4 ms·

I came for some stories about starting a bookstore and all I got was a bunch of platitudes about adveristy.

runevault 5y ago
Adversity and Stoicism is sort of his shtick. If you aren't aware of who he is its understandable how you'd be like "well this isn't what I wanted," and part of where HN/Reddit links can get weird for me. People who frequent a particular site know what they are in for from the title because they have the context of the person. Link sites are just places with a lot of information with some flavor but not to the same degree.
- TameAntelope 5y ago
  For people who need to hear these kinds of words, these messages, I'm sure this content is valuable, but for folks who don't need to hear, "Confidence is earned" it tends to come across as trite and uninspiring. I have no idea where HN lands on that spectrum, but for me it evokes substantial eye rolling. "Yes, yes -- take risks, start small, do experiments, be the eternal student. Got it." Not that I'm acing any of those tests, but I'm probably at a point where hearing it a thousandth time isn't realistically likely to change my perspective on those topics. Not everyone is where I'm at! But if you are, I don't imagine these kinds of words/messages are going to excite you.
  - runevault 5y ago
    Yup you aren't wrong. But there is a HUGE cottage industry around this sort of thing, be it self help books or other forms. I don't have exact figures but I'm under the impression Ryan has made a LOT of money off using the angle of stoicism/The Obstacle is the Way (he even has a book titled this) to offer the idea of inspiration for those who want it but can't seem to find it. Does it actually work for people? Hell if I know, and the industry that has any hope of gathering that data doesn't want to know because if the answer is no and it gets out their entire money engine dies.
oh_sigh 5y ago
Reading his about page should give you a clear indication why. Almost the first sentence is "I dropped out of college to apprentice under Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power." I've always been extremely wary of people who pursue power for its own sake, before they're even fully formed humans. A common technique they choose to acquire power is hucking drivel to other people who view the world the same way - commonly writing in those platitudes about overcoming adversity. I've literally never heard of this guy, but just from reading this hn post, I can almost guarantee you he has published a book that can be summed up in about 2 sentences but is inexplicably 125 pages.
- browningstreet 5y ago
  You're completely wrong about who Ryan Holiday is. You can start by searching for his name on his own bookshop website: https://www.thepaintedporch.com/search?type=product&q=ryan+holiday https://www.thepaintedporch.com/search?type=product&q=ryan+h...*
  - oh_sigh 5y ago
    Seeing titles like "Courage is Calling", "Stillness is the Key", and "Trust Me, I'm Lying" only make me more confident in my point, not less. But, I'm not going to buy these books just to see if my hunch developed over 15 seconds is correct.
    - Kaibeezy 5y ago
      I found “The Obstacle Is The Way” useful and accessible, and I went on to read Marcus, Seneca and others. I appreciate the introduction Holiday provided. Any combination of factors that allows the opening of something like an independent bookshop is A-OK by me. Maybe Tim Ferriss will open a wood-fired pizzeria.
    - phnofive 5y ago
      > Courage is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave I think I will judge that book by the words on its cover.
    - 5y ago

Adversity and Stoicism is sort of his shtick. If you aren't aware of who he is its understandable how you'd be like "well this isn't what I wanted," and part of where HN/Reddit links can get weird for me. People who frequent a particular site know what they are in for from the title because they have the context of the person. Link sites are just places with a lot of information with some flavor but not to the same degree.

TameAntelope 5y ago
For people who need to hear these kinds of words, these messages, I'm sure this content is valuable, but for folks who don't need to hear, "Confidence is earned" it tends to come across as trite and uninspiring. I have no idea where HN lands on that spectrum, but for me it evokes substantial eye rolling. "Yes, yes -- take risks, start small, do experiments, be the eternal student. Got it." Not that I'm acing any of those tests, but I'm probably at a point where hearing it a thousandth time isn't realistically likely to change my perspective on those topics. Not everyone is where I'm at! But if you are, I don't imagine these kinds of words/messages are going to excite you.
- runevault 5y ago
  Yup you aren't wrong. But there is a HUGE cottage industry around this sort of thing, be it self help books or other forms. I don't have exact figures but I'm under the impression Ryan has made a LOT of money off using the angle of stoicism/The Obstacle is the Way (he even has a book titled this) to offer the idea of inspiration for those who want it but can't seem to find it. Does it actually work for people? Hell if I know, and the industry that has any hope of gathering that data doesn't want to know because if the answer is no and it gets out their entire money engine dies.

oh_sigh 5y ago

Reading his about page should give you a clear indication why. Almost the first sentence is "I dropped out of college to apprentice under Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power." I've always been extremely wary of people who pursue power for its own sake, before they're even fully formed humans. A common technique they choose to acquire power is hucking drivel to other people who view the world the same way - commonly writing in those platitudes about overcoming adversity. I've literally never heard of this guy, but just from reading this hn post, I can almost guarantee you he has published a book that can be summed up in about 2 sentences but is inexplicably 125 pages.

browningstreet 5y ago
You're completely wrong about who Ryan Holiday is. You can start by searching for his name on his own bookshop website: https://www.thepaintedporch.com/search?type=product&q=ryan+holiday https://www.thepaintedporch.com/search?type=product&q=ryan+h...*
- oh_sigh 5y ago
  Seeing titles like "Courage is Calling", "Stillness is the Key", and "Trust Me, I'm Lying" only make me more confident in my point, not less. But, I'm not going to buy these books just to see if my hunch developed over 15 seconds is correct.
  - Kaibeezy 5y ago
    I found “The Obstacle Is The Way” useful and accessible, and I went on to read Marcus, Seneca and others. I appreciate the introduction Holiday provided. Any combination of factors that allows the opening of something like an independent bookshop is A-OK by me. Maybe Tim Ferriss will open a wood-fired pizzeria.
  - phnofive 5y ago
    > Courage is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave I think I will judge that book by the words on its cover.
  - 5y ago