Please note that the contents shared here are my own personal notes and highlights from the books I've read. They are neither intended to be comprehensive summaries nor exhaustive explanations of the books. These notes and highlights are simply reflections of the parts that resonated with me the most and serve as a personal reminder of key insights and moments from each book. Curious for more? Browse through my other book notes.

Courage is Calling

In this book, I've found answers for some of my long-standing questions. The idea that anyone can be a hero—not just in grand narratives but in the quiet corners of daily life—resonates deeply. Whether it's within the confines of our homes, the boundaries of our neighborhoods, or the expanse of our cities and beyond, every moment, choice, and action casts a vote for who we become. Choose to be the hero of your story. With each decision, cast a vote for courage, for character.

In an ugly world, courage is beautiful. It allows beautiful things to exist.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

• There aren't two kinds of courage. There is only one. The kind where you put your ass on the line.
• Were there failures of courage along the way too? Mistakes made? Opportunities not taken? Undoubtedly. But let us look to the courageous moments and learn from them rather than focs on another's flaws as a way of excusing our own.
• First, we are called to rise above our fear and cowardice. Next, we are called to bravery, over the elements, over the odds, over our limitations. Finally, we are called to heroism, perhaps for only just a single magnificient moment, when we are called to do something for someone other than ourselves.

Fear

• We are in a battle against fear. So we have to study fear, get familiar with it, grapple with its causes and symptoms. This is why the Spartans built temples to fear. To keep it close.
• The brave are not without fear—no human is—rather, it's their ability to rise above it and master it that makes them so remarkable.
• If we wish to be great, we must first learn how to conquer fear, or at least rise above it in the moments that matter.
• Fear keeps us from our destiny. It holds us back. It freezes is. It gives us a million reasons why. Or why not.
• There is no one who achieved greatness without wrestling with their own doubts, anxieties, limitations, and demons.
• Fear will make itself felt. It always does.
• The ancient Stoics, supposedly the masters of all emotion, conceded that we'll have involuntary reactions. To loud noises. To uncertainty. To being attacked. They had a word for these immediate, precognitive impressions of things: phantasiai. And they were not to be trusted.
• It's okay to be scared. It's not okay to let that stop you.
• "False Evidence Appearing Real." In sobriety circles, as they work to comfort and assuage the worries that hold an addict from making changes or trying new things, that's what they call F.E.A.R. False impressions that feel real.
• The only way through is to attack that fear. Logically. Clearly. Empathetically.
• Break it down. Really look at the facts. Investigate. Only then can we see.
• At the root of most fear is what other people will think of us.
• There has never, ever been a time when the average opinion of faceless, unaccountable strangers should be valued above our own considered judgement.
• The obstacles, the enemies, the critics—they are not as numerous as you think. It's an illusion they want you to believe.
• The night is dark and full of terrors. We face many enemies in life. But you have to understand: They are not nearly as formidable as your mind makes you think.
• The reality is that both sides are uncomfortable, if not afraid. The trepidation is mutual.
• A little awareness, a little empthy, it doesn't make us soft. It gives us confidence.
• We haven't actually defined what so worries us. Our fears are not concrete, they are shadows, illusions, refractions that we picked up somewhere or glanced at only briefly.
• Premeditatio malorum, the deliberate meditation on the evils that we might encounter. We're too worried about "tempting fate" or "manifesting bad energy" to practice this.
• We need to cultivate the courage to think about all the things that could happen, the things that are unpleasant to think about, the unusual, the unexpected, the unlikely. It's not just a matter of reducing our anxiety about exaggerated uncertainties, it's also about finding certainty in the unknowns.
• Foresee the worst to perform the best. When fear is defined, it can be defeated. When downside is articulated, it can be weighed against upside.
• Vague fear is sufficient to deter us; the more it is explored, the less power it has over us.
• We were afraid because we didn't know. We were vulnerable because we didn't know. But now we do. And with awareness we can proceed.
• Focus on the fact that the hard things will help you. This is why you needn't fear them. Our bruises and scars become armor. Our struggles become experience.
• The whole point is that it's hard. The risk is a feature, not a bug.
• It's better to just get to work. To face what you've got to face sooner rather than later.
• Stoics talked about sticking with "first impressions." Just what you see. What's here. Not everything else that may or may not someday be related to it.
• What's in front of you is what matters.
• This battle against fear is a full-time job. None of us have it handled so well that we can afford to spend much time monitoring how others are doing with theirs—then or now. The best we can try to do is learn from our peers, past and present, and apply their lessons to our own life.
• Don't bother with "What would I do in their shoes?" Ask: "What am I doing now?" In your own life. With your own fears.
• Waste not a second questioning another man's courage. Put that scrutiny solely on your own.
• If you think something is too scary, it's too scary for you. If you don't think you have any power...you don't. If you aren't the captain of your fate...then fate is the captain of you.
• Just because you think you can do something doesn't mean you can. But if you don't believe you can do something, if you're afraid of it, it's very unlikely that you will be able to do it.
• If we don't believe in anything, it becomes very hard to find anything worth believing in. We make our nihilism true, just as we do when we buy the lie that we have no agency; or alternatively, that while we don't control what has happened, we do control how we happen to respond. If you fear that there isn't anything you can do, chances are you will do nothing. You will also be nothing. A protected, self-justifying nothing.
• The brave don't despair. They believe. They are not cynical, they care. They think there is stuff worth dying for‐that good and evil exist. They know that life has problems but would rather be part of the solution that a bystander.
• We don't want to offend. We don't want trouble. We don't want to lose our access. Or our power. Or our pension. Or our privileges. We tell oourselves we can pull off the high-wire act. So we lie. Or we compromise. or worse, we cower. It's fear that does this.
• The fear you will is a sign. If courage is never required in your life, you're living a boring life. Put yourself in a position that demands you leap.
• We tell ourselves we're thinking, that we're weighing our options, that we're making progress. In truth, we are paralyzed with fear. Overwhelmed by options. By second guesses. By that hatred of making mistakes. So what we're really doing is making ourselves miserable. We tell oourselves it's about options...really it's paralysis by analysis. All the while, somebody or someone else is making progress.
• Can't lose if you don't choose? Of course you can. You lose the moment. You lose the momentum. You lose your ability to look yourself in the mirror.
• All certainty is uncertain. You're not safe. You nevber will be. No one is. In putting safety above eberything, we actually put ourselves in dangegr. Of being forgotten. Of never coming close. Of being complicit.
• Out of fear, we conform. Out of fear, we don't do what's right. We mute ourselves. We don't even want other people to be themselves, because it makes us uncomfortable.
• Be original. Be yourself. To be anything else is to be a coward.
• Don't let the opinion of cowards influence what you think or do. The future depends on it.
• Fear by its other identity: Shame
• There's almost no accomplishment that is possible without calling some attention on yourself.
• You just learn to stop thinking about what they think.
• It's called "public life" for a reason. We don't get to succeed privately.
• When the student asks a question, what happens? They learn something they didn't know. When the friend reveals a vulnerability to another, what happens? The friendship gets stronger. When the employee admins the workload is too much, what happens? A hire is made and the company gets more efficient. When somebody has the courage to speak about something shameful that was done to them? Society is propelled into action. The admission unlocks something within. Now we're powerful enough to solve our problem.
• We're in this mission together. We're comrades. Ask for help. It's no just brave, it's the right thing to do.

Be scared. You can't help with that. But don't be afraid.

— William Faulkner

What we fear, we do not know.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

Don't worry about whether things will be hard. Because they will be.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

Be like the athlete, knowing what a hard workout gives you: stronger muscles:

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

It's not bad that this is happening to you. It's good training.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

All the energy we spend fearing that we'll make it worse is energy not spent making it better.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

The thing that cowardice fears most is decision.

— Søren Kierkegaard

What we want in life, what the world needs—all if it is on the other side of fear. All of it is accessed throguh courage, should we choose to wield it.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

Courage

• Courage is the management of and the triumph over fear.
• It's the cowardice of others that creates the opportunities for the individual hero.
• Just like fear, courage is contagious.
• The world is asking you about your courage. Every minute of every day. Your enemies are asking you this question. Your obstacles too. Because we need to know. Are you one of the cowards? Are you someone we can count on? DO you have what it takes?
• The belief that an individual can make a difference is the first step. The next is understanding that you can be that person.
• Although fear can be explained away, it's far more effective to replace it. With what? Competence. With training. With tasks. With a job that needs to be done.
• What we do not expect, what we have not practiced, has an advantage over us. What we have prepared for, what we have anticipated, we will be able to answer.
• You do it a thousand times, and then a thousand times more while there is no pressure so that when there is, you'll know exactly what to do. It's preparation that makes you brave.
• We don't need to lead a grand change. Put aside thoughts of some death-defying gesture. Sometimes the best place to start is somewhere small.
• Better to win a small battle than continually to defer for some larger, perfect battle in the future.
• We get started. We do what we can, where we are, with what we have. It adds up.
• Whatever you're not changing, you're choosing.
• You can't beat a problem by debating it, only by deciding what you're going to do about it and then doing it. And if your decision happens to be wrong, or you make a mistake, then decide again, with the same kind of courage and clarity.
• You have to be combative. You have to be determined. You have to be confident. No, that's not how this is going to go. No, what you're proposing is not "best for everybody." No, I am not going to keep my mouth shut. No, this isn't over. No, I'm not going to "tone myself down."
• It doesn't matter who you are or what your track record is. What matters is the moment—sometimes even less than a moment. Do you do it? Or are you too scared?
• Do one thing each day that scares you. How do you expect to do the big things that scare you—that scare others—if you haven't practiced them? So we must test ourselves. We make courage a habit.
• The Spartans never asked how many of the enemy there were, only where. Because they were going to attack anyway. They were in it to win.
• We must draw the line, somewhere.
• One man with courage makes a majority.
• You just have to keep yourself in check. You have to do your job in the moment, let your training guide you. You do what's right, what is immediately in front of you, bravely, calmly, clearly.
• If you're going to speak out: Sign your name. Sign your name on everything you do. That's the brave—no,the basic—thing to do.You break it, you buy it. You make the move, you own it. You say it, you stand behind it. You order it, you accept the blame. This is the source from which self-respect springs and leaders are made.
• Only a loser stops battling their opponent before the match is over. Fight for every yard. Fight for you.
• Consistently make good bets every day. Calculated instead of careless. Incremental instead of incredibly dangerous.
• Better risk now than gamble later. In either case, boldly proceed.
• They will laugh at you. Losers have always gotten together in little groups and talked about winners. The hopeless have always mocked the hopeful. The scared do their best to convince the brave there is no point in trying.
• Nobody is brave without first braving and triumphing over cynicism and indifference.
• Nihilism is for losers.
• We won't always be successful, but we have to try. We can't harden our hearts or turn up or televisions. We don't need to wait for some enormous moment. It's about what we do every day—for ourselves, for other people.
• We can't just bemoan the darkness of this world we live in. We have to search for the light. We have to be the light.
• It is important we understand that courage, as a virtua, must be weighed against the equally essential virtue of moderation.
• Courage is about risk, but only necessary risk. Only carefully considered risk.
• What fear does is deprive you of power by making you think you don't have any. If you don't believe you can do something, it's not only unlikely that you can do it, it's guaranteed that you won't even try.
• Take control of your own life. Reject the pessimistic view that we are at the mercy of forces beyond our control. Yes, you can do something. You must.
• Which will you be? The immovable object or the unstoppable force? The leader or the follower? The passive acceptance or the active resistance?
• Sometimes physical courage is required to protect moral courage. There will be moments when we are at risk—or someone we love is at risk. Kind words will not cut it. Poise will not protect us. What weill be called for is intensity, aggression, a demonstration of force. In these moments, we cannot shy away. We cannot shrink. We cannot be bullied. We cannot do nothing. In those moments, we'll have to hit back, and we'll have to hit hard. We must raise our fists. We must make our stand.
• It's pretty certain that continuing to do the same thing in the same way in the same place over and over is not just insanity, but eventually a form of cowardice.
• Fear gives us no shortage of reasons why we can't do any or all of those things: It's too hard. It's too dangerous. The odds are too high. The orders don't make sense. The ldaer should have put me in charge. Courage cuts through the noise. It reminds you what the situation calls for. It reminds you what you signed up for.
• The history of appeasement and procrastination show us: The bill comes due eventually, with interest attached.
• We have to remember that these polls, these estimations, these statistical models—these things are static. What they cannot predict for, what they cannot account for, is the individual with agency, the human being who ameks events happen rather than simply sitting back and waiting for things to happen to them.
• Imagine that your own ancestors—of blood and of bravery—are standing here, watching you, protecting you. Remind yourself what they would do right here and right now. You can't let them down. Be braver. Right now. Here, in this decisive moment.

We can curse the darkness, or we can light a candle.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

Repetition leads to confidence. Confidence leads to courage.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

Start small...on something big.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

Do your best, to what you can, do it right now. That's it.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

The brave thing. The right thing. The principled things. Whatever the consequences.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.

— Martin Luther King Jr.

Fortune favors the bold. Fortune favors the brave.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

It begins with a choice, but it is ensured by action.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

One way to remember who you are is to remember who your heroes are.

— Steve Jobs

The Heroic

• We must triumph over fear, we must cultivate courage in daily life, and we must be ready to seize the opportunities life presents us—however big or small.
• The opposite of fear is love. Love for ideas. Love for your country. Love for the vulnerable and the weak. Love for the next generation. Love for all.
• What we're willing to give, that's what transforms us from brave to heroic. Maybe for a moment, maybe to just one person, maybe to be enshrined in the history books for all time.
• The difference between raw courage and the heroic lies in the who. Who was it for? Was it truly selfless? Was it for the greater good?
• We must be willing to negotiate. We're willing to compromise. But run away? No. We avoid the petty fights so we can be ready for the ones that matter.
• A long desert. A desolate valley. Either way, you'll need to cross it. You'll need patience and endurance and most of all love. You can't let this period make you bitter. You have to make sure it makes you better.
• It's not you against the world. It's not you angry at the world. It's about what you're willing to do for the world.
• A life is meaningless except for its impact on other lives.
• Whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever is going on. There's more you can do.
• Our hands are never as tied as we think. There is always something a hero can do, always someone they can help.
• The parent doesn't just ell their kid to face their fears, they have to show them what it means to do that in their own life.
• This is why we show up for work every day even though we aren't wanted. Even though it's dangerous. We aren't the one in the wrong, so why should we be driven away? If other people want to leave, want to quit, if other people have decided there is no future, just know you don't have to agree. You can stay. You can go back.
• Let everyone else flee—we're not going to be deterred that easily. We're not going to abondan our political party or our hometown, we're going to stay and fix it. Because we know it's the right thing to do.
• I refuse to accept that the vault of justice is bankrupt. I refuse to accept that man is unredeemable. I refuse to accept that I can't make this better. I will not stop until I create some meaning out of this suffering.
• Whatever we do, we cannot surrent to bitterness. We must reject the heresy of despair. We can't give up on ourselves or on other people. We have to tell ourselves a story—about history, about our lives—that emphasizes agency, progress, the chance of redemption.
• The only way to lose is to abandon your courage.
• We think that courage mean being unbreakable. No. It means getting back up when you've been broken. Because your kids are watching. Because the cause needs you. Because you won't let evil triumph. It means putting yourself back together so you can do what needs to be done, for yourself, for others.
• Stoicism is there to help you recover when the world breaks you and, in the recovering, to make you stronger at a much more profound level. The Stoic heals themselves by focusing on what they can control: Their response.
• A hero gets back up. They heal. They grow. For themselves and others.
• It beings by choosing virtue. Not virtue signalling, but virtuous living.
• Can you be brave? Who and what will you be brave for? The world wants to knkow.

True good fortune is what you make for yourself. Good fortune: good character, good intentions, and good actions.

— Marcus Aurelius

We will our purpose into existence. We choose to be heroes. And if we don't, it's on us.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

Why should I quit? I'm not the one doing anything wrong.

— Anonymous

A time comes when silence is betrayal.

— Martin Luther King Jr.

Work, love, courage and hope,
Make me good and help me cope!

— Anne Frank

Defeat is a choice. the brave never choose it.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

Will you find a way to become stronger at the broken places? Or will you so cling to your old ways that you will be shattered?

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

Words don't matter. Deeds do.

— Ryan Holiday, Courage is Calling

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