Thus far, it sounds like Holiday is pointing at a lot of good, vaguely related things, and labeling them with a vocab word then selling it as a philosophy. A bit further into the book, I feel less like this is a problem. Ryan Holiday has made a decent case for his arguments. The book deals a lot with stoicism. Ryan Holiday is a modern Stoicist. The longest chapter of the book, by far, was the one about Winston Churchill, which seemed weird and out of place.
The Cuban Missile crisis is an example of the world on one mans shoulders, who maintained his sanity. Weighed options carefully, and prevailed.
The Artist is Present. A performance artist sat silent and motionless for 750 hours over a 70 day span. Spending silent time with one person at a time. For weeks.
The present is only however long we can push off the lights of the past, and worries and hopes for the future. The present can be hours, minutes, or may not even be a thing for you at all.
A wealth of information is a poverty of attention. Napoleon would wait 3 weeks before even reading a letter he received. Make time for deep work. Let things wait. What’s unimportant will wait. What’s important will ready for you.
If you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters. - Epictetus
The Eisenhower square. What’s important versus what’s urgent. See highly Effective People.
Socrates was possibly one of the most wise and astute people to have ever walked this earth... and he got there by spending most of his life genuinely believing himself to be ignorant. He constantly asked questions.
Between Ego and self-defeat, lies confidence. Confidence is calm when you're in the storm. If you're beliefs are proven wrong, it's a security in moving on. Recognizing fault, growing, and moving forward.
Thinking about the technical aspects of shooting an arrow is a sure way to miss a target. Forcing a free throw to go in is the best way to brick the shot. Trying to hit a golf ball hard is a recipe for failure. Following the process, without regard for the result, will inevitably, almost paradoxically produce a better result. The closer you get to mastery, the less you care about specific results.
Tiger Woods had mental stillness on the golf course, but an unbalanced spirit. Everywhere else in his life he succumbed to every whim. It cost him everything he loved.