Ryan Holiday’s New Book
it should be about consistency
If someone has the tokens of achievement for
“advising clients like Google, TASER, and Complex,
has an email list of 200,000+ people,
sold more than 2 million + copies of his books in thirty languages,
and has a following among NFL coaches, world-class athletes, TV personalities, political leaders, and others around the world,” 1
you would be foolish not to learn from this individual's experiences.
Since I don’t want to be foolish, I want to tell you about Ryan Holiday - the one with all the above accolades.
There is no author that I've learned more from than Ryan Holiday.
There is also no author that I’ve seen as consistent as he is.
To many, Ryan Holiday can be seen as the Stoicism guy. He is a life-changing writer and top-level media strategist. This combination has helped him write online and distribute that writing incredibly well. But it took him decades to get there.
When Ryan was 19 years old, he dropped out of college to apprentice under the prominent writer, Robert Greene.
His informal route of higher education is one I prefer and resonate with - because I dropped out of college in 2020 to continue building my own business (twinning).
In his early 20s, Ryan further developed his marketing mind during his career at American Apparel. He quickly became the marketing director at AA.
“Greatness comes from humble beginnings; it comes from grunt work. It means you’re the least important person in the room—until you change that with results.” (Ryan Holiday)
By apprenticing under Robert Greene, Ryan achieved his dream of learning from the person who was living the life he wanted. As an author, Robert Greene reads and writes all day. At a young age, that’s also what Ryan learned he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
With a perfect match, this apprenticeship bloomed Ryan’s writing craft.
Ryan spent a half-decade learning from, and “never outshining the master”, Robert. Ryan learned this concept at an early age - as it's the first law Robert introduces in his best-selling book, the 48 Laws of Power. Masters want to feel secure and superior in their positions, not like they’re being overtaken by an apprentice.
Now, funny enough, Ryan is outshining his master two decades later.
The 2 million + book copies Ryan has sold span through his series of 12 books - each of which became a best-seller.
In order to write so many books, and do it so prolifically well, I always imagined Ryan Holiday was in front of his office computer within his Painted Porch Bookstore for 16 hours a day.
Yet, Ryan Holiday’s research and writing assistant, Billy Oppenheimer, proved my assumptions wrong. Thankfully.
"If I didn't see the way he is day to day, I would think he is always at the computer writing. If you ever go over to the Painted Porch [Ryan's bookstore], where his office is, he'll be in his office for 10 minutes and he'll write a Daily Stoic email. Then, he is downstairs on the back porch with his kids. Comes back up, writes something, loads his kids into the stroller and goes for a walk for like an hour. Comes back. He's in and out. He is doing stuff. It's not eight hours in front of a computer screen all day." (Billy on The Danny Miranda Podcast ep #327)2
This one line on the about page of Ryan's website is a living example of compounding consistency:
“I originally started this blog nearly ten years ago to help me along in my journey of self-education…”3
10 years.
Non-stop pursuit of knowledge.
Unwavering commitment to consistency.
How does Ryan stay this consistent over decades?
The cornerstone is in the little things that are done on a daily basis.
Ryan’s notecard system represents the effects of consistency compounded.
Any time Ryan sees a high-signal piece of content, he records it on a notecard. That notecard then gets stored away in a small, alphabetical filing system. This small box is categorized by one major theme.
Day after day, a section of this small box gets filled. That adds up.
All of those notecards, all centered around the axis of one major theme, helps Ryan contribute his ideas for a new book with high-quality and ease.
2000 note cards ends up becoming the framework for a 200+ page book.
The daily, often mundane, rituals Ryan engages in lay the foundation for extraordinary achievements. It's not the grandiose gestures but the small, consistent steps that pave the road to mastery and lasting impact.
These two charts below fascinate me. I look at them with curiosity and wonder - just as I am doing right now as I gaze at the colossal mountains outside my window in Mexico.
The first picture is a graphic from Ryan Holiday’s email newsletter on October 18th, 2023.
It shows a timeline of his best-selling book, The Daily Stoic, through its 7 years of sales.
What about this next graphic, as well?
This is from Ryan’s Holiday’s Facebook page and shows the growth of his Daily Stoic YouTube channel since 2017.
The beautiful thing about consistency is that its framework is centered around an enjoyment of the process.
Sure, the end result of any process can be great.
But, as Ryan says, the “work is the win.”
I enjoy listening to Ryan talk about his process of writing a book (from research to publish) because at the end of the video he says, “...it’s one of the coolest feelings ever [writing a book]… and then you start the next one.”
Only someone focused on the craft would say such a thing.
Ryan has written books on various virtues and my inclination is that his next book will be about consistency.
ego (Ego is the Enemy)...
perseverance (The Obstacle is the Way)...
stillness (Stillness is Key)...
discipline (Discipline is Destiny)...
courage (Courage is Calling)...
justice (Right Thing, Right Now, releasing June 11 2024)...
consistency (_________) ← book title needed
"Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others” – Otto von Bismarck.
^ this is actually one of Ryan Holiday’s favorite pieces of advice that he has ever received ^
Through the 5-year journey of discovery into Ryan Holiday's work, I expected to come up with a list of tips and tricks to improve my writing craft, but the surprising takeaway was consistency.
Because without consistency, nothing matters. The same way that you can’t run a race to completion without taking each step is the same way that you can’t become a master at a craft if you don’t consistently perform well over a long-period of time.
Look at all the legends with each profession. They are all doing one thing noticeably well: compounding consistency.
So, why do I think Ryan Holiday’s next book will be about consistency. Without consistency, all the tools in his other books can’t be applied.
Ryan - I’ll even help you get started.
Here is the first notecard to put in your small notecard box that you can label Consistency.
Now, I just need to mail it to you.
Without you’re help, this essay would not have been published today, nor would it be in the standing that it is. The BIGGEST thank you to each one of you -
, , , and Samantha Law.Here is my website - you can find more stories, quotes, and deep dives here.
Each comment is helpful feedback for me to become a better writer and also connect with you more - let me know your thoughts on this piece
If you enjoyed - share with others ↓
(I would love to see you around the interweb → Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn)
Billy on The Danny Miranda Podcast ep #327
Anthony - this is awesome. I’m going to use it as a model. Great work!!
Well done Anthony, as I wrap up my plus-one curation piece, I'm looking to your piece for guidance!