Ryan Holiday

Keynote Speaker

Greatness Lies Within Overcoming Ego

With bestsellers like The Daily Stoic, Ego Is the Enemy, and Perennial Seller, Ryan Holiday is a motivational speaker on everyone’s mind. The New York Times calls him “a sought-after guru to NFL coaches, Olympians, hip-hop stars and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.” In his latest book, Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue, Holiday widens his lens, investigating power (and its misuse) in America through the takedown of the Gawker media empire.

Ryan Holiday is a young, smart, marketing powerhouse-turned-motivational-speaker who has attracted fans from every imaginable discipline. When it comes to movitation, Holiday makes readers—and listeners—take stock of their lives and careers through the timeless lens of an ancient philosophy, stoicism. His book The Daily Stoic distills the ancient wisdom of the stoic philosophers into 366 practical meditations, each meant to enrich and enliven our daily lives—at work, on the field, and in our relationships. In Ego Is the Enemy—an instant Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and international bestseller—he explains how “the battle against ego must be fought on many fronts,” and provides helpful examples of major figures who’ve achieved success by escewing the spotlight and putting the greater good above their own vanity. And in the now cult-classic The Obstacle Is the Way, he shows us how to turn even the most insurmountable obstacles into advantages, inspired by an ageless set of philosophical principles used by icons from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart, Richard Wright to Steve Jobs. Forbes calls it “an inspiring read for anyone faced with adversity” that can “save years of future angst.” Publishers Weekly argues that “Holiday’s performance is commanding and optimistic, sure to inspire readers to take new perspective on their apparent obstacles.” It has so far been translated into over 30 languages and has sold over 400,000 copies. In total, his books have sold 1.3 million copies.

But Holiday is also a premier marketing speaker, and the renowned media strategist behind celebrity authors Tucker Max and Timothy Ferriss. The former Director of Marketing at American Apparel, his campaigns have been studied by YouTube, Twitter, and Google. After dropping out of college at 19 to apprentice under the strategist Robert Greene (The 48 Laws of Power), he went on to advise many bestselling authors and multi-platinum musicians. His latest book marks a resounding return to the world of marketing and publicity. Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work That Lasts explores iconic products, artworks, artists that achieve longevity in our disposable age. To The Financial Times, it outlines “how to create lasting success in a world of flash-in-the-pan hits and how to extend the proverbial 15 minutes of fame to a decade or even a century.” It’s a book Inc. says “every entrepreneur should read” and an FT book of the month selection. His book Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising explains how multibillion dollar brands are built without spending a dime on ‘traditional marketing,’ and frames the overnight success of companies like Dropbox, Facebook, AirBnb, and Twitter. Porter Gale, Former VP of Marketing at Virgin America, says: “This book is a wake up call for every marketing exec in the business. And a tutorial for engineers, IT, founders and designers. Read it.”

Holiday is a media columnist for The New York Observer, and his other writings—published in 28 languages—appear in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Fast Company, Thought Catalog, and The Columbia Journalism Review, among others. Holiday’s first book, Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator, a tell-all expose of modern online journalism, is a Wall Street Journal bestseller and an Amazon Editor’s Best Book of the Month. The Financial Times called it an “astonishing, disturbing book.” To The Big Picture author Edward J. Epstein, “Ryan Holiday’s brilliant expose of the unreality of the Internet should be required reading for every thinker in America.” His seventh book, Conspiracy, has been optioned for a film.

“Holiday is part Machiavelli, part Ogilvy, and all results … this whiz kid is the secret weapon you’ve never heard of.”
– Tim Ferris, #1 bestselling author of The 4-Hour Workweek

Ego is the Enemy

Many of us insist that the main impediment to a full, successful life is the outside world. When in fact, Ryan Holiday insists, the most common enemy lies within: our ego. Early in our careers, it impedes learning and the cultivation of talent. With success, it can blind us to our faults and sow future problems. In failure, it magnifies each blow and makes recovery more difficult. And even the most successful companies can be torn apart by destructive egos—the disease of ‘me’. At every stage, ego holds us back.

In this keynote, adapted from his book Ego Is the Enemy, Holiday draws on a vast array of stories and examples, from literature to philosophy to history. He invokes fascinating figures such as George Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Katharine Graham, Bill Belichick, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who all reached the highest levels of power and success by conquering their own egos. Their strategies and tactics can be ours as well.

In an era that glorifies social media, reality TV, and other forms of shameless self-promotion, the battle against ego must be fought on many fronts. Armed with the lessons in this fascinating and motivational talk, “you will be less invested in the story you tell about your own specialness, and as a result, you will be liberated to accomplish the world-changing work you’ve set out to achieve.”