Don’t Curse the Boulder — Leverage It
When I began reading Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle is the Way,” I thought: “The Obstacle is the Way!!?!?!” What the heck does that mean!?
On page 14 Holiday answers.
He tells an ancient Zen story about a king who noticed his people had grown soft and entitled. He wanted to teach them a lesson.
So he placed a massive boulder in the middle of the main road, completely blocking the entrance to the city. Then he hid nearby to watch what would happen.
Day after day, people approached the obstacle. Some turned around immediately. Others made halfhearted attempts to move it before giving up. Many complained about the inconvenience or cursed the king, but nobody actually did anything about it.
After several days, a lone peasant came down the road. When he saw the boulder, he didn’t turn back. He pushed and strained, trying to move it with his bare hands. When that didn’t work, he had an idea.
He went into the woods and found a large branch. He crafted it into a lever, returned to the road, and used it to pry the massive rock out of the way.
Underneath the boulder, he found a purse full of gold coins and a note from the king:
“The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.”
(Can I get an “amen”?)
“The Obstacle is the Way” is loaded with lessons like this — delivered through great stories.
That’s why Ted Prodromou and I chose this book as this month’s selection for the Mastermind Book Club.
Each month, Ted and I choose a business book that can transform how you approach challenges.
We meet live on Zoom on the fourth Thursday each month to discuss what we’re reading.
Our next live meeting is TODAY August 28 at 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT.
There’s no cost to join the Club and attend the meetings. You don’t even need to read the book to benefit from the discussions.
But you do need to join the Club in advance to receive the Zoom link.
Join now at: MastermindBook.club
We’ll send you the link so you can join us in the Zoom room.
Don't go away yet..
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