“When we remove ego, we’re left with what’s real.”- pg. I know I’ve seen plenty of people fall from grace both personally and professionally and when you get down to it, it all boils down to their ego. Rather, his book distills the ideas of centuries into a handy reference. While the ideas aren’t new, this book is still worth reading. He pulls ideas from such historical figures as Epictetus and Benjamin Franklin all the way to Pat Riley. Sherman, and Angela Merkl).Īs much as I enjoy this book, the ideas in it aren’t necessarily new. Marshall, Colonel John Boyd, General William T. There are examples of both what not to do (John DeLorean, Howard Hughes, and post-Civil War Ulysses Grant) as well as leaders who were able to keep their ego in check (General George C. The book is composed of a series of anecdotes to demonstrate his points. This book is a quick read which serves as a guide to help one ideally prevent but more likely minimize mistakes of hubris. We shift our attention from the process which produced the results and associated success to the byproducts of success, i.e. We tell ourselves a grand story that our success was inevitable. We make progress towards our goal but because of our ego, there are cracks in the foundation. Then the Success phase occurs where the hard work pays off. During the Aspiration phase, we are in the beginning of our journey where we come up with a goal and diligently work toward it. The author traces the cycle into three (3) parts- Aspiration, Success and Failure. 2).” We have all been guilty of it ourselves and seen a similar belief by others. The premise of the book begins with the author’s definition of ego- “an unhealthy belief in our own importance (pg.

I always struggled to understand why I was unable to sustain my success.

When I was younger, I would routinely be working hard both personally and professionally and seemingly doing well only to suddenly fall flat on my face. If I had been able to read it and willing to heed its warning, it would have saved me from a number of mistakes. This is the book I wish I had read 20 years ago.

Ego is the enemy book review