Just finished reading what I consider Ryan Holiday’s best book yet, Stillness Is The Key.
There is so much good shit in this masterpiece that I am going to do you a favor and dedicate this weeks Daily Hustle to recapping this f*cking GEM… You’re welcome.
First off, let’s have Holiday define what stillness actually is:
“To be steady while the world spins around you. To act without frenzy. To hear what only needs to be heard. To possess quietude – exterior and interior – on command. To tap into the dao and the logos. The Word. The Way.”
Damn Ryan. That sounds peacefully INTENSE… Exactly the sort of mixed bag of wild shit you know I’m into…
But what about the Daily Hustler’s? They typically are a group of skeptical Go Hards that have a tough time with any sort of stillness. Why should they buy in?
“Buddhism. Stoicism. Epicureanism. Christianity. Hinduism.
It’s all but impossible to find a philosophical school or religion that does not venerate this inner peace – this STILLNESS – as the highest good and as the key to elite performance and a happy life. And when basically all the wisdom of the ancient world agrees on something, only a fool would decline to listen.”
Yup… Totally AGREE. We are all EARS my dude.👂
Ok, maybe we aren’t all ears, but we are working on it.
Holiday points out the philosopher Zeno’s simple observation that we have 2 ears and only one mouth for a reason. Yet, one of the biggest problems in the noisy ass world that we live in is that everybody wants to talk but very few actually cultivate the stillness to effectively LISTEN…
“In shutting up – even for only a short period – we can finally hear what the world has been trying to tell us. Or what we have been trying to tell ourselves.”
Shhhhhhhh. 🤫This is going to be a good week. 👍
-EB