Book · recommended on 6 episodes
The Obstacle Is the Way
Ryan Holiday ISBN 9781781251485
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Ryan Holiday ISBN 9781781251485
Find it on AmazonAffiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
This book by Ryan Holiday has come up 6 times across 2 different shows: Andrew Huberman, Tim Ferriss. 5 of those mentions were genuine on-air recommendations, not just passing references. The people who brought it up: Brian Keating, Christopher Sommer, Rana el Kaliouby, Ryan Holiday, Stefi Cohen, Tim Ferriss. The earliest mention we indexed is from 2020-04-09 and the most recent from 2025-04-23. Every occurrence below links to the episode page and to the exact second it was said on YouTube.
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.
“An example of that for stoicism would be certainly Ryan Holiday's work. He's right here nearby. Obstacle is the way and so on.”— Tim Ferriss
The guest here is Stephen West: Creator and host of the Philosophize This! podcast, a self-taught philosopher who went from a high-school dropout stocking groceries to running one of the most respected independent philosophy shows; 225 episodes in over 12 years, with a book deal coming in 2026. Philosophize This! creator Stephen West tells Tim Ferriss how a homeless dropout warehouse worker built a beloved philosophy podcast.
“the barrier becomes the portal... shout out Ryan holid never yeah never met him but I like that book very much”— Brian Keating
The guest here is Dr. Brian Keating: Professor of cosmology at UC San Diego who built telescopes at the South Pole to study the cosmic microwave background. He led the BICEP experiment, made a headline 2014 'discovery' of the universe's origin that was later retracted, and wrote 'Losing the Nobel Prize.'. Cosmologist Brian Keating takes Huberman on the most zoomed-out tour of the podcast: telescopes, time, the Big Bang, and a lost Nobel Prize.
“What I'm enjoying right now and I'm just getting into it is the obstacle is the way oh yeah by Ryan holiday very close friend of mine”— Christopher Sommer
The guest here is Pavel Tsatsouline and Christopher Sommer: Pavel Tsatsouline is the founder and CEO of StrongFirst, the strength coach who brought the Russian kettlebell to the West; Christopher Sommer is a former US national team gymnastics coach and founder of the Gymnastic Bodies training system. Two strength legends, Pavel Tsatsouline and Christopher Sommer, explain why strength is a skill and patience builds bodies that last.
“the obstacle is the way by ryan holiday yeah yeah he's my neighbor... i love that book so much man”— Stefi Cohen
The guest here is Stefi Cohen: A 25-time world-record powerlifter and the first woman to deadlift over four times her body weight. She is a doctor of physical therapy, author of 'Back in Motion,' and co-owner of Hybrid Performance Method. Powerlifting world-record holder Stefi Cohen breaks down strength training, back-pain science, mindset, and the case for strategic quitting.
“I've recently been gifting I must have given this book to at least like three or four people cuz I recently read it. Uh The Obstacle Is the Way.”— Rana el Kaliouby
The guest here is Rana el Kaliouby: Egyptian-American computer scientist and pioneer of 'emotion AI,' co-founder and CEO of Affectiva. She holds a PhD from Cambridge, did a postdoc at MIT, and wrote the memoir Girl Decoded. Emotion AI pioneer Rana el Kaliouby on teaching machines emotional intelligence, her journey from Cairo to CEO, and embracing her own emotions.
“this is my Marcus Aurelius statue. I bought this when I was writing The Obstacle Is the Way.”— Ryan Holiday
The guest here is Ryan Holiday: Author of bestselling books on Stoicism including The Obstacle Is the Way and the Daily Stoic. A former marketing director at American Apparel turned writer who popularizes ancient Stoic philosophy for modern audiences. Ryan Holiday and Tim Ferriss apply Stoic philosophy to the COVID-19 crisis, choosing alive time over dead time.
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