Courage is Calling

I really enjoy reading this author

What do I mean by portable? This book does not require the reader to dedicate hours of contemplation to each chapter or page. I read most of this book in waiting rooms or on breaks at work. It's very digestible like that. Ryan Holiday really did an excellent job pacing the book and breaking up its chapters. It's not some deep treatise on the philosophical notions of courage. It's an evidence-based, historical approach to the Stoic virtue of courage. Courage is not the absence of fear -- it's moving forward in spite of your fear, or because of it. Others have been in worse situations than you. Others have done this task before. "What one man can do another can do" is a mantra from one of my favorite movies. You can have courage. You can do the right thing. Also, I really enjoyed the last chapter. Maybe I've missed it, but I've never heard Holiday go into depth about his life before Daily Stoic. I knew he was a marketing executive at American Apparel, but that was it. I knew there'd been some scandal with the CEO. But that was all I knew and all I cared to know. But Holiday opens up and writes about what happened, his role, and his regrets. He explains where he failed to have courage, and when he began to have it. It was a really honest look back, and one that I truly appreciated because we all have been there -- maybe not at a major company, but certainly all of us have been moral cowards at various points in our lives. While I've always appreciated Holiday's efforts at bringing Stoicism to modern life, that last chapter really made me love and respect him. It's what led me to write this review, in fact.

A good continuation of Ryan Holiday's works, and it follows the same methodology and small essays that one is used to. The focus on courage and bravery is a welcome change from the previous books which, while holding a theme, can jump from topic to topic.

Ryan Holiday has been one of my favorite authors since 2018. I’ve written about his books before, and they are consistently in my Best Books lists. In 2019, Holiday released the last of three books written about Stoic philosophy in today’s world, Stillness is the Key. The other two are Ego Is the Enemy and The Obstacle is the Way. I also read a standalone of Holiday’s called Conspiracy: A True Story of Power, Sex, and a Billionaire’s Secret Plot to Destroy a Media Empire, which is still one of the craziest stories. Then, I discovered (well before a formal announcement) that Courage is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave would be published in September 2021. I immediately ordered it and, once released, read it in one sitting. Courage is Calling is the first of four books on the four Stoic virtues: Courage, Temperance, Justice, and Wisdom. Holiday shares real stories of courage in it, but not always in the heroic, action-movie way. Holiday goes on to describe the many faces of courage. Yes, sometimes courage is six seconds of bravery from two young Marines giving their lives to stop a truck rigged to blow up the nearby base. However, sometimes courage is quietly pursuing a path and defying convention or your family. Courage is doing the right thing when no one is looking. Courage says, “If not me, then who?” I found myself highlighting something on nearly every page of this book. There are so many meaningful quotes to help keep you going in the face of tough choices, which is the other facet to this book: choice. Courage is a choice. You will have moments where you didn’t make the courageous choice, but the point of all of this – of life – is choice. Courage takes practice. It’s in the little moments that you think don’t matter, but those little moments train you for the big moments. Holiday discusses fear, and its relationship to courage, throughout the book. It’s no surprise that fear keeps us from courage. It keeps us in the dead-end job, the relationship you’ve outgrown, the city you don’t love. But, as Holiday discusses, fear isn’t the opposite of courage – it’s apathy. Doing nothing, being cynical, assuming your actions don’t matter – that’s the opposite of courage. Courage is a choice. You might make the right choice. You might make the wrong one. Regardless, choosing something holds power and takes courage. Just like Gandalf says, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Choose courage. Have hope. Go first. Leave the job. Ask that person on a date. Buy the book. Choose to do something. You’ll be happy you did something, but you’ll regret doing nothing.

One of the best books I've read all year. A really wonderful piece of literature.

This is a fabulous book written by Ryan Holiday. His writing is extremely noteworthy and comprehensive, giving you valuable tools for everyday life and making decisions. Steeped in stoicism, Holiday brings forth the most pivotal quotes that will resonate and possibly change your perspective in the most pleasant ways. This is the second copy of this book that I have bought as I recently sent a copy to a friend who absolutely loved this book!!

I'm a huge fan of Ryan Holiday's work. In fact, The Obstacle Is the Way is one of my top-10 books of all time. And while Courage was mostly solid and on-point, Ryan's logic in one of the chapters was disturbing. He stated we must be courageous...but not for the wrong causes. And he called out "anti-vaxxers" as a group that has no justification for their stance. He was clearly calling out those who are refusing the covid jab, not necessarily those who are against proven vaccines. I have a big problem with this logic. First, I do agree that some causes are terrible for humanity, and anyone who stands behind them is not a hero and needs to be called out. The KKK, world leaders and groups promoting genocide, etc. However, the covid jab example is a terrible one, because this is not settled science. The jury is still out regarding the long-term safety of these treatments. As I write this, the jabs are still technically in phase 3 trials as they're being rolled out to billions. Dozens of highly credentialed scientists from institutions such as Harvard and Stanford are expressing deep concerns over their safety. I respect everyone's decision to take or refuse it, and standing up for what you believe is commendable. But to say that skeptics of this vax are cowards and are not practicing courage? I'm sorry, but if anyone is practicing courage right now it is the medical professionals, scientists, airline pilots, and everyday workers who are willing to lose their jobs because they are against the government forcing them to get jabbed. It's the parents who refuse to have their young kids jabbed out of societal pressure ... because they've spent hours doing deep research. It's the whistleblowers who come out and expose the lies, fraud and corruption inside Big Pharma. You can't have it both ways, Ryan. If you want to encourage everyone to be more courageous, you can't also be the arbiter of truth. It's not up to you to decide who's on the right side and who's on the wrong side--especially when it comes to something that's not yet settled. Sure, you can have and offer an opinion. You can tell us what you stand for. But you need to respect the beliefs of others. You really should have picked a different example. Because this particular example made me question your judgement. Time will tell who was truly on the right side of this issue. And that requires courage from ALL sides, not just your side, amigo.

My Kindle copy of this book is full of notes and highlights. Of all the chapters, I believe my most highlighted is "Just a Few Seconds of Courage", as it hit the closest to home. I excel at overthinking and talking myself out of things that I want to do or that I know are right to do. I carry around more regret than I care to admit because of this. "Results are never certain. You may not succeed, but you do have to try. Because the failure to act? That's a certainty." "For a few seconds of embarrassing bravery we can be great". I don't aim to rewrite the entire chapter here nor type out all my highlights, but those two points hit me the hardest. How many times have I sat and done nothing because I was afraid of being embarrassed? Well, maybe that was a backward way of thinking about it. Perhaps the embarrassment was just the ticket price for a grand show I never got to see, because I wouldn't pay it. How cowardly is that? This book is full of concepts, stories, and points like this, and I loved it. Of course, this is nothing new for anyone who is familiar with and a fan of Ryan's work, but it's a formula that really resonates with me and gets me thinking. I will be keeping this one handy, and I am excited for the future of the virtue series!

Livro indispensavel, Ryan Holiday é o papa atual do estoicismo, um filosofo dos tempos modernos, um autor da maior qualidade que tem um acervo inacreditavel. Recomendo todos os seus livros, diria que deveriam ser obrigatorios no ensino fundamental em todos os paises, principalmente no Brasil.

Nice size and quality book

Amazing book, really a great read if you need some direction in your life to own up to some situations

Hardcover olması ve uygun fiyata gelmesi çok iyi. Umarım Amazonda daha da fazla seçenegi uyguna bulabiliriz.

Une belle ode au courage dans une époque dévastée par la lâcheté humaine dans tous domaines.