Ego is the enemy Part 3

Thoughts from Ryan Holiday:
Appearances are deceiving. Having authority is not the same as being an authority. Having the right and being right are not the same either.
Impressing people is utterly different from being truly impressive.

You can’t learn if you think you already know. You will not find the answers if you’re too conceited and self-assured to ask the questions. You cannot get better if you’re convinced you are the best.

The old saying goes: Say little, do much. Be lesser, do more.

Imagine if for every person you met, you thought of some way to help them, something you could do for them? And you looked at it in a way that entirely benefited them and not you. The cumulative effect this would have over time would be profound: You’d learn a great deal by solving diverse problems. You’d develop a reputation for being indispensable. You’d have countless new relationships. You’d have an enormous bank of favors to call upon down the road. Helping yourself by helping others. Making a concerted effort to trade your short-term gratification for a longer-term payoff.

“No one has learned the meaning of life until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man.”
-Brian Wolfe

“He who speaks the loudest is the least heard.”
-Robert Half

“Talking and eloquence are not the same; to speak and to speak well are two different things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks.”
-Ben Johnson

“An egotist is not a man who thinks too much of himself; he is a man who thinks too little of other people.”
-Joseph Fort Newton

“There is no wholly satisfactory substitute for brains, but silence does pretty well.”
-Anonymous

“The ultimate aim of the ego is not to see something, but to be something.”
-Muhammad Iqbal

“Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”
-Benjamin Franklin

“Never allow your ego to diminish your ability to listen.”
-Gary Hopkins

“The weak are dominated by their ego, the wise dominate their ego, and the intelligent are in constant struggle against their ego.”
-Hamza Yusuf

…and remember, anytime there is a struggle between doing what is actually right and doing what seems right, then your ego is interfering with your decision.