AI tools

Ryan Holiday

American author (born 1987) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday (born June 16, 1987[not verified in body]) is an American author, originally a marketer, who made a name writing books and marketing them in non-traditional ways.[2][4][5]

Quick Facts Born, Occupation ...
Ryan Holiday
Thumb
Holiday in 2012
BornJune 16, 1987 (1987-06-16) (age 37)[citation needed]
Sacramento, California[citation needed]
OccupationMarketer,[1][2] author
EducationUC-Riverside (dropped out)[3]
GenreSelf-help,[4] non-fiction
SpouseSamantha Hoover[3]
Website
ryanholiday.net
Close

Holiday's debut to writing was in 2012, when he published Trust Me, I'm Lying. Since then he has published a number of other books including The Obstacle Is the Way (2014) and Ego is the Enemy (2016).

Early life and education

Ryan Holiday was on born June 16, 1987 in Sacramento, California.[citation needed] He began steps toward a career in marketing and writing after dropping out of the University of California, Riverside in his sophomore year, at the age of 19.[3]

Career

Holiday was a director of marketing, for American Apparel.[2] Early on, Holiday "earned a name for himself pranking several media outlets by posing as a fake expert for stories... a suffering insomniac for an ABC News story, an outraged customer... sneezed on at a Burger King for MSNBC[,] and a vinyl record collector for a New York Times piece, just to name a few... Holiday claims he was exposing flaws in journalistic vetting, but his pranks also led to a book deal."[6] Holiday proceeded from that start to a role in helping marketing clients plan advertising campaigns with the aim of their coverage going viral.[6] While at American Apparel, Holiday consulted for author Tucker Max,[6][7] where he "created a sneaky way to get young men to see the Tucker Max movie, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, by organizing a campaign against the film's womanizing plot and bait[ing] people to protest it". He said, "we realized... the best way to get these kids to see this movie... is to tell them not to see [it]".[6] Later, he worked with Robert Greene.[4]

Holiday resigned from American Apparel company in October 2014.[8]

Writing

Summarize
Perspective

Holiday published his first book, Trust Me, I'm Lying, in 2012 about online journalism. It debuted eighth on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list for the hardcover business category.[9][non-primary source needed] His second book, Growth Hacker Marketing, was first published in September 2013 by Profile Books, and then expanded into a print edition in 2014.[citation needed] The book discusses why growth hacking is cheaper and more effective than traditional marketing.[10][1] The book was named one of Inc. magazine's top 10 marketing books of 2014.[11]

Holiday's third book The Obstacle Is the Way, was published in May 2014, also by Penguin Publishing Group (see list above). It is based on the Stoic exercise of framing obstacles as opportunities.[citation needed] As of December 2016, the book had sold more than 230,000 copies,[4] and it reached No. 1 on the Wall Street Journal 2019 Bestseller List, five years after its initial release.[12][dead link][non-primary source needed] Examples of promotional reporting from influencers for this book include:[excessive detail?]

  • that in relation to it, both 2014 Super Bowl teams, the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, invited the author to visit their headquarters;[4][13][7]
  • that NBA all-star Chris Bosh listed Obstacle as an item "he couldn't live without", adding that when his head coach Erik Spoelstra gave Miami Heat players copies of the book, Bosh had already read it;[14]
  • that after Pittsburgh Steelers' Ryan Shazier's on-field spinal injury, which left him unable to walk, Shazier reportedly told Holiday that Obstacle helped him improve his mindset and focus on recovery;[7]
  • that during a press conference at the Masters in 2019, golfer Rory McIlroy said he had read Obstacle (and Ego Is the Enemy, see following) leading up to his tournament.[15][dead link]

Holiday also wrote a chapter in Tim Ferriss' 2016 book Tools of Titans.[citation needed] That year he published his fourth and fifth books, both with Penguin. The first, in June, was Ego Is the Enemy, uses various historical figures as case studies to illustrate the perils of egotism.[16] The second, in October, The Daily Stoic, co-authored by Stepehn Hanselman, is a daily devotional containing Stoic meditations.[citation needed] The Daily Stoic reached No. 2 on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list in the Hardcover Business category,[17][non-primary source needed] and by 2019, the e-book version would reach No. 7 in that format's Nonfiction category.[18][non-primary source needed] In the last half of 2017 he followed these with The Daily Stoic Journal,[clarification needed] and Perennial Seller,[clarification needed] both from Penguin.

In February 2018, Holiday published Conspiracy with Penguin, about the lawsuit between Gawker Media and wrestler Hulk Hogan, and Peter Thiel's involvement in the dispute. It was reviewed by William D. Cohan of The New York Times, who noted, "...incessant name-dropping aside—which tends to detract from his gripping narrative—Holiday has written one helluva page-turner."[19] As of 2018, plans had been reported aimed at developing Conspiracy as a feature film (with Charles Randolph writing the script and Francis Lawrence directing).[20][needs update] In October 2019, Holiday published Stillness Is the Key, which is reportedly the first of Holiday's books to reach No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list in the Business category.[according to whom?][21][non-primary source needed][22][non-primary source needed]

In 2020, Hanselman and Holiday co-authored the Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius (2020) delves into the lives of famous Stoic philosophers and their teachings.[23][24] His work, Courage Is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave (2021) explores the cardinal virtues, focusing on the importance of courage in personal and professional life.[25][non-primary source needed] Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control (2022) examines the role of discipline in achieving success and fulfillment.[26][non-primary source needed] In 2023, Holiday published The Daily Dad, offering daily Stoic-inspired insights for fathers.[27][non-primary source needed] His most recent book, Right Thing, Right Now: Good Values. Good Character. Good Deeds. (2024), emphasizes the importance of ethical behavior and integrity.[28][non-primary source needed]

Impact

Holiday's books have sold more than three million copies combined.[citation needed] Holiday, through his books, articles and lectures, has been credited by Alexandra Alter of The New York Times with contributing to the increased popularity of Stoicism; when questioned about his role, he defended it "as a self-help strategy", and Alter notes that Holiday's approach "sound[s] more entrepreneurial than philosophic".[4] Holiday was also described as "leading the charge for Stoicism," which has been noted for gaining traction among Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.[29][30]

Personal life

Holiday wrote public letters encouraging his father not to vote for Donald Trump in 2016[31] and 2020.[32] Despite his public opposition to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, Holiday reported that he was offered a communications director position within the Trump administration and did not accept.[33] Holiday supported Joe Biden in the 2020 United States presidential election.[34]

In September 2020, Holiday contributed $10,000 toward the removal of two Confederate monuments from the Bastrop County Courthouse to an alternative site.[35]

Holiday owns and operates the independent bookstore Painted Porch Bookshop in Bastrop, Texas.[36] He is married[3] and has two sons. He lives on a 40-acre ranch (16 ha), outside Austin, Texas, in Bastrop County.[4]

Published works

See also

References

Further reading

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.