The Daily Stoic

Seneca was exiled to what he felt was a rock in the middle of the ocean. He hated it. He thought it was torture. And of course, it was unfair that he was sent there—on trumped up charges no less—and it would have been lonely and sad to be so far from his family.

Yet it is a little funny that the place he was sent to, Corsica, is a beautiful vacation spot for people all over the world today.

Seneca couldn’t see that, just as perhaps you can’t see what’s just underneath the rough exterior of the situation you’re in. We’ve talked before about the Maggie Smith poem Good Bones. It takes a certain eye to be able spot what others are too depressed or too cynical or too devastated to see.

Think of the settlers and developers who were able to see what later became bustling cities in the uncultivated land. Think of the people who were able to see the potential for renewal and growth in a run down neighborhood. Think of the leaders who saw a future in an organization or franchise that everyone else gave up on.

We can forgive Seneca for his moments of self-pity and doubt and hopelessness. It would happen to the best of us. We can also learn from what he missed by focusing on that. We can try to see the good bones, the better future, the potential in the situation we’re in. We can strive to make that come true.

✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spring is the most beautiful of the seasons. Suddenly, after a dreary winter, the colors come back. The birds are out. The days last longer. The breeze is light and the air is cool.

But as Phillip Larkin’s bittersweet poem reminds us, beneath this turning of the seasons is a kind of darkness.

The trees are coming into leaf

Like something almost being said;

The recent buds relax and spread,

Their greenness is a kind of grief

The inherent grief is the passage of time. Each season brings new life, yes, but also marks the cessation of life. It’s a painful truth, the poem points out, written in the rings of the tree. Winter is dead and over…and all of us a little more so too.

This notion serves as a gentle nudge, reminding us of the preciousness of every moment. It urges us not merely to exist but to truly live, to seize each season and extract its full potential. It’s saying don’t let a new season come and go without springing forward with it—not just meeting it, but making something of it. If you’re up for that, why don’t you spring forward with us and the Daily Stoic Spring Forward Challenge?

Interested in Daily Stoic Life? Click here.

✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marcus Aurelius opens Meditations reflecting upon what he has learned from various influential individuals in his life. It’s titled “Debts and Lessons,” and the 17 entries spanning nine pages and more than 2,000 words make up nearly 10% of the entire book! Marcus writes with the humility of someone in the final act of their life taking stock of how lucky they are to be where they are.

It’s beautiful. And it totally dispenses with the notion of the "self-made man," the idea that someone got somewhere all on their own. Marcus knew he was a product of so many mentors, influencers, advisors and teachers. Debt is the operative word in that title—he owed them so much.

When we talked to Arnold Schwarzenegger on a recent episode of the Daily Stoic podcast, he talked about this very idea (in fact, he references how inspired he was by Meditations in the final chapter of his fantastic new book Be Useful). Because on the surface Arnold Schwarzenegger’s remarkable life story is a classic example of that idea of the “self-made man.” Born and raised in a small village in Austria, seemingly on his own sheer will and determination, Arnold achieved extraordinary success in the worlds of bodybuilding, acting, business and politics, ultimately becoming a global icon.

P.S. “I have always learned more from my failures and therefore I was never afraid of failure,” Arnold Schwarzenegger said while on the Daily Stoic podcast. The ultimate example in the power of hard work and perseverance, Arnold shared his wisdom in being useful while you still can, how to transform your liabilities into assets, and tips to best nurture both your mind and body. This episode is full of nuggets you can directly apply to your life so be sure to check it out. And for more of Arnold’s uniquely earnest, blunt, and potent insight, pick up his new book Be Useful: Seven Tools For Life, available over at the Painted Porch!

-----

And in today's excerpt from The Daily Stoic Journal, Ryan examines the Stoic idea that expensive things cost more to us than their dollar value by reflecting on a recent situation in his life.

✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's weekend episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan reminds us How To Remain Calm When The Rest Of The World Is Freaking Out: 9 Tips From The Stoics by the way of voice actor Michael Reid.

The article delves into specific Stoic practices, such as mindfulness, self-reflection, and the deliberate contemplation of worst-case scenarios, to empower individuals to confront challenges with equanimity. Additionally, it highlights the importance of maintaining perspective, recognizing the impermanence of external events, and reframing hardships as opportunities for personal development. Overall, the article serves as a practical guide for applying Stoic philosophy in modern times, offering readers a timeless toolkit to remain composed and centered when the world around them seems to be unraveling.

✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This discussion between Ryan Holiday and Robert Greene took place in September of 2023 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Ryan and Robert talk about a range of topics from artificial intelligence, the perils of ego, success and failure, the power of self control, and key Stoic reminders like Memento Mori and Amor Fati.

If you want to be a part of a talk similar to this, Ryan Holiday is going on tour to Australia in July. Ryan Holiday Live in Australia will be in Sydney and Melbourne. Tickets are now available for purchase.

✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s good that you’re tough. It’s good that you’re a fighter—maybe even trained in wrestling, as so many of the Stoics were. It’s good that you’re a risk taker, that you’ve put yourself out there, pushed through fear and doubt to do what others were afraid to do.

But it’s important you don’t forget that there is more to the virtue of courage than just this. There’s a great song that talks about “being too much a coward to admit when you’re in need.” Marcus Aurelius makes a similar note to himself in Meditations, reminding himself that even the bravest, toughest soldiers sometimes have to reach a hand up and ask a comrade for help. What of it, he basically says, that’s part of the job too.

-

In today's Daily Stoic excerpt, Ryan reminds us that philosophy is intimidating, that we begin our journey into philosophy when we become aware of the ability to analyze our own minds.

You can grab the leatherbound edition of The Daily Stoic here.

✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marcus Aurelius called it a few different things. His translators varied even more in their interpretations. Gregory Hays used the word “imperialization.” Robin Waterfield called it “becoming Caesarified” and “dyed in purple.” Pierre Hadot has it, “becoming Caesarized.” George Long translates it, “Take care that thou art not made into a Caesar, that thou art not dyed with this dye.” In The Daily Stoic, we have Marcus express his worry of being “stained purple.”

Ok, but what is he actually talking about? He’s talking about being corrupted by power, changed by the position and fame that he has. And we know this was a lifelong concern of his. One story has Marcus Aurelius breaking down in tears when he’s told he will someday be emperor, not because he was sad, but because his study of history taught him how few people managed to leave the job unscathed, let alone unchanged.

While none of us will wear the purple cloak of the emperor (that’s what Marcus was referring to about being dyed), hopefully, we will be successful. Hopefully, we will earn positions of influence and power and respect. What will this reveal about us? What might it corrupt or corrode?

It is a timeless battle, a timeless temptation. Stoicism is here to help us with it. Meditations, specifically, is one of the only books ever written by a person with that much power, one of the only books by a person who power did not make worse, and about how to remain good and decent and virtuous when there is every excuse and opportunity not to.

-

On today’s Thursday episode of the Daily Stoic podcast, Ryan talks with over 150 employees from Austin Central Library during their staff development and apperception day. They discuss why Ryan became an author, writing process, and the importance of reading and learning from ancient wisdom.

✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This tradition of warrior Stoics continued up through and past Admiral Stockdale, who would test Epictetus’s doctrines in the prison camps of Vietnam (his book Courage Under Fire is a must read for any modern Stoic).

Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, all but predicted this would be the fate of the Stoics. “If you lay violent hands on me,” he said in 3rd century Greece, “you’ll have my body, but my mind will remain with Stilpo.” Stilpo was a Greek philosopher, meaning that you could torture Zeno, you could possess his body, but you could never control his mind. He was saying a version of what we said recently—that the idea of Stoicism is to surrender but not give yourself away.

Isn’t that what Stockdale was doing? He submitted to his imprisonment because it was a physical fact of his existence. He accepted, perhaps a bit more realistically than the Stoics, that under torture, no man was fully unbreakable, that you would ultimately have to give some information up under duress. (We talked to one of his fellow POWs, Dave Carey, on the podcast about just this idea.) But Stockdale still asserted that he had ultimate control of his thoughts, of his character, his sense of self. No one could take that from him and more important, he would never give it up.

✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ryan continues his conversation with Morgan Housel, they discuss the power of storytelling, how humans are wired for status and not happiness, his latest book Same As Ever, and more. 

Morgan Housel is the New York Times Bestselling author of The Psychology of Money and Same As Ever. His books have sold over 4.5 million copies and have been translated into more than 50 languages. He is a two-time winner of the Best in Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, and winner of the New York Times Sidney Award. In 2022, MarketWatch named him one of the 50 most influential people in markets. 

IG and Twitter: @MorganHousel

Grab a signed copy of Same as Ever and The Psychology of Money from The Painted Porch!

If you want to check out the Q&A with me and Morgan, go to dailystoic.com/wealthy. 

If you want to listen to Ryan and Morgan’s first discussion from 2022 click here.

✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The regular person in us is frustrated by all this. But the Stoic in us knows that this is leading us, teaching us, shaping us. Seneca said that misfortune toughens us up, forges us the way that fire tests gold. Epictetus said that life pairs us with these sparring partners for a reason—to turn us into Olympic-class material. And the Book of Romans says that “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”

The hope is really our sense of our capacity. It’s the confidence that comes from being tested and passing that test. It’s knowing that we really can wrestle with the toughest stuff that life can throw at us. Pandemics, the whiplash of the market, extreme weather events, political unrest, personal disasters, tragedy, heartbreak. We’ve been through it. We’re still here. We’ve suffered and that suffering has produced character, character that gives us hope, gives us faith, gives us strength.

The obstacles have been the way. They have produced something good. Something we can count on. Something we can believe in…our own capacity.

P.S. “The impediment to action advances action,” Marcus Aurelius writes. “What stands in the way becomes the way.” In a world that is constantly testing us, we need to carry that timeless, life-changing lesson with us more than ever. That’s why we created the Obstacle is the Way medallion with Marcus’s words on the back so you can always remember that no matter the challenges life throws our way, we can always grow stronger and better. Grab one today or snag the leather-bound edition of The Obstacle is The Way and receive the Obstacle medallion for free!

-

We all need a little motivation from time to time. A swift kick when we’re feeling a bit uninspired. The struggle to find motivation isn’t new. Woven throughout the most famous Stoic texts are wisely chosen words designed to motivate one’s self. They knew then, as we know now, that the right words, at the right time, can inspire action. So today, as you’re looking for a little extra motivation to get after the task at hand, listen to these clips inspired by the time tested wisdom of the ancient Stoics.

✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.