The obstacle is the way by ryan holiday5/27/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() In other words, the obstacle becomes the way. It’s the timeless idea of how military obstacles can be turned into advantages-and how advantages can so quickly be turned against someone. The visual interpretation is loosely inspired by the stories in my book The Obstacle Is The Way about Grant’s siege at Vicksburg and Eisenhower’s turnaround at Normandy. To see each obstacle as an opportunity to practice some virtue: patience, courage, humility, resourcefulness, justice, and creativity. Making certain that what impedes us can empower us. So that setbacks or problems are always expected and never permanent. To act with “a reverse clause,” so there is always a way out or another route to get to where you need to go. What does this phrase mean? Well, in Marcus’s words is the secret to an art known as turning obstacles upside down. As Marcus Aurelius put it nearly 2000 years ago: “The impediment to action advances action. In this way, “The Obstacle Is the Way” limited edition print I’m producing is a reminder of the timeless wisdom that you can turn every obstacle into an opportunity, every trial into a triumph. The form doesn’t matter-it can be a coin that reminds you of your mortality that you carry with you, it can be a quote taped on your screen, it can be a bust on your desk, or it can be a print above your working space. ![]() So you cannot run away from it, so you see it enough times that it becomes imprinted in your mind. I am a big proponent of turning good advice and wisdom into a tangible physical object. ![]()
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