American · b. 1987
Ryan Holiday is an American author and media strategist who writes about Stoic philosophy for a general audience. He dropped out of college at nineteen to work under the author Robert Greene, then became director of marketing at American Apparel, where he drew attention for his advertising campaigns. He wrote Trust Me, I'm Lying, a book about media manipulation, before turning to Stoicism. His books The Obstacle Is the Way, Ego Is the Enemy and Stillness Is the Key each apply ideas from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus to work and daily life. The Daily Stoic, written with Stephen Hanselman, presents a Stoic passage and a short commentary for each day of the year. It became a bestseller and led to a podcast, a newsletter and a large online community. Holiday runs a bookstore in Bastrop, Texas, called the Painted Porch. His work has helped bring Stoic practice to readers in business, sports and self-improvement.