EGO IS THE ENEMY: The Fight To Master Our Greatest Opponent
Sometime in December last year was the first time I found out about the author Ryan Holiday. I just read his book Obstacle is The Way. (Mind you, it a brilliant book.) There was no better way I wished to have begun the year without reading this book – Ego is the Enemy.
I couldn’t have wanted to start the year with any other book. The gems carefully hidden in this book are priceless. It’s really easy to read and best enjoyed with bouts of intermittent pause and deep reflections.
The book is divided into 3 sections: Aspire, Success & Failure. My favourite section was that on failure, and my favourite story was of that of Kathrine Graham – how she kept her head amidst serious crisis after the demise of her husband, leading a corporation leaning towards bankruptcy and subsequently becoming of the greatest female CEO in the US.
“Almost always, your road to victory goes through a place called ‘failure’.”
Excerpt From: Ryan Holiday. “Ego Is The Enemy”.
This book is one that ought to be re-read until the very words get smeared on the hearts of the reader. The philosophical and stoic undertone of this work made me appreciate and I worry I must have fallen in love with the person on Marcus Aurelius before getting to the Epilogue.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MONEY: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness
It all started with just one tweet;
I was randomly surfing Twitter last month when I came across the tweet of someone who I’ve always admired for a while. This time – unlike his usual, he tweeted about a book. Oh well, I interpreted it as “yo! Iyanu you’ve got to read that NOW!” Later that night, I was on Instagram and somehow the universe was working overtime on my matter – I kept seeing this same book all over the platform. When I got up the next morning, I hurriedly called my book vendor – asking if he had a copy.
Sadly, he didn’t. Well, I wasn’t going to be deterred in a pursuit and somehow devised a plan and got a copy somewhere else.
This book is not a typical book on money or finance. No! This is very much different. Interestingly, it was written last year during the pandemic, and yes, it has somewhat philosophical or behavioural science undertone. Psychology of Money? That was a perfect title.
The author approached and wrote on money from the perspective of a sociologist than from that of a finance guru.
“There are two topics that will affect your life whether you are interested in them or not: money and health. While health issues tend to be individual, money issues are more systemic. In a connected system where one person’s decisions can affect everyone else, it’s understandable why financial risks gain a spotlight and capture attention in a way few other topics can.”
Excerpt From: Morgan Housel. “The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness”.
The major takeaway I got from this book was one’s investing strategy ought not to rely on picking the right sector, or timing the next recession but on a high savings rate, patience and optimism that the global economy will create value over the next several decades.
Have you read either of these books? I will like to read your reviews too. What did you learn from it?
