilosopherisnotmerelytohavesubtlethoughts,noreventofoundaschool...itistosolvesomeoftheproblemsoflife,notonlytheoretically,butpractically.

—HENRYDAVIDTHOREAU

Younow join the ranksofMarcusAurelius,Cato,Seneca,ThomasJefferson,JamesStockdale,Epictetus,TheodoreRoosevelt,GeorgeWashington,andmanyothers.All thesemenexplicitlypracticedandstudiedStoicism—weknowthisfora

fact.Theywerenotacademics,butmenofaction.MarcusAureliuswasemperorofthemostpowerfulempireinthehistoryoftheworld.Cato,themoralexamplefor many philosophers, never wrote down a word but defended the RomanrepublicwithStoicbraveryuntilhisdefiantdeath.EvenEpictetus,thelecturer,hadnocushytenure—hewasaformerslave.Frederick the Great was said to ride with the works of the Stoics in his

saddlebags because they could, in his words, “sustain you in misfortune.”Montaigne,thepoliticianandessayist,hadalinefromEpictetuscarvedintothebeamabove thestudy inwhichhespentmostofhis time.GeorgeWashingtonwasintroducedtoStoicismbyhisneighborsatageseventeen,thenheputonaplayaboutCatotoinspirehismeninthatdarkwinteratValleyForge.WhenThomasJeffersondied,hehadacopyofSenecaonhisnightstand.The

economist Adam Smith’s theories on the interconnectedness of the world—capitalism—were significantly influenced by the Stoicism he’d studied as aschoolboy under a teacher who’d translated the works of Marcus Aurelius.Eugène Delacroix, the renowned French Romantic artist (known best for hispaintingLibertyLeading thePeople)wasanardentStoic, referring to itashis“consoling religion.” Toussaint Louverture, himself a former slave whochallenged an emperor, read and was deeply influenced by the works ofEpictetus.Thepolitical thinkerJohnStuartMillwroteofMarcusAureliusandStoicisminhisfamoustreatiseOnLiberty,callingit“thehighestethicalproduct

oftheancientmind.”ThewriterAmbroseBierce,decoratedCivilWarveteranandcontemporaryof

MarkTwainandH.L.Mencken,usedtorecommendSeneca,MarcusAurelius,andEpictetus to aspiringwriterswhowrote to him, saying they’d teach them“howtobeaworthyguestat thetableof thegods.”TheodoreRoosevelt,afterhispresidency,spenteightmonthsexploring(andnearlydyingin)theunknownjunglesof theAmazon,andof theeightbookshebroughton the journey, twowereMarcusAurelius’sMeditationsandEpictetus’sEnchiridion.Beatrice Webb, the English social reformer who invented the concept of

collective bargaining, recalled the Meditations fondly in her memoirs as a“manualofdevotion.”ThePercys, the famousSouthernpolitical,writing, andplantingdynasty(LeRoyPercy,UnitedStatessenator;WilliamAlexanderPercy,LanternsontheLevee;andWalkerPercy,TheMoviegoer)whosavedthousandsoflivesduringthefloodof1927,werewell-knownadherentstotheworksoftheStoics,because,asoneofthemwrote,“whenallislost,itstandsfast.”In 1908, the banker, industrialist, and senator Robert Hale Ives Goddard

donatedanequestrianstatueofMarcusAureliustoBrownUniversity.Eightyorso years after Goddard’s donation, the Soviet poet, dissident, and politicalprisoner JosephBrodskywrote in his famous essay on the original version ofthatsamestatueofMarcusAureliusinRomethat“ifMeditationsisantiquity,itiswewhoaretheruins.”LikeBrodsky,JamesStockdalespenttimeimprisonedagainsthiswill—sevenandahalfyearsinaVietcongprisoncamp,tobeexact.Andasheparachutedfromhisplane,Stockdalesaidtohimself“I’mleavingtheworldoftechnologyandenteringtheworldofEpictetus.”Today,BillClinton rereadsMarcusAurelius every single year.Wen Jiabao,

theformerprimeministerofChina,claimsthatMeditationsisoneoftwobookshetravelswithandhasreaditmorethanonehundredtimesoverthecourseofhis life. Bestselling author and investor Tim Ferriss refers to Stoicism as his“operating system”—and, in the tradition of thosewho came before him, hassuccessfullydrivenitsadoptionthroughoutSiliconValley.You might not see yourself as a “philosopher,” but then again, neither did

mostof thesemenandwomen.Byeverydefinition thatcounts,however, theywere. And now you are, too. You are a person of action. And the thread ofStoicismrunsthroughyourlifejustasitdidthroughtheirs—justasithasforallofhistory,sometimesexplicitly,sometimesnot.Theessenceofphilosophyisaction—inmakinggoodontheabilitytoturnthe

obstacle upside downwith ourminds.Understanding our problems forwhat’s

within them and their greater context. To see things philosophically and actaccordingly.As I tried to show in this book, countless others have embodied the best

practicesofStoicismandphilosophywithoutevenknowingit.Theseindividualsweren’twritersorlecturers,theyweredoers—likeyou.Over thecenturies though, thiskindofwisdomhasbeen taken fromus,co-

optedanddeliberatelyobscuredbyselfish,shelteredacademics.Theydeprivedus of philosophy’s true use: as an operating system for the difficulties andhardshipsoflife.Philosophywasneverwhathappenedintheclassroom.Itwasasetoflessons

fromthebattlefieldoflife.TheLatintranslationforthetitleofEnchiridion—Epictetus’sfamouswork—

means“closeathand,”orassomehavesaid,“inyourhands.”That’swhat thephilosophywasmeantfor: tobeinyourhands, tobeanextensionofyou.Notsomethingyoureadonceandputuponashelf. Itwasmeant,asMarcusoncewrote,tomakeusboxersinsteadoffencers—towieldourweaponry,wesimplyneedtocloseourfists.Hopefully, in some small way, this book has translated those lessons and

armedyouwiththem.Now you are a philosopher and a person of action. And that is not a

contradiction.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ItwasDr.DrewPinsky,ofallpeople,whointroducedmetoStoicism.Iwasincollegeand Iwas invited toa small,private summitofcollege journalists thatDr.Drew,thenthehostofLoveline,washosting.Afteritended,hewasstandinginthecornerandIcautiouslymademywayovertonervouslyaskifhehadanybook recommendations. He said he’d been studying a philosopher namedEpictetusandthatIshouldcheckitout.Iwentback tomyhotel roomandordered thebookonAmazonalongwith

another, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius, translated byGregoryHays,arrivedfirst.Mylifehasnotbeenthesamesince.I want to thank Samantha, my girlfriend, whom I love more than anyone.

We’donlybeendatingafewweeks,butIknewshewasspecialwhenshewentout and bought this bookMeditations, the book I had been raving about. Shedeserves extra credit if only for enduring my many private and admittedlyunstoicmomentsovertheyears.Thankyouforcomingonthemanywalkswithmewhere I thoughtout loud. Iwant to thankmydog,Hanno—not that she isreadingthis—becausesheisaconstantreminderoflivinginthepresentandofpureandhonestjoy.Thebookyou’vejustreadwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutNilsParker,

whose editing and long talks shaped it. It would not exist without StephenHanselman,myagentwhopushedforit,andmyeditor,NikiPapadopoulos,whobelieved in itand fought forwhatwasa radicaldeparture frommyfirstbook.ThankstoAdrianZackheimforgivingmemyshotandprovidingahomeformeasawriteratPortfolio.Ineed to thankmymaster teacherandmentorRobertGreene,whonotonly

subsidizedmyreadingofmanyofthebooksIusedassources,buttaughtmetheartofcraftingamessageandabook.Hisnotesonmydraftswereinvaluable.ThankstoAaronRayandTuckerMax,whoshowedmethataphilosophiclife

and a life of action were not incompatible. Tucker, you’re the one whoencouragedme to read (and the onewho toldme to followupEpictetuswithMarcusAurelius.I justfoundsomeendearingolde-mailswhereIaskedyouamillionquestionsafterIdid).ThanksespeciallytoAaron,whopulledmeoutof

school and forced me to live in the real world. Thanks to Tim Ferriss forencouragingme towrite about Stoicism for his site back in 2009 and for ourlongtalkinAmsterdam,whichprovidedgreatadditionstothebook.IoweJimmySoniandRobGoodmanfortheirexcellentnotes(andbookon

Cato),ShawnCoyneforhissuggestionofathree-partstructure,BrettMckayofArtofManliness.comforhisbookrecommendations,andMatthiasMeisterforhis insightand instruction inBJJ.Thanks toGarlandRobinette,AmyHoliday,BrentUnderwood,MichaelTunney,fortheirthoughtsandfeedback.Thanksto/r/stoicism on reddit, a great community who answered my questions andprovokedmanymore.Thanks toNewStoa for their contributions to Stoicismonlineovertheyears.Inadditionto thesources,Iwant togiveprofoundthanksto themanyother

people andwriterswho exposedme to the stories and bits ofwisdom in thisbook—Itransferredmuchof it tomycommonplacebookandwassoawedbythelessonsthatIdidn’talwaysrecordattribution.Iverymuchseethisbookasacollection of the thoughts and actions of people better and smarter thanme. Ihopeyoureaditthesamewayandattributeanycreditdeservedaccordingly.ImustthanktheNationalArtsClub,theLosAngelesAthleticClub,theNew

YorkPublicLibrary,thelibrariesattheUniversityofCalifornia,Riverside,andabunch of different Starbucks and airplanes where I wrote or researched thisbook.

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THESTOICREADINGLIST

Stoicismisperhapstheonly“philosophy”wheretheoriginal,primarytextsareactually cleaner and easier to read than anything academics have writtenafterward.Whichisawesomebecauseitmeansyoucandiveintothesubjectandgostraight to the source. I firmlybelieveeveryone is capableof reading thesevery accessible writers. Below are my recommendations both on specifictranslationsandthensomeadditionaltextsworthlookingat.

MeditationsbyMarcusAurelius (ModernLibrary).There isone translationofMarcusAureliustoreadandthatisGregoryHayes’samazingeditionfortheModern Library. Everything else falls sadly short. His version is completelydevoid of any “thou’s” “arts” “shalls.” It’s beautiful and hauting. I’verecommended this book to literally thousands of people at this point. Buy it.Changeyourlife.

Letters of a Stoic bySeneca (see also:On the Shortness of Life). Both thesetranslations by Penguin are fantastic. Seneca orMarcus are the best places tostart if you’re looking to explore Stoicism. Seneca seems like hewould havebeenafunguytoknow—whichisunusualforaStoic.IsuggeststartingwithOntheShortnessofLife(acollectionofshortessays)andthenmovetohisbookofletters(whicharereallymorelikeessaysthantruecorrespondence).

Discourses by Epictetus (Penguin). Personally, I prefer the Penguintranslations, but I’ve tried a handful of others and found the differences to berelativelynegligible.Ofthebigthree,Epictetusisthemostpreachyandleastfunto read. But hewill also from time to time express something so clearly andprofoundlythatitwillshakeyoutoyourcore.TheabovetranslationsweretheonesIusedforthisbook.

OTHERBOOKSANDAUTHORS

Iknowthiswillseemharsh,butIstronglyadvisesteeringclearofmostof the

otherbooksaboutStoicism(andI’vereadthem)withoneexception:theworksof Pierre Hadot. While all the other academics and popularizers of Stoicismmostly miss the point or needlessly complicate things, Hadot clarifies. HisinterpretationofMarcusAurelius in thebookThe InnerCitadel—thatMarcuswasnotwritingsomesystemicexplanationoftheuniversebutcreatingasetofpracticalexercisestheemperorwasactuallypracticinghimself—wasahugeleapforward.His bookPhilosophy as aWay of Life explains how philosophy hasbeenwronglyinterpretedasathingpeopletalkaboutratherthansomethingthatpeopledo.Ifyoureallywanttodiveintopracticalphilosophy,Hadotistheguytoread.(AlsohistranslationsofSeneca,MarcusAurelius,andEpictetus—whichhedoesforhimselffromtheoriginalsinhisanalysis—arequitegood.)Some other great authors/philosophers to read—particularly their books of

maximsoraphorisms,whichareinlinewithalotofstoicthinking:

HeraclitusPlutarchSocratesCiceroMontaigneArthurSchopenhauer

PenguinRandomHouse published this book, but even if it hadn’t, IwouldrecommendstartingwiththePenguinClassics.

STOICARTICLES&ONLINERESOURCES:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/04/13/stoicism-101-a-practical-guide-for-entrepreneurs/.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2012/10/09/stoicism-for-modern-stresses-5-lessons-from-cato/.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2011/05/18/philosophy-as-a-personal-operating-system-from-seneca-to-musashi/.

http://www.newstoa.com/(theonlinestoicregistry).http://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism(stoicismboardonReddit).http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLD09Qa3kMk (an amazing lecture on

stoicism).http://philosophy-of-cbt.com/(perhapsthebestblogaboutstoicismoutthere).

http://philosophyforlife.org/(theblogofprominentstoicismauthorJulesEvans).

READINGRECOMMENDATIONS

ThisbookanditsstorieswerearesultofthebooksI’vebeenfortunateenoughtocomeacross inmy life.Eachmonth Idistillwhat I read intoashorte-mailofbookrecommendations,whichIsendtomynetworkoffriendsandconnections.The list started as about forty people and is now received and readby10,000people from all over the world. All in all, I’ve recommended, discussed andchattedmore than a thousand bookswith these fellow readers in the last fiveyears.

If you’d like to join us and get these recommendations, sign up atRyanholiday.net/Reading-Newsletter/.

Oryoucanjustsendmeane-mailatryan.holiday@gmail.comandtellmeyouwanttogetthee-mail(justputReadingListinthesubjectline).

*IthinkStoicismisadeeplyfascinatingandcriticallyimportantphilosophy.ButIalsounderstandthatyoulive in the realworld, right now, andyoudon’t have time for a history lecture.What youwant are realstrategies to help you with your problems, so that’s what this book is going to be. If you’d like someadditionalresourcesandreadingrecommendationsonStoicism,I’veprovidedtheminthereadinglistatthebackofthisbook.