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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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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This episode explores Epictetus’s radical vision of strength—one rooted not in anger or domination, but in mastery of the self. Through his reflections on thieves, insults, and injustice, the former slave turned philosopher shows that true invincibility lies in compassion, clarity, and control over our own judgments.

When we cease giving power to what others do and focus instead on how we respond, we become untouchable in the deepest sense. The Stoic’s triumph is not over enemies or circumstance, but over the impulse to surrender peace of mind to anything beyond our will.

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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: When To Stop Listening

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-when-to

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This episode traces the Stoic lineage back to Socrates, whose probing questions revealed that health, wealth, and reputation are not inherently good or bad—their value lies in how we use them.

From Xenophon’s dialogues to Cicero’s reflections, we see how wisdom became the touchstone for discerning what truly matters. Fortune’s gifts and losses come and go, but virtue remains unshakeable.

The Stoic message endures: our real possessions are inward ones, the moral resources that no change of fate can ever take away.

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

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: A Prayer to Nature

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-a-prayer

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This episode shines a light on Temperance—the often-overlooked Stoic virtue that quietly anchors all the rest.

Far from being dull restraint, Temperance is freedom: the ability to enjoy life without being ruled by appetite or impulse. It’s the steady discipline that transforms courage into integrity, justice into fairness, and wisdom into clarity.

In a culture that celebrates excess, this virtue reminds us that moderation is not denial but mastery—the calm art of keeping life in balance so that joy, reason, and harmony can flourish together.

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

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: A Reliable Companion

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-a-reliable

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This episode turns to two of the Stoics’ deepest insights: that everything outside us is in constant motion, and that within us lies a freedom nothing can touch.

Using Zeno’s vision of happiness as “a good flow of life,” we explore how change and death are not disruptions but essential parts of the rhythm that makes life meaningful.

Epictetus then reminds us that while we can’t control the tune, we are always free to choose how we respond to it. Together, these lessons reveal a path to resilience—accepting impermanence without fear, while safeguarding the will that makes us truly free.

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

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: A Motto For The Courageous

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-a-motto

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This episode explores the quiet courage it takes to ask for help—and the deeper Stoic truth that vulnerability is not weakness but strength.

From Marcus Aurelius’s reminder that “there is no shame in being helped” to Ryan Holiday’s call for bravery in admitting our needs, we see how openness creates stronger bonds and shared resilience.

Woven through is the Stoic commitment to justice, empathy, and fellowship: by leaning on others and extending our hand in turn, we transform isolation into connection.

True strength, as the Stoics remind us, lies in building a world where courage and compassion circulate together.

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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: A Motto For The Courageous

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-a-motto

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

This episode is a welcome return to the podcast for my friend Jon Brooks, creator of the Stoic Handbook.

Jon and I had a great conversation, and he shared a lot of really valuable insights and practical guidance on the topic of voluntary hardship and what that means in the context of Stoicism.

I hope you enjoy the episode and that you find it as useful to reflect on as I did afterward.

Jon's Links:

• Stoic Handbook: stoichandbook.co
• Free Stoic Power Challenge: https://stoicchallenge.co
• Emperor Nero: The Dark Reign of Rome’s Most Infamous Emperor: https://www.stoichandbook.co/the-psychopathy-of-emperor-nero/

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

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Let Us Be Clear

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-let-us-be

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In this episode, we follow Epictetus and Musonius Rufus as they dismantle the illusion that we can control anyone—or anything—outside ourselves.

Through the story of a man desperate to end his brother’s anger and Musonius’s calm endurance in exile, the Stoics remind us that patience and virtue are the only sure defenses against life’s turbulence.

External blows, whether personal slights or imperial banishments, cannot touch the command center within. What matters most is how we shape our own art of living, turning adversity into raw material for strength.

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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 Stoic Sense Of Humour

https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-stoic-97d

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