This episode reflects on how awareness of mortality sharpens our sense of what truly matters, through the unforgettable lesson Randy Pausch taught with a spilled soda and Marcus Aurelius’s reminder that every day arrives with a due date.

When time is no longer assumed to be endless, possessions lose their grip and postponed priorities come into focus. Far from being morbid, this clarity is freeing—it helps us release what doesn’t matter and act on what does.

The question left hanging is simple and urgent: how will you use today’s opportunity before it quietly expires?

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Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Don’t Always Be Beginning To Live

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-dont-always-94c

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This episode explores the Stoic art of decatastrophizing—learning to meet fear by stripping events down to what they really are, rather than what our imagination makes of them.

From Socrates calmly facing death to Seneca’s reminder that we suffer more in imagination than in reality, we see how clarity dissolves panic.

The practice isn’t denial or blind optimism, but disciplined attention to the present moment. With repetition, the Stoics show, fear loses its grip and the mind regains its power.

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Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Art of Self-Retrieval

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-art-4d8

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This episode explores an often-overlooked Stoic lesson: that even wisdom, effort, and reflection must be practiced in moderation.

Through David Hume’s gentle warning against burnout—and his nuanced engagement with Stoic exercises—we see how pushing too hard, whether in work or in contemplating life’s fragility, can undermine the very growth we seek.

Seneca’s counsel to rest the mind and Hume’s reminder that “going slower” can get us there sooner converge on a timeless truth. Flourishing isn’t found in relentless strain or constant gloom, but in the measured balance that preserves both health and gratitude.

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Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Art of Self-Retrieval

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-art-4d8

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This episode dives into the Stoic idea of the “passions”—those powerful storms of anger, fear, envy, and grief that arise not from events themselves but from the judgments we attach to them.

Epictetus teaches that emotional turmoil begins in the domain of desire, where unexamined impressions harden into false beliefs about what is good or bad.

By learning to pause, test our impressions, and assent only to what is true, we reclaim mastery over our inner world.

The work is gradual but transformative: each moment of careful attention becomes a step toward clarity, resilience, and the deep calm that comes from governing one’s own mind.

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📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT

Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Art of Self-Retrieval

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-art-4d8

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This episode explores listening as a form of courage and clarity—an active practice that shapes how we understand the world and ourselves.

From Zeno’s simple reminder that we have “two ears and one mouth” to Epictetus’s deeper lesson on assent, we learn that true listening isn’t passive reception but deliberate attention. It invites empathy, reveals uncomfortable truths, and creates the space in which wisdom can emerge.

When we listen with patience and discernment—to others, to nature, to our own inner signals—we reclaim our freedom to choose our responses and, in doing so, walk a wiser path through life.

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Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Virtue Doesn't Need To Signal

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-virtue-doesnt-f2d

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This episode brings haiku and Stoicism into conversation, showing how both traditions teach us to savor fleeting moments while also meeting life with energy and purpose. Bashō’s delicate images remind us to slow down and truly see the world, while Seneca urges us to “hold every hour in your grasp.”

And in a surprising twist, modern research reveals that Stoic practice doesn’t dull the spirit—it ignites zest, the vigor that makes life feel vivid again.

Together, haiku’s quiet attention and Stoicism’s joyful readiness form a blueprint for living fully in every passing instant.

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Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Run Back Over Your Actions

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-run-back

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This episode turns the Stoic lens toward the illusions of power and wealth, as Epictetus and Cicero expose the tyranny of desire and the poverty of excess.

Through the figure of the boastful ruler and the self-satisfied rich man, both philosophers reveal how dependence on externals—on fortune, status, or approval—enslaves the soul.

True mastery, they argue, lies not in ruling others but in ruling oneself. The person content with virtue alone, free from craving and fear, is richer and stronger than any tyrant alive.

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Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Meaning of Life

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-meaning

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In this episode, I talk to Shermin Kruse, a globally recognized negotiation consultant, law professor, author, and TEDx producer.

In her latest book, Stoic Empathy, Shermin blends neuroscience, philosophy, and her own personal journey to provide actionable insights into cultivating influence, self-leadership, and emotional regulation.

It was a pleasure to speak to Shermin, I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

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📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT

Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Virtue Doesn't Need To Signal

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-virtue-doesnt-f2d

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This episode weaves together the wisdom of Michel de Montaigne and Seneca—two thinkers separated by centuries yet united in their answer to life’s oldest question: how should we live?

For Montaigne, the key was freedom from the fear of death. For Seneca, freedom from the waste of life. One teaches acceptance, the other intention.

Together, they remind us that peace comes not from prolonging our days, but from inhabiting them fully—to stop dreading the end and start honoring the present as life’s most sacred gift.

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Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: This Is True Temperance

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-this-is-2fa

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In this episode, we look at the beauty of balance through Seneca’s counsel on plain living and Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata.

Seneca reminds us that philosophy calls for simplicity, not self-punishment—a life both modest and graceful, grounded yet open to the world.

Echoing this, Ehrmann’s gentle verses urge calm, kindness, and humility amid life’s noise and haste.

Together, these voices teach that wisdom is not withdrawal but harmony: to live earnestly, serve humbly, and never lose sight of the quiet joy found in life’s simplest things.

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Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Remain Human in an Inhuman Time

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-remain-human

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