Ego Is the Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent

Howard Hughes, an American businessman and inventor, inherited his father’s company and fortune as a very young man. Hughes purchased his relatives’ shares in the company and took sole charge of it. While Hughes was a “gifted, visionary, and brilliant” man (94), he was unable to manage his different desires and ambitions, and ultimately his company failed spectacularly. Holiday calls Hughes an “egomaniac” whose self-absorption triggered his financial and personal downfall (94). While his life as a billionaire and “eccentric” is easily glamorized, Holiday emphasizes that he “died in an asylum of his own making” and emphasizes that his egotistical behavior interfered with his real talent and genius and killed his potential (97).

Genghis Khan was a successful conqueror because he was able to adapt Mongol culture and policy by observing the societies he encountered and warred against. Khan learned about military organization, walled cities, siege tactics, and insights into each locale he visited, always putting his new knowledge to use. Holiday ponders how as people become more successful, they encounter new, bigger problems and claims that this makes humility an essential quality. By being humble, people can learn new things and continually improve, making them more competitive at their craft.