The Daily Stoic

Great leaders don’t just build winning teams, they build people who can go on to lead without them. In today’s episode, Ryan talks about the idea of “growing a coaching tree” and what it means to create a culture that outlasts you. Using the San Antonio Spurs as a real-life example, Ryan looks at how the best leaders teach, empower, and develop others, not just for their own success, but for the s...

In honor of Mother’s Day, Ryan talks with Donald Robertson about the powerful influence Marcus Aurelius’ mother had on his life and philosophy. Even though Stoicism is usually talked about as a philosophy shaped by men, Marcus’ mother may have been his first and most important model of Stoic character, shaping the virtues he would spend his life trying to practice. Donald Robertson is a writer, co...

Jon Gustin got sober at the beginning of 2023, but as he explains in today’s episode, getting sober was not the end of the struggle. It was the beginning of finally facing everything he had spent years avoiding. Jon talks with Ryan about his unhealthy relationship with substances, the emotional rock bottom that forced him to change, and the daily practices that helped him stay sober and focus on b...

Cato’s life was his philosophy, and the Stoics never stopped looking to his example. In today’s episode, Ryan explores why Cato the Younger became one of Stoicism’s most admired figures, and what his life can teach us about courage, character, and standing for what’s right.  📚 Learn more about Cato the Younger in Lives of the Stoics by Ryan Holiday 🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is comin...

These are impersonal forces. This is fortune and fate. It’s not targeting you. It’s not favoring or picking on you.  🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you ! Grab tickets here |  https://www.dailystoiclive.com/ 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus...

Arete. To the Greeks, it meant excellence. It was the ultimate expression of human greatness—moral, physical, spiritual. It’s what the Stoics were chasing. It’s what you’re chasing today. But how do we get there? 🎟️   DAILY STOIC LIVE  | Ryan Holiday is coming to a  city near you !  Grab tickets here  |   https://www.dailystoiclive.com/ 🎙️  AD-FREE |  S...

They’re awful. They’re frustrating. They need to be stopped. These are the people who take up so much space in our head. 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/ 🎥 VIDEO EPISODES| Watch the video episodes on The Daily Stoic YouTube channel :...

You think you want more freedom, but too much of it can work against you. In this episode, Ryan talks with David Epstein about why constraints can actually make us better. They discuss how deadlines sharpen focus, why too much autonomy can become a trap, and why “freedom within a framework” may be more useful than total freedom. David Epstein is the author of the #1 New York Times best seller&nbsp...

The terrible diagnosis. The betrayal. The broken heart. Are they Stoics really saying you should love that? Is that what it means to “ amor fati ”—to love your fate? 🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH8HxAZlSfo 🪙 Get your own Amor fati medallion , as a reminder to treat each and every moment—no matter how challenging—as something to be embraced, not avoided. So t...

Recognizing your anger in the moment, feeling it rising before it takes over, means you’ve already started mastering it. 🪙 Carry The Daily Stoic Pause & Reflect Medallion as a reminder to pause. A pause creates space. A pause creates clarity. A pause can change everything. | Grab The Daily Stoic Pause & Reflect Medallion at dailystoic.com/pause 📓 Pick up a signed edition of The Daily Sto...

You think you’ve read Meditations , but the deeper truths in Marcus Aurelius’ private writings often reveal themselves only after years of revisiting them. In this episode, Ryan shares the hidden lessons he missed on his first, second, and even tenth read and why this book keeps giving you new insights even years later. 🎥  WATCH THIS EPISODE |   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJGtygqtA...

What happens after you survive something that should have killed you? After being critically injured in Afghanistan, Kyle Carpenter faced years of surgeries, setbacks, and a future he couldn’t yet see. In Part 2, Ryan and Kyle talk about learning to embrace the struggle, ask for help, and keep going when the path forward is unclear. Kyle Carpenter is a medically retired United States Marine who re...

When we stop resisting and start learning, the obstacle becomes the way. 📕 Grab the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday at dailystoic.com/obstacle 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/ 🎥 VIDEO EPISODES| Wat...

Watch Ryan's response on The Daily Stoic YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1OfTQusvYM 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/ ✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Da...

Dr. Edith Eger faced the worst humanity can do, survived Auschwitz, and went on to build a 98-year life rooted in resilience, forgiveness, and meaning. In this episode, Ryan reflects on her life and lessons as a Holocaust survivor, student of Viktor Frankl, and a powerful voice on resilience and forgiveness. 🎥 Watch Dr. Edith Eger’s interview on The Daily Stoic Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/wa...

The surprising thing about all this is that you were surprised. How could you not have seen this coming? Reading Marcus Aurelius can change your life, but only if you know how to read his work 👉 Head here now to grab your Meditations book and guide bundle | https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/meditations-month-2026 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The...

To wrap up Meditations Month , today Ryan explores Marcus’s best rules for using the precious time in your life. Reading Marcus Aurelius can change your life, but only if you know how to read his work 👉 Head here now to grab your Meditations book and guide bundle | https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/meditations-month-2026 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing...

The Medal of Honor is the highest military award in the United States, given for extraordinary courage in the face of danger. In this episode, Ryan sits down with Kyle Carpenter, the youngest living recipient, to talk about what that kind of courage really looks like and what comes after it. Kyle received the Medal of Honor after throwing himself on a live grenade to save a fellow Marine in Afghan...

You can’t learn history that you don’t take the time to look at, that you think you already understand. 📚 BOOKS: Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska Wisdom Takes Work 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/ 🎥...

It was a dark world…and Marcus Aurelius desperately needed some light. LAST CHANCE | Your ticket to the live Q&A with Ryan Holiday 👉 https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/meditations-month-2026 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

How can a 2,000-year-old book still change the way you think today? In this episode, Ryan Holiday shares passages from Meditations that he’s returned to more than a hundred times over the years. Each reading has revealed something new, and these lines are the ones that have had the biggest impact on how he thinks and lives.  Reading Marcus Aurelius can change your life, but only if you know h...

Most people read Marcus Aurelius the wrong way. In this episode, Ryan sits down with philosopher William Stephens to discuss why the title " Meditations " may be misleading, what these writings were actually meant to be, and how that changes the way we read them today.  William O. Stephens is a philosopher specializing in Stoicism, ethics, and ancient philosophy. He earned his Ph. D. from the...

Our true character comes out under pressure. So we must train that character, we must develop our bodies, we have to put in the work.  Your ticket to a live Q&A with Ryan Holiday 👉 https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/meditations-month-2026 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bo...

We all have those days where we’d rather just  not.  Days where we’d rather not deal with that annoying co-worker or petty family member. Days where we’d rather not bother with all the work we have to do, all the responsibilities we have to manage. The ancients knew days like this. Reading Marcus Aurelius can change your life, but only if you know how to read his work 👉 Head here now to...

It’s strange that we need a day to remind us we’re part of the planet we live on. In this Earth Day episode, Ryan explores the Stoic idea of sympatheia , the belief that we’re part of a larger whole and that what affects the world affects us too. He looks at how modern life, filled with noise, busyness, and constant stimulation, pulls us out of alignment with nature. Earth Day is a reminder of tha...