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Stillness Is the Key Hardcover – October 1, 2019
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In The Obstacle Is the Way and Ego Is the Enemy, bestselling author Ryan Holiday made ancient wisdom wildly popular with a new generation of leaders in sports, politics, and technology. In his new book, Stillness Is the Key, Holiday draws on timeless Stoic and Buddhist philosophy to show why slowing down is the secret weapon for those charging ahead.
All great leaders, thinkers, artists, athletes, and visionaries share one indelible quality. It enables them to conquer their tempers. To avoid distraction and discover great insights. To achieve happiness and do the right thing. Ryan Holiday calls it stillness--to be steady while the world spins around you.
In this book, he outlines a path for achieving this ancient, but urgently necessary way of living. Drawing on a wide range of history's greatest thinkers, from Confucius to Seneca, Marcus Aurelius to Thich Nhat Hanh, John Stuart Mill to Nietzsche, he argues that stillness is not mere inactivity, but the doorway to self-mastery, discipline, and focus.
Holiday also examines figures who exemplified the power of stillness: baseball player Sadaharu Oh, whose study of Zen made him the greatest home run hitter of all time; Winston Churchill, who in balancing his busy public life with time spent laying bricks and painting at his Chartwell estate managed to save the world from annihilation in the process; Fred Rogers, who taught generations of children to see what was invisible to the eye; Anne Frank, whose journaling and love of nature guided her through unimaginable adversity.
More than ever, people are overwhelmed. They face obstacles and egos and competition. Stillness Is the Key offers a simple but inspiring antidote to the stress of 24/7 news and social media. The stillness that we all seek is the path to meaning, contentment, and excellence in a world that needs more of it than ever.
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPortfolio
- Publication dateOctober 1, 2019
- Dimensions5.2 x 0.96 x 7.27 inches
- ISBN-100525538585
- ISBN-13978-0525538585
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Editorial Reviews
Review
—Mark Manson, #1 bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
"The next Malcolm Gladwell. Ryan Holiday's just brilliant."
—Lance Armstrong
“Whether you are an athlete, an investor, a writer or an entrepreneur, this little but wise and soulful book will open the door to a healthier, less anxious and more productive life and career.”
—Arianna Huffington
“Some authors give advice. Ryan Holiday distills wisdom. This book is a must read for anyone feeling overwhelmed by the frenetic demands of modern life."
—Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author of Digital Minimalism
“Don’t be fooled. Within the pages of this unassuming little book lie a life-changing idea: that in order to move forward, we must learn to be still. Ryan Holiday has done it again.”
—Sophia Amoruso, Co-Founder & CEO, Girlboss
“This short and entertaining book provides useful tools and captivating examples on how to keep a healthy, clutter-free and productive mind.
—Manu Ginobili, four time NBA champion and Olympic Gold Medalist
"Ryan Holiday is among the most psychologically wise writers I know. I'm a fan of all of his work, including this new gem, Stillness is the Key. If you struggle—as I do—to find your center in the increasingly noisy and frenetic world we live in, then this book is for you."
—Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit
“In the world today the dangers are many—most notably, the endless distractions and petty battles that make us act without purpose or direction. In this book, through his masterful synthesis of Eastern and Western philosophy, Ryan Holiday teaches us all how to maintain our focus and presence of mind amid the sometimes overwhelming conflicts and troubles of 21st-century life.”
—Robert Greene
“Ryan Holiday is one of the brilliant writers and minds of our time. In Stillness is the Key he gives us the blueprint to clear our minds, recharge our souls and reclaim our power.”
—Jon Gordon, author of The Energy Bus
“Highly recommended. Great read.”
—CJ McCollum, Portland Trailblazers
"Ryan Holiday is a national treasure and a master in the field of self-mastery. In his most compelling book yet, he has mined both the classical literature of the ancient world and cultural touchstones from Mister Rogers to Tiger Woods, and brought his learnings to us in terms that the frantic, distracted, over-caffeinated modern mind can understand and put to use. Highly recommended."
—Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of The War of Art and The Artist's Journey
“A timely, vividly realized reminder to slow down and harness the restorative wonders of serenity.”
—Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Domain of the Mind
The entire world changed in the few short hours between when John F. Kennedy went to bed on October 15, 1962, and when he woke up the following morning.
Because while the president slept, the CIA identified the ongoing construction of medium- and long-range Soviet ballistic nuclear missile sites on the island of Cuba, just ninety miles from American shores. As Kennedy would tell a stunned American public days later, "Each of these missiles is capable of striking Washington, D.C., the Panama Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city in the southeastern part of the United States, in Central America, or in the Caribbean."
As Kennedy received his first briefing on what we now know as the Cuban Missile Crisis-or simply as the Thirteen Days-the president could consider only the appalling stakes. As many as seventy million people were expected to die in the first strikes between the United States and Russia. But that was just a guess-no one actually knew how terrible nuclear war would be.
What Kennedy knew for certain was that he faced an unprecedented escalation of the long-brewing Cold War between the United States and the USSR. And whatever factors had contributed to its creation, no matter how inevitable war must have appeared, it fell on him, at the very least, to just not make things worse. Because it might mean the end of life on planet Earth.
Kennedy was a young president born into immense privilege, raised by an aggressive father who hated to lose, in a family whose motto, they joked, was "Don't Get Mad, Get Even." With almost no executive leadership experience under his belt, it's not a surprise, then, that the first year and half of Kennedy's administration had not gone well.
In April 1961, Kennedy had tried and failed-embarrassingly so-to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro at the Bay of Pigs. Just a few months later, he was diplomatically dominated by Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev in a series of meetings in Vienna. (Kennedy would call it the "roughest thing in my life.") Sensing his adversary's political weakness, and likely aware of the chronic physical frailty he endured from Addison's disease and back injuries suffered during World War II, Khrushchev repeatedly lied to Kennedy about any weapons being placed in Cuba, insisting that they would be for defensive purposes only.
Which is to say that Kennedy faced, as every leader will at some point in their tenure, a difficult crisis amid complicating personal and political circumstances. There were many questions: Why would Khrushchev do this? What was his endgame? What was the man possibly trying to accomplish? Was there a way to solve it? What did Kennedy's advisors think? What were Kennedy's options? Was he up to this task? Did he have what it took?
The fate of millions depended on his answers.
The advice from Kennedy's advisors was immediate and emphatic: The missile sites must be destroyed with the full might of the country's military arsenal. Every second wasted risked the safety and the reputation of the United States. After the surprise attack on the missiles, a full-scale invasion of Cuba by American troops would need to follow. This, they said, was not only more than justified by the actions of the USSR and Cuba, but it was Kennedy's only option.
Their logic was both primal and satisfying: Aggression must be met with aggression.
Tit replied to with tat.
The only problem was that if their logic turned out to be wrong, no one would be around to account for their mistake. Because everyone would be dead.
Unlike in the early days of his presidency, when Kennedy allowed the CIA to pressure him into supporting the Bay of Pigs fiasco, this time he surprised everyone by pushing back. He had recently read Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August, a book about the beginning of World War I, which imprinted on his mind the image of overconfident world leaders rushing their way into a conflict that, once started, they couldn't stop. Kennedy wanted everyone to slow down so that they could really think about the problem in front of them.
This is, in fact, the first obligation of a leader and a decision maker. Our job is not to "go with our gut" or fixate on the first impression we form about an issue. No, we need to be strong enough to resist thinking that is too neat, too plausible, and therefore almost always wrong. Because if the leader can't take the time to develop a clear sense of the bigger picture, who will? If the leader isn't thinking through all the way to the end, who is?
We can see in Kennedy's handwritten notes taken during the crisis, a sort of meditative process by which he tried to do precisely this. On numerous pages, he writes "Missile. Missile. Missile," or "Veto. Veto. Veto. Veto," or "Leaders. Leaders. Leaders." On one page, showing his desire to not act alone or selfishly: "Consensus. Consensus. Consensus. Consensus. Consensus. Consensus." On a yellow legal pad during one meeting, Kennedy drew two sailboats, calming himself with thoughts of the ocean he loved so much. Finally, on White House stationery, as if to clarify to himself the only thing that mattered, he wrote one short sentence: "We are demanding withdrawal of the missiles."
Perhaps it was there, as Kennedy sat with his advisors and doodled, that he remembered a passage from another book he'd read, by the strategist B. H. Liddell Hart, on nuclear strategy. In Kennedy's review of Hart's book for the Saturday Review of Literature a few years before, he quoted this passage:
Keep strong, if possible. In any case, keep cool. Have unlimited patience. Never corner an opponent, and always assist him to save face. Put yourself in his shoes-so as to see things through his eyes. Avoid self-righteousness like the devil-nothing is so self-blinding.
It became Kennedy's motto during the Missile Crisis. "I think we ought to think of why the Russians did this," he told his advisors. What is the advantage they are trying to get? he asked, with real interest. "Must be some major reason for the Soviets to set this up." As Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Kennedy's advisor and biographer, wrote, "With his capacity to understand the problems of others, the President could see how threatening the world might have looked to the Kremlin."
This understanding would help him respond properly to this unexpected and dangerous provocation-and give him insight into how the Soviets would react to that response.
It became clear to Kennedy that Khrushchev put the missiles in Cuba because he believed Kennedy was weak. But that didn't mean the Russians believed their own position was particularly strong. Only a desperate nation would take such a risk, Kennedy realized. Armed with this insight, which came through long discussions with his team-designated as ExComm-he began to formulate an action plan.
Clearly, a military strike was the most irrevocable of all the options (nor, according to his advisors, was it likely to be 100 percent effective). What would happen after that, Kennedy wondered? How many soldiers would die in an invasion? How would the world respond to a larger country invading a smaller one, even if it was to deter a nuclear threat? What would the Russians do to save face or protect their soldiers on the island?
These questions pointed Kennedy toward a blockade of Cuba. Nearly half of his advisors opposed this less aggressive move, but he favored it precisely because it preserved his options.
It also embodied the wisdom of one of Kennedy's favorite expressions: A blockade used time as a tool. It gave both sides a chance to examine the stakes of the crisis and offered Khrushchev the opportunity to reevaluate his impression of Kennedy's supposed weakness.
Some would later attack Kennedy for this choice, too. Why challenge Russia at all? Why were the missiles such a big deal? Didn't the United States have plenty of their own pointed at the Soviets? Kennedy was not unsympathetic to this argument, but as he explained to the American public in an address on October 22, it wasn't possible to simply back down:
The 1930s taught us a clear lesson: Aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war. This nation is opposed to war. We are also true to our word. Our unswerving objective, therefore, must be to prevent the use of these missiles against this or any other country, and to secure their withdrawal or elimination from the Western Hemisphere. . . . We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the costs of worldwide nuclear war in which even the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth-but neither will we shrink from that risk at any time it must be faced.
What's most remarkable about this conclusion is how calmly Kennedy came to it. Despite the enormous stress of the situation, we can hear in tapes and see in transcripts and photos taken at the time just how collaborative and open everyone was. No fighting, no raised voices. No finger-pointing (and when things did get tense, Kennedy laughed it off). Kennedy didn't let his own ego dominate the discussions, nor did he allow anyone else's to. When he sensed that his presence was stifling his advisors' ability to speak honestly, he left the room so they could debate and brainstorm freely. Reaching across party lines and past rivalries, he consulted openly with the three still-living ex-presidents and invited the previous secretary of state, Dean Acheson, into the top-secret meetings as an equal.
In the tensest moments, Kennedy sought solitude in the White House Rose Garden (afterward, he would thank the gardener for her important contributions during the crisis). He would go for long swims, both to clear his mind and to think. He sat in his specially made rocking chair in the Oval Office, bathed in the light of those enormous windows, easing the pain in his back so that it might not add to the fog of (cold) war that had descended so thickly over Washington and Moscow.
There is a picture of Kennedy with his back to the room, hunched over, leaning both fists on the big desk he had been chosen by millions of voters to occupy. This is a man with the fate of the world on his shoulders. He has been provoked by a nuclear superpower in a surprise act of bad faith. Critics are questioning his courage. There are political considerations, personal considerations, there are more factors than any one person should be able to weigh at one time.
Yet he lets none of this rush him. None of it will cloud his judgment or deter him from doing the right thing. He is the stillest guy in the room.
Kennedy would need to stay that way, because simply deciding on the blockade was only the first step. Next came announcing and enforcing this five-hundred-mile no-go zone around Cuba (which he brilliantly called a "quarantine" to underplay the more aggressive implications of a "blockade"). There would be more belligerent accusations from the Russians and confrontations at the UN. Congressional leaders voiced their doubts. One hundred thousand troops still had to be readied in Florida as a contingency.
Then there would be the actual provocations. A Russian tanker ship approached the quarantine line. Russian submarines surfaced. An American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba, and the pilot killed.
The two biggest and most powerful countries in the world were "eyeball to eyeball." It was actually scarier and more dire than anyone knew-some of the Soviet missiles, which had been previously thought to be only partly assembled, were armed and ready. Even if this wasn't known, the awful danger could be felt.
Would Kennedy's emotions get the best of him? Would he blink? Would he break?
No. He wouldn't.
"It isn't the first step that concerns me," he said to his advisors as much as to himself, "but both sides escalating to the fourth and fifth step-and we don't go to the sixth because there is no one around to do so. We must remind ourselves we are embarking on a very hazardous course."
The space Kennedy gave Khrushchev to breathe and think paid off just in time. On October 26, eleven days into the crisis, the Soviet premier wrote Kennedy a letter saying that he now saw that the two of them were pulling on a rope with a knot in the middle-a knot of war. The harder each pulled, the less likely it would be that they could ever untie it, and eventually there would be no choice but to cut the rope with a sword. And then Khrushchev provided an even more vivid analogy, one as true in geopolitics as it is in everyday life: "If people do not display statesmanlike wisdom," he said, "they will eventually reach the point where they will clash, like blind moles, and then mutual annihilation will commence."
Suddenly, the crisis was over as quickly as it began. The Russians, realizing that their position was untenable and that their test of U.S. resolve had failed, made signs that they would negotiate-that they would remove the missiles. The ships stopped dead in the water. Kennedy was ready too. He pledged that the United States would not invade Cuba, giving the Russians and their allies a win. In secret, he also let the Russians know that he was willing to remove American missiles in Turkey, but would do so in several months' time so as not to give the impression that he could be pressured into abandoning an ally.
With clear thinking, wisdom, patience, and a keen eye for the root of a complex, provocative conflict, Kennedy had saved the world from a nuclear holocaust.
We might say that Kennedy, if only for this brief period of a little less than two weeks, managed to achieve that stage of clarity spoken about in the ancient Chinese text The Daodejing. As he stared down nuclear annihilation, he was:
Careful as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water.
The Daoists would say that he had stilled the muddied water in his mind until he could see through it. Or to borrow the image from the emperor Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic philosopher who himself had stared down countless crises and challenges, Kennedy had been "like the rock that the waves keep crashing over. It stands, unmoved and the raging of the sea falls still around it."
Each of us will, in our own lives, face crisis. The stakes may be lower, but to us they will matter. A business on the brink of collapse. An acrimonious divorce. A decision about the future of our career. A moment where the whole game depends on us.
These situations will call upon all our mental resources. An emotional, reactive response-an unthinking, half-baked response-will not cut it. Not if we want to get it right. Not if we want to perform at our best.
Product details
- Publisher : Portfolio (October 1, 2019)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0525538585
- ISBN-13 : 978-0525538585
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.2 x 0.96 x 7.27 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #11,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author

Ryan Holiday is one of the world's bestselling living philosophers. His books like The Obstacle Is the Way,Ego Is the Enemy,The Daily Stoic, and the #1 New York Times bestseller Stillness Is the Key appear in more than 40 languages and have sold more than 5 million copies. Together, they've spent over 300 weeks on the bestseller lists. He lives outside Austin with his wife and two boys...and a small herd of cows and donkeys and goats. His bookstore, The Painted Porch, sits on historic Main St in Bastrop, Texas.
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Customers find the book easy to read and well-written. They appreciate the insightful and practical advice on living better. The pacing is described as calm and enlightening, providing practical ways to create stillness. Many readers enjoy the book and find it entertaining and thought-provoking. They consider it a worthwhile investment and appreciate the biographical examples and information from real life characters.
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Customers find the book easy to read and well-written. They appreciate the well-developed chapters and simple language. Readers also praise the author's talent and ability to write this series.
"...If you're looking for an easy-to-read book that will inspire you to become a better person, this book is worth picking up." Read more
"...you either love because it fills a personal need or want to read for more intellectual reasons...." Read more
"Another great read with insights from famous people throughout history...." Read more
"...Holiday’s book is a well written “how to” book on creating a better life not only for you but also for the people that surround you that you love..." Read more
Customers find the book insightful and practical. They say it helps them understand the lessons and provides good advice on how to live better. The book unlocks and clarifies ancient teachings and modern interpretations of life guiding tenets. It is an anthology of wisdom stories along Stoic lines. Readers say it impacts them deeply and fills a personal need.
"...Many books preach inner peace, enlightenment, and self improvement, but it's rare to find a book that distills the elements of these pursuits as..." Read more
"...He recommends habits such as journaling, which allow you to commit your thoughts to paper, so that you can empty your mind for thinking about more..." Read more
"This is the sort of book you either love because it fills a personal need or want to read for more intellectual reasons...." Read more
"How does this guy know so much, being so young?! A tremendous anthology of wisdom stories, along Stoic lines. Thank you, Ryan!" Read more
Customers find the book's pacing helpful. It provides practical ways to create stillness in their hearts and minds. They feel uplifted, calm, and purposeful after reading it. The information helps them stay calm and focused in a busy world.
"...Inner stillness is a very human need and a very valuable pursuit, and this book proves that...." Read more
"Stillness is the Key is the third and final volume of Ryan Holliday’s trilogy, also containing, The Obstacle is the Way and Ego is the Enemy...." Read more
"...fully present, limiting inputs to prevent information overload, cultivating silence, turning off your cell-phone, and embracing the Stoic virtues of..." Read more
"...Call it stillness. It doesn’t matter. What matters is the ability to remain calm, focused, and prepared in a busy and noisy world." Read more
Customers enjoy the book. They find it engaging and thought-provoking, with useful tips and wisdom. Many praise it as a great read from Ryan Holiday and a good follow-up to Obstacle Is the Way.
"...I thoroughly enjoyed The Obstacle Is the Way. Then Ego Is the Enemy. Then The Daily Stoic. Then Perennial Seller...." Read more
"...it being super deep in any of the areas to keep the book small and approachable. Now I can pick and choose where to go deeper on my own." Read more
"Holiday never disappoints! From the very first word, this book pulls you in...." Read more
"Another great read from Ryan Holiday, the third book of his I’ve read this month...." Read more
Customers find the book insightful and well-written. They describe it as a nice, easy read with artful prose. The book offers a collection of aphorisms, anecdotes, and practical advice.
"...This book is an inspiring, super-practical look at WHY "stillness" is such an essential component to peak performance in every..." Read more
"Great way to reboot and not only look but see !" Read more
"...Never proselytizing. Really solid writing and thoughtful work." Read more
"This is a marvelous book, compact, insightful, beautifully conceived and written...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's value for money. They say it's worth reading and recommend investing in wisdom.
"...The great value from this book and this school of philosophy in general is not derived from its words or what it preaches, but through the practical..." Read more
"...It's a small book. The content is accessible. And it's relatively inexpensive. I say 'go buy it'." Read more
"...specific action items in some chapters but none the less this book was worth it." Read more
"I enjoy Ryan’s writing style and the value he brings to every page. His relationship with the ancient stoic philosophers is amazing...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's biographical content. They appreciate the interesting stories and comparisons to real people.
"Another great read with insights from famous people throughout history...." Read more
"...The numerous biographical details are interesting, and, again, there is some genuinely good advice, particularly when Holiday sticks closest to..." Read more
"...He uses real examples of people we all know...." Read more
"I liked most all the biographical examples and information in the book. It's well written...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the book's continuity. Some find it a good conclusion to the trilogy, while others find it repetitive, boring, and repetitive.
"...I enjoyed this book and it was a good conclusion to the trilogy; however, the book, while a very easy read, felt like just a compilation of longer..." Read more
"...There is, in fact, a lot of redundancy found throughout the book, along with a large dose of empty phrases with little substance...." Read more
"...Holiday's previous books are excellent, and this book is the perfect end to his trilogy...." Read more
"...Each chapter is the same. It starts with a historical anecdote to illustrate the point of the chapter...." Read more
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2019Essential reading for today's times, but is as timeless as ever. Many books preach inner peace, enlightenment, and self improvement, but it's rare to find a book that distills the elements of these pursuits as effectively or pragmatically as this one. In today's world we have smartphones, social media, and the outrage news cycle all feeding off our time and attention, but this book begins by reminding us that as far back as 2,000 years, human being have struggled to block out the noise and find a sense of peace. Inner stillness is a very human need and a very valuable pursuit, and this book proves that.
The great value from this book and this school of philosophy in general is not derived from its words or what it preaches, but through the practical application of its teachings in our day to day lives. We all constantly struggle, whether that's with self doubt, anxiety, personal relationships, family issues, or health problems, and life will continually provide us with challenges to overcome. We don't need another book reminding us how hard life is, or a set of steps to overcome whatever is currently challenging us. What we need is a set of values and priorities to apply regularly and repeatedly, so we can rise above the noise, focus on what matters, face our inner demons and make the best use of this vessel we call our body until our death ultimately arrives. That's the greatest strength of Stillness is the Key, it's preachy at times, and it may get too detailed and talkative in its historical examples, but every time it does it quickly gets back to what matters - how you can apply these lessons in your own life, regularly, and be reminded of them to make the most of the things that actually matter.
I highly I recommend this book, as well as the other two books in this trilogy, which I've also read. They're meant to be read and felt deeply, and few books will provide such a practical application to battling the inherent challenges of life.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2019Ryan Holiday has become something of an expert on Stoic philosophy, and his previous books have mostly focused on that style of thinking. That's great, but I was pleased to see him branch out a bit more in this book.
In this book, he writes about the need for quiet time and reflection, and how important it is in order to be happy and productive. One thing I really liked about this book was how he also gives examples from other schools of thought on the topic of stillness, such as Buddhism and Christianity, as well as Stoic, Cynic, and Epicurean philosophy.
The book is divided into three sections, for Mind, Spirit, and Body. In the "Mind" section, he writes about the need for mindfulness, and being present in the moment. He recommends habits such as journaling, which allow you to commit your thoughts to paper, so that you can empty your mind for thinking about more important topics.
In the "Spirit" section of the book, he talks about how most effective people have a faith of some sort, but he doesn't promote any particular creed or faith. He also talks about cultivating an attitude of virtuous living, and accepting life as it is, and being happy with what you have. This all resonated deeply with me, since for the past several years, my own personal beliefs have tended mostly towards Buddhism.
Finally, in the "Body" section of the book, he talks about the importance of getting enough of both exercise and rest, the benefits of going for long walks, and avoiding "escapism."
For me, reading books like this inspire me to do the things I know that I should be doing. Almost everything in the book is either common sense, or things I already know are useful habits to cultivate. However, Holiday's presentation of them ties them all together and reinforces how important they are, and the book left me feeling committed to trying harder to implement them in my life.
If you're looking for an easy-to-read book that will inspire you to become a better person, this book is worth picking up.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2019This is the sort of book you either love because it fills a personal need or want to read for more intellectual reasons. Or because you are familiar with the author and loved his last book. I came at it with an open mind and was doing fine in the beginning until I was jarred by a gratuitous criticism of President Donald Tump that simply left me wondering what it was doing there, in an otherwise apolitical book with a message of hope, presumably. That one sentence did not advance his argument and ought to come out. Unless of course it was a sop to the myriad Trump haters among his readers.
The second criticism, if you can call it that, comes at the end of the book where he talks about how we must think "rationally and clearly," and here is what I can quarrel with: "Death brings an end to everything, to our minds, our souls, and our bodies, in a final, permanent stillness." It does no such thing. I have it on good authority (personal experience) that death liberates our souls, and opens up another world far more splendid than anything we can imagine here on earth. And while cynics and agnostics and atheists can quarrel about the existence of God, let them have their fun. Our purpose, it's true, is to find "spiritual meaning and goodness" - each time around!
- Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2025Another great read with insights from famous people throughout history. I do recommend reading this book along with the author’s other books such as the obstacle is the way and ego is thy enemy.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2025How does this guy know so much, being so young?! A tremendous anthology of wisdom stories, along Stoic lines. Thank you, Ryan!
Top reviews from other countries
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ClaudiaReviewed in Mexico on May 19, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars ¿Que si me gustó?
Jajajaja… Ya compré otros 2 libros de este autor. Son libros para la vida. Para leerlos una y otra vez…
- Lukas von KänelReviewed in Germany on February 5, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Yes
Great book
- IGReviewed in Spain on January 9, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Embracing Stillness: Ryan Holiday’s Timely Guide for Modern Life
My Experience with Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday:
I hold this book in high regard and have gifted it to eight of my top clients. Ryan Holiday addresses the most essential tool of our time—stillness—offering it as a remedy for the challenges we face in today’s fast-paced world.
What Resonated with Me:
• Timeless Wisdom: Holiday draws on Stoic and Buddhist philosophies to illustrate the importance of slowing down, presenting stillness as a secret weapon for those striving ahead. 
• Practical Application: The book provides actionable advice on cultivating stillness in daily life, emphasizing its role in achieving clarity, focus, and inner peace.
• Relevance to Modern Challenges: In an era dominated by constant distractions, Holiday’s insights serve as a well-timed wake-up call, encouraging readers to downshift their activities to fully grasp the wonder of stillness. 
Insights from Other Readers:
• A review on Kirkus Reviews highlights that Holiday “believes in downshifting one’s life and activities in order to fully grasp the wonder of stillness.” 
• Daily Stoic notes that in Stillness is the Key, Holiday “argues that stillness is the key to being better at anything you do.” 
Why I Recommend It:
For anyone seeking to navigate the complexities of modern life, Stillness is the Key offers invaluable guidance. Holiday’s blend of ancient wisdom and contemporary examples provides a roadmap to achieving inner tranquility and improved focus.
Conclusion:
Stillness is the Key is a profound exploration of the power of slowing down and embracing stillness. It’s a must-read for those looking to enhance their personal and professional lives through the cultivation of inner peace.
IGEmbracing Stillness: Ryan Holiday’s Timely Guide for Modern Life
Reviewed in Spain on January 9, 2025
I hold this book in high regard and have gifted it to eight of my top clients. Ryan Holiday addresses the most essential tool of our time—stillness—offering it as a remedy for the challenges we face in today’s fast-paced world.
What Resonated with Me:
• Timeless Wisdom: Holiday draws on Stoic and Buddhist philosophies to illustrate the importance of slowing down, presenting stillness as a secret weapon for those striving ahead. 
• Practical Application: The book provides actionable advice on cultivating stillness in daily life, emphasizing its role in achieving clarity, focus, and inner peace.
• Relevance to Modern Challenges: In an era dominated by constant distractions, Holiday’s insights serve as a well-timed wake-up call, encouraging readers to downshift their activities to fully grasp the wonder of stillness. 
Insights from Other Readers:
• A review on Kirkus Reviews highlights that Holiday “believes in downshifting one’s life and activities in order to fully grasp the wonder of stillness.” 
• Daily Stoic notes that in Stillness is the Key, Holiday “argues that stillness is the key to being better at anything you do.” 
Why I Recommend It:
For anyone seeking to navigate the complexities of modern life, Stillness is the Key offers invaluable guidance. Holiday’s blend of ancient wisdom and contemporary examples provides a roadmap to achieving inner tranquility and improved focus.
Conclusion:
Stillness is the Key is a profound exploration of the power of slowing down and embracing stillness. It’s a must-read for those looking to enhance their personal and professional lives through the cultivation of inner peace.
Images in this review
- ReggieReviewed in the Netherlands on October 4, 2024
1.0 out of 5 stars Many American examples,
not suitable for Europeans and others.
- edbradyslinkReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars A very good read.
Easy to read and grasp all the concepts covered. Appropriate level of detail and depth. Would recommend highly. Some key life lessons in this book.