Summary of Discipline Is Destiny by Ryan Holiday: The Power of Self-Control (The Stoic Virtues Series)

By Justin Reese

DISCLAIMER

This book does not in any capacity mean to replace the original book but to serve as a vast summary of the original book.

Summary of Discipline Is Destiny by Ryan Holiday: The Power of Self-Control (The Stoic Virtues Series)

 

IN THIS SUMMARIZED BOOK, YOU WILL GET:

• Chapter astute outline of the main contents.
• Fast & simple understanding of the content analysis.
• Exceptionally summarized content that you may skip in the original book

Ryan Holiday's second book, Discipline is Destiny, celebrates the power of self-discipline and those who have seized it. It draws on the stories of historical figures such as Lou Gehrig, Queen Elizabeth II, boxer Floyd Patterson, Marcus Aurelius and writer Toni Morrison, as well as the cautionary tales of Napoleon, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Babe Ruth. At the heart of Stoicism are four simple virtues: courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom. Discipline is Destiny will guide readers down the path to self-mastery, upon which all the other virtues depend.

• Language: English
• Publisher: jUSTIN REESE
• Release date: Apr 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215496879

Book preview

Part I

THE EXTERIOR

Ruling Over the Body . . .

Lou Gehrig played first base for the New York Yankees for 2,130 consecutive games, a feat of physical endurance so long immortalized that it overlooks the stats he accumulated along the way. He played through fevers and migraines, back pain, pulled muscles, sprained ankles, and even an eighty-mile-per-hour fastball. He never missed a game and was an Iron Horse of a man who refused to quit, pushing through pain and physical limits that others would have used as an excuse. His career batting average was an unbelievable .340, and he hit 495 home runs, including twenty-three grand slams. He became the third player ever to win the MLB Triple Crown, leading the league in batting average, home runs, and RBIs.

Lou Gehrig was a two-time MVP, seven-time All-Star, six-time World Series Champion, Hall of Famer, and the first player ever to have his number retired. Born to German immigrants in New York in 1903, he was the only one of four children to survive infancy and his mother's German cooking plumped him up from there. He was teased by school kids and sent to his father's turnverein gymnastics club, where he developed the powerful lower body that later drove in so many runs. His father was a drinker and a layabout, inspiring him to turn dependability and toughness into nonnegotiable assets. His mother provided an example of a quiet, indefatigable work ethic as well, working as a cook, laundress, baker, and cleaning lady.

He was a poor boy, a fate no one would choose, but it did shape him. There is a story about Cleanthes, the Stoic philosopher, who, as he walked through Athens on a cold day, had his thin cloak blown open by a gust of wind. Lou Gehrig was one of the highest-paid athletes in America, but he was rarely seen in a hat or vest in New York winters. He worked harder than anyone and was a slave to baseball, a willing slave who loved the job and remained forever grateful for the opportunity to play. When he stepped up to the plate, he was communing with something divine, swaying, trading weight between his feet, settling into his batting stance, and swinging at a pitch with his enormous legs.

He could hit anywhere, off anyone, and when he did, he ran. He wasn't all power, he was speed too, and he loved the game more than anyone. Lou Gehrig was not superhuman, but he had the will to play and the strength to not listen to his own voice. He had a stubborn, pushing ambition and expected every member of the Yankees to bring their best. He was not a drinker and didn't chase girls or thrills or drive fast cars, but he was no good-time Charlie. His biographer, Paul Gallico, wrote that his clean living did not grow out of a smugness and prudery, but out of a desire for personal sanctification.

Lou Gehrig chose the most sensible and efficient route to achieving his goal of becoming a great and successful ball player, even if it meant sacrificing a few pleasures. He was aware that his discipline meant he missed out on a few pleasures, but he also knew that those who live the fast or easy life miss out on their own potential. He had a driving, non-stop ambition to become a great ball player, and anything that interfered with that ambition was poison to him. He continued to live with his parents for his first ten seasons, often taking the subway to the stadium, and later owned a small house in New Rochelle. When the Yankees reigned over the game, the team was treated to an upgraded dugout, with padded seats replacing the old Spartan bench, and Gehrig was spotted by the team's manager tearing off a section.

He was warned of the long-term costs if he didn't develop more sustainable coping mechanisms. Lou Gehrig chose to be in control of his life, despite the sacrifices he had to make. He was unspoiled, without the remotest vestige of ego, vanity or conceit, and put the team before his own health. He did his own prep, took care of his own training, and rarely needed rubdowns or rehab. He wore his fame lightly, but took the obligations of it seriously.

His temperance was an interior force, emanating from deep within his soul. Lou Gehrig was a tough son of a bitch who never complained about a bad throw from his third baseman, even after he jammed his thumb into the ground. After a pitcher knocked him unconscious with a pitch in June 1934, he was rushed to the hospital and expected to be out for two weeks, but he was back in the batter's box the next day and hit a triple. He then hit another triple, and before the game was rained out, he hit his third while recovering from a nearly fatal blow to the brain. He had to prove himself right away to remind the body who is in charge, and he achieved it anyway.

His teammates observed that he didn't drink, chew or smoke, and was in bed by nine thirty or ten each night each night. Lou Gehrig's incredible streak of games played without missing a game in his mid-thirties is an example of how a man can control their life, physical needs, and lower self. In 1938, he played thirty-six games in thirty-five days and traveled to five cities, covering thousands of miles by train. He hit .329 with nine home runs and thirty-eight RBIs. In 1939, he was diagnosed with ALS, slowing his motor skills, weakening his muscles, and cramping his hands and feet.

Despite this, he kept going, gutting out hits and runs, despite the occasional but uncharacteristic error on the field. He eventually stopped when he felt he couldn't help the team anymore. Lou Gehrig's 2,130-game streak of playing 2,130 games in a row, which began in the Roaring Twenties, soldiered on through the Great Depression, and peaked with the 1938 World Series, ended inauspiciously when he was benched and