An ancient Zen parable features an almost identical line of thinking, stating: The obstacle in the path becomes the path…Within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.

Parallels With Zen Philosophy

Bad companies are destroyed by crisis. Good companies survive them. Great companies are improved by them.

The American industrialist John D. Rockefeller once worked for just 50 cents a day as a bookkeeper in Cleveland, Ohio. As an investor, he rode out major national financial crises in 1857, 1873, 1907 and 1920. Where others saw catastrophe and chaos, the objective, unemotional Rockefeller saw valuable lessons and opportunities. So much so, that by 1877, his perception and his nerve helped him corner “90% of the oil market.”

Story: Altering Your Perspective

During the US Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant always seemed completely nerveless. Once, a shell exploded near him, and killed a horse right next to him. Unfazed, Grant calmly surveyed the battlefield through his field glasses. He saw that his troops were removing supplies from a steamship when it exploded. Everyone ducked for cover except Grant, who ran toward the shattered steamboat to help the survivors.

Story: Steady Your Nerves

When you are deliberate, bold and persistent, you are better prepared to take “right and effective” actions. Use the “creative application” of action to dismantle obstacles.Set out to develop the “Minimum Viable Product,” as identified by Silicon Valley’s iterative MVP philosophy. Remember the engineering touchstone: “Failure is a feature.” Learn from every failure. Treat your job like the most important work in the world. Stay aware that sometimes a flank attack will work better than a head-on charge.

The Discipline Of Action

The world can knock you down and break your heart. But if you harness your willpower, no knockdown blow can deter you. Your will – not anyone else’s – puts you firmly in charge of your life and accomplishments. Proper willpower is steady, not blustery. You connect to your internal power without braggadocio; the best strength of will springs from “humility, resilience and flexibility.”Postmortems are useful; so are pre-mortems – thinking in advance about “what could go wrong.” Sometimes you must simply acquiesce when things don’t go your way.

The Discipline Of Will

<ul><li>Stoicism rests on three primary disciplines: “perception, action and the will.”</li><li>Perception is the way you see the world. Viewing it realistically or with a bias can help or hinder you.</li><li>The right action is always directed, deliberate, bold and persistent.</li><li>The world can break your body, but thanks to willpower, it can never break your spirit and mind. You control your will.</li><li>Obstacles that stand in the way of progress can actually promote progress.</li><li>People improve by facing and meeting challenges head-on.</li><li>The obstacles you overcome provide benefits you could not otherwise realize.</li></ul>

The Key Takeaways

Through the ages, people have relied on the philosophy of Stoicism to conquer their difficulties. In addition to ancient Greeks and Romans, proponents included Frederick the Great, Michel de Montaigne, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Adam Smith and Theodore Roosevelt. Every year, former US president Bill Clinton studies the writing of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, a well-known Stoic philosopher. Stoicism – an operating manual for life – is a pragmatic philosophy that helps people overcome their difficulties.

Stoicism: Overcoming Obstacles

Stay objective. When necessary, change the way you interpret what you see. Don’t agonize over the past or worry about the future. Focus your thoughts and actions on the present. Find the good in the bad. Stay bold.

The Discipline Of Perception: Lessons Learned

<ul><li>How you see the world provides meaning to the events of your life. Don’t assign “good or bad” labels to events.</li><li> Put aside your fears and prejudices. See things for what they are. See the truth, not a biased interpretation of it.</li><li>How you think about and react to obstacles while maintaining your composure defines you.</li></ul>

The Discipline of Perception

Stoicism and Marcus Aurelius’s wisdom motivated men and women throughout history, helping to spark the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, the US civil rights movement and Silicon Valley’s amazing high-technology advances.Stoicism addresses real-life issues that confront everyone: “Are you worthy?” “Can you get past the things that inevitably fall in your way?” “Will you stand up and show…what you’re made of?”

The Wisdom Of Aurelius

Tommy John pitched in Major League Baseball for an astonishing 26 seasons. John always asked himself: “Is there a chance?” “Do I have a shot?” “Is there something I can do?” When he was 45 years old, the Yankees cut John. Unfazed, he appeared as a walk-on at the team’s next spring training. He worked hard, made the team and pitched the season opener, a win over Minnesota.

Story: Stay Aware And Curious

Across the centuries, academics in their ivory towers tried to assume ownership of philosophies such as Stoicism and tried to guard it as part of their exclusive domain. As developed by Seneca, Zeno and others, the philosophy of Stoicism was never intended to be isolated as remote, sterile intellectualization. Those sages first promulgated Stoicism as “an operating system for the difficulties and hardships of life,” and that is how it should remain.

Stoicism: The Operating Manual

Nothing we’ll experience is likely without potential benefit.

Obstacles can provide benefits. First, you must move beyond typical responses to trouble, including “fear, frustration, confusion, helplessness, depression” and “anger.” Marcus Aurelius’s courage and self-knowledge enabled him to transform trouble and tragedy into triumph. Achieve similar results by adopting the vital Stoic lesson: “The obstacle is the way.”Marcus defined the methods to overcome obstacles: “Objective judgment, now at this very moment. Unselfish action, now at this very moment. Willing acceptance – now at this very moment – of all external events. That’s all you need.”

Move Towards The Obstacle

During the 1960s, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was a leading middleweight title contender. Carter was unjustly convicted in a triple-homicide case. In jail, he never ceded power to the warden or guards. He maintained his independence and his identity. Carter – and not the authorities – held control over his mind and spirit. He spent his time in prison working on his legal case. After 19 years, Carter got his verdict overturned. Once released from prison, he never looked back.

Story: Recognize Your Power

NASA trained America’s first astronauts to remain cool under pressure and to avoid panic. The agency had the astronauts practice every aspect of their space flight “hundreds of times,” until the routines became commonplace. Comprehensive training eliminated the unfamiliarity of spaceflight.

Story: Control Your Emotions

Don’t let the force of an impression… knock you off your feet; just say to it: Hold on a moment; let me see who you are and what you represent. Let me put you to the test.

Media strategist Ryan Holiday explains how contemporary people can utilize some venerable Stoic principles to turn obstacles into advantages. 

We give up too easily. With a simple change of attitude, what seem like insurmountable obstacles become once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Ryan Holiday, who dropped out of college at nineteen to serve as an apprentice to bestselling 'modern Machiavelli' Robert Greene and is now a media consultant for billion-dollar brands, draws on the philosophy of the Stoics to guide you in every situation, showing that what blocks our path actually opens one that is new and better.If the competition threatens you, it's time to be fearless, to display your courage. An impossible deadline becomes a chance to show how dedicated you are. And as Ryan discovered as Director of Marketing for American Apparel, if your brand is generating controversy - it's also potentially generating publicity.The Stoic philosophy - that what is in the way, is the way - can be applied to any problem: it's a formula invented more than 2,000 years ago, whose effectiveness has been proven in battles and board rooms ever since. From Barack Obama's ability to overcome obstacles in his election races, to the design of the iPhone, the stoic philosophy has helped its users become world-beaters.

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Books

#1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller The Obstacle is the Way has become a cult classic, beloved by men and women around the world who apply its wisdom to become more successful at whatever they do. Its many fans include a former governor and movie star (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a hip hop icon (LL Cool J), an Irish tennis pro (James McGee), an NBC sportscaster (Michele Tafoya), and the coaches and players of winning teams like the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Cubs, and University of Texas men’s basketball team. The book draws its inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience. Stoics focus on the things they can control, let go of everything else, and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, tougher. As Marcus Aurelius put it nearly 2000 years ago: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”  Ryan Holiday shows us how some of the most successful people in history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—have applied stoicism to overcome difficult or even impossible situations. Their embrace of these principles ultimately mattered more than their natural intelligence, talents, or luck. If you’re feeling frustrated, demoralized, or stuck in a rut, this book can help you turn your problems into your biggest advantages. And along the way it will inspire you with dozens of true stories of the greats from every age and era.

Ryan Holiday is media strategist for notorious clients like Tucker Max and Dov Charney. After dropping out of college at 19 to apprentice under the strategist Robert Greene, he went on to advise many bestselling authors and multi-platinum musicians. He is the Director of Marketing at American Apparel, where his work in advertising was internationally known. His strategies are used as case studies by Twitter, YouTube, and Google, and have been written about in AdAge, the New York Times, Gawker, and Fast Company. He is the author is *Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator*, which is due out in July. He currently lives in New Orleans, with his rebellious puppy, Hanno.