The pretense of knowledge is our most dangerous vice, because it prevents us from getting any better. The power of being a student is not just that it is an extended period of instruction, it also places the ego andĪmbition in someone else’s hands.What you choose to do with your time and what you choose to do A man is worked upon by what he works on.Life constantly gives us the choice to be something, or to do something. Impressing people is different from being truly impressive. Having authority is not the same as being an authority.People who do great work talk only when they have earned it.Our ego wants us to get as much public credit and attention as it can for doing the least. So, we seek to comfort ourselves externally instead of internally.

At the beginning of any path, we’re excited and nervous.Detachment is sort of a natural ego antidote. The ability to evaluate one’s own ability is an important skill.We are aspiring until we succeed, we succeed until we fail or until we aspire to do more, and after we fail we can begin to aspire or succeed again. Most of us are in these stages in a fluid sense.

Far more of them, in fact.Īt any given time in life, people find themselves at one of three stages. But so were many of its greatest failures. Many of history’s most famous men and women were notoriously egotistical. Just one thing keeps ego around - comfort.If you start believing in your greatness, it is the death of your creativity.For people with ambition, talent, drives, and potential to fulfill, ego comes with the territory.Armed with the lessons in this book, as Holiday writes, “you will be less invested in the story you tell about your own specialness, and as a result, you will be liberated to accomplish the world-changing work you’ve set out to achieve.” Notes In an era that glorifies social media, reality TV, and other forms of shameless self-promotion, the battle against ego must be fought on many fronts. In failure, it magnifies each blow and makes recovery more difficult. With success, it can blind us to our faults and sow future problems.

Early in our careers, it impedes learning and the cultivation of talent. In fact, the most common enemy lies within: our ego. Many of us insist the main impediment to a full, successful life is the outside world.

Ego is the enemy #8