Stillness Is the Key Book Summary

Book Summary

15 min

Audio available

Brief Summary

Everyone can benefit from Stillness. It allows you to make decisions in difficult situations and it also helps to combat stress, change your perspective, and find inner peace.

About the Author

Ryan Holiday is an American author, marketer, entrepreneur, and founder of creative advisory firm Brass Check. He is a media strategist, former director of marketing at American Apparel, a media columnist, and editor at large for the New York Observer.

He briefly attended the University of California, Riverside and studied political science and creative writing. He worked for Tucker Max on several controversial media pranks including boycotting Max’s work as part of a movie launch.

He is the author of several books and wrote for Forbes, Fast Company, The Huffington Post, The Columbia Journalist Review, etc.

His first book, Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator tries to explore flaws in the current online journalism system and was on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. He wrote the book Growth Hacker Marketing which explored non-traditional marketing efforts as more effective.

In 2014, he became the New York Observer’s editor at large. Holiday went on to publish several other books such as The Obstacle Is the Way and Ego is the Enemy, which explores the egotism of several historical figures.

The New York Times has credited Holiday with the increasing popularity of stoicism.

Topics

Self Development Psychology

Stillness Is the Key Book Summary Preview

Key Insights

When was the last time you took a mindful pause to be still and reflective?

How often do you ignore the notifications popping up on your phone?

In this busy world full of technology and hustle and bustle, you probably don’t get to take a breather too often.

But, did you know that being still is actually a top-secret weapon according to some of the greatest leaders the world has ever known?

According to Ryan Holiday in his book, “Stillness Is the Key,” taking a moment to breathe can help induce creativity and bring great clarity to your life.

These pauses soaked with inactivity can actually propel your life forward and alter your perspective.

“Stillness is what aims the archer’s arrow. It inspires new ideas. It sharpens perspective and illuminates connections.”- Ryan Holiday

The trick is learning how to sit still while the world continues on around you.

Stillness Is the Key To Peace

We live in a world full of noise. There are constant conversations wherever we go, there is social media begging us to scroll through, traffic honking, and on top of that, we have our own schedules to adhere to which include family duties, social obligations, and of course, work. Life in the modern day is busy.

This busyness causes stress in our lives because we feel at high-demand 24/7. Everyone is trying to get our attention in one way or another. So, how do we clear our heads in order to make decisions efficiently?

According to Holiday, the best way to find clarity and peace is to be still.

But, what exactly is Stillness?

It’s an abstract idea, but you are sure to know it when you practice it.

Stillness can come in different forms. Perhaps you have felt it by being present and watching the sunrise. Or, maybe you have felt it while performing onstage. Or, while running a marathon. It is the simple, yet exuberant, feeling of being alive.

By muting both the chaos that is affecting you externally such as phonecalls and group texts and internally such as worries about a deadline, you will be able to tap into a greater knowledge that’s hiding inside yourself.

“How different would the world look if people spent as much time listening to their conscience as they did to chattering broadcasts? If they could respond to the calls of their convictions as quickly as we answer the dings and rings of technology in our pockets?”- Ryan Holiday

If you can find peace inside yourself, you will still be able to function to the best of your ability, even if your external world is crumbling around you.

A lot of religions have embraced Stillness. Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians all practice Stillness under different names. But, the universal message is the same: Stillness brings peace and clarity to one’s life.

Slow Things Down

Sometimes it is best to slow things down and resist listening to our gut instincts. Especially in high-stake situations. That’s because our gut jumps at a fight-or-flight decision rather quickly when things get heated.

For example, President John F. Kennedy woke up to the news...