“Ego is the Enemy” by Ryan Holiday
The central message of this book is not new. Ego has always a been a double edged sword. It motivates and energizes, but it also undermines us in many ways. Fundamentally all worthwhile progress involves more than one person and ego undermines human relationships. This book was a fantastic reminder of all the ways ego can undermine our relationships with other people and progress on our goals. The most enjoyable part was all the examples of famous and less famous people and how they succeeded by controlling ego or failed due to their ego.
The single line that resonated with me the most was “We choose to be or to do”. We either choose to expend our energy projecting an image of who we want to be or expend our energy doing the work. Do the work because it is important, not because we expect to be rewarded or acknowledged.
Thoughts provoked by this book:
The meaning of work is often a matter of perspective. A piece of code can be both “just a hack” and a valuable contribution to the world of open source software at the same time. At the same time I don’t want to make a small contribution seem more important than it really is.
Sometimes the work feels meaningful and sometimes I have to remind myself to change my perspective. Sometimes I think a different job would be more meaningful, but that ignores all the drudgery that is part of any job. I feel most motivated when I feel part of something much bigger than myself. For me it has always been the mythical “community” of open source software. Time to buckle down and do the work.
Rating: Recommended