Podcast Notes Key Takeaways

• Stoicism is the philosophy that you can’t control what is happening to you, but you can control how you respond
  • It’s about letting go of the things that you’re not in control of in favor of what you can control 
• The famous stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, actually lived through the Antonine Plague in Rome which lasted for 15 years and wrote much of his book,Meditations, in the exact scenario that a lot of us are in right now 
• Use your extra time to:
  • Re-energize: Detach, get some rest, and rejuvenate yourself
  • Re-evaluate: Question your business and life goals
  • Experiment: Try new things (read books, paint art, etc.)
    • “Like you can create things to throw yourself into that allow you to feel some momentum and accomplishment and purpose…rather than wallowing in your resentment or anger or boredom” –Ryan Holiday
• COVID-19 has shown us that the world lacks true leaders
  • “Very rarely has there been such a failure in leadership at essentially every level, from the geopolitical level to specific world leaders, to the governors…it’s been quite horrendous” –Ryan Holiday
• The US and the world, must learn from the crisis and come out on the other side better and stronger
  • “Where I think philosophy really comes in, what it’s actually about is emerging from this better and stronger…The worst thing we could do to those people [that will die from this] would be to emerge from this and essentially learn nothing, to go back to business as usual.” –Ryan Holiday

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Ryan Holiday, bestselling author and author of Daily Stoic, discusses practical ways to find stillness and apply the insights of stoic philosophy in the midst of COVID-19 chaos. Ryan discusses the importance of taking back a feeling of control, the benefits of structure and routine, and the idea of being prepared for anything.

We discuss:

• Using times of adversity to evaluate and reflect how you’ve set up and prioritized your life [2:30];
  
• What insights might the famous stoics provide amidst this COVID-19 pandemic? [8:15];
  
• The possible consequences of the socially isolating nature of a pandemic (and why we need good leaders) [13:00];
  
• Stoicism—what it means and how to apply it [18:45];
  
• Lessons taken from the life of Winston Churchill—stillness, structure, routine, hobbies, empathy, forward thinking, and more [23:30];
  
• Alive time vs. dead time—taking control of your time and making it count [38:45];
  
• Auditing how the world (and its leaders) are handling the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of stoic philosophy [44:15];
  
• Asserting control and using routine to find stillness in an environment not conducive for it [52:15];
  
• Why you should find a way to exercise, especially now [58:30];
  
• How to find purpose during this time—goal setting, having a project to work on, and the benefits of keeping a journal [1:02:00];
  
• What is Ryan most optimistic about and what is he most concerned about over the next few months? [1:08:45];
  
• How can you follow Ryan’s work and messages about stoicism and stillness? [1:17:45].
• And more.

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