Ryan Holiday's El Obstáculo es el Camino (The Obstacle Is the Way) is a modern classic of self-improvement based on the ancient Greek and Roman philosophy of . The central premise, inspired by a quote from Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius , is that what prevents us from moving forward actually provides the path to our success: "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way".

Holiday breaks this philosophy down into a three-step framework for handling any challenge: Lessons from "The Obstacle Is the Way" by Ryan Holiday