GE 156: Best Selling Author Ryan Holiday Reveals How He Sold 200,000+ Copies & Works with Clients Like Tony Robbins & Tim Ferriss (podcast)

Hey everyone, today our guest is Ryan Holiday, the former Director of Marketing at American Apparel and current Founder and Partner at Brass Check Marketing where he focuses on creative consulting, advising, and marketing. Ryan is the author of several books including “Ego Is the Enemy,” “The Obstacle Is the Way,” “Trust Me, I’m Lying,” and “Growth Hacker Marketing.”

In today’s interview, we’ll be talking about the scary risk Ryan took to drop out of school at 19 and work as a media strategist as well as a research assistant for author Robert Greene, how his role as Director of Marketing at American Apparel led to writing his first book, why his books have sold over 200,000 copies in 20 languages, and how Ryan got to work with high-profile clients like Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins, and Tucker Max.

Ryan’s newest book “Ego Is the Enemy” came out June 14 and you can purchase it right here!

Download podcast transcript [PDF] here: Best Selling Author Ryan Holiday Reveals How He Sold 200,000+ Copies & Works with Clients Like Tony Robbins & Tim Ferriss TRANSCRIPT

Episode highlights:

• [5:53] – Taking risks can help you level up and grow in a big way
• [6:09] – Writing a book may be giving away knowledge, but it is also a calling card that creates opportunity for writing, speaking and consulting
• [7:08] – Writing a book separates you from the herd in a big way
• [7:36] – Creating a book is an incredibly challenging thing to do, because it takes months or years the progress can be discouraging
• [8:53] – Selling a proposal, writing, editing, and marketing takes months and months of work. On top of that none of the results are certain. Don’t take this challenge lightly.
• [9:41] – A 10,000 or 20,000 amount of books sold represents a significant number. Ryan’s book have sold north of 200,000 copies. The key is something that sells in perpetuity once the marketing has stopped
• [11:29] – It’s not about creating a best seller it is about making something that sells for years and years
• [11:52] – The Obstacle Is the Way was about turning trials into triumphs and became very popular with sports teams like the Seattle SeaHawks. Ego Is the Enemy is turning the obstacle into being ourselves and the way our own arrogance can hold us back from our creative work and success. Essentially, how we are our own worst enemy.
• [12:47] – When you are young the best way to get ahead is to make other people look good. It’s not easy to watch other people take credit for what you did.
• [15:10] – Ego manifests itself differently when you are aspiring or successful. We need to be conscious and look at things with an objective and clear eye.
• [16:23] – Both books use stoicism to relate to modern life and a modern context
• [16:53] – Stoicism is a philosophy that believes we don’t control the world around us, we only control how we respond.
• [17:51] – This is a philosophy for the powerful and the powerless
• [18:12] – Ryan has worked with high profile clients like Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins, and Tucker Max. He got these clients by doing a great job for other clients, and now people come to him.
• [19:41] – The majority of Ryan’s business also comes from people who had read his books.
• [21:03] – Making a difference in the world is scary, but how else are you going to get the word out
• [21:24] – A book needs to be marketed from a platform. Building a base before a book launches is a good strategy.
• [22:43] – Learning to say “No” means you aren’t making your family and obligations suffer

Resources from this interview:

• Books by Ryan Holiday
• Twitter @RyanHoliday
• Facebook @RyanHoliday
• Ryan Holiday’s website
• 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
• Brass Check Marketing (Ryan’s company)
• Must-read book: Meditation by Marcus Aurelius

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