The Daily Stoic

On this episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan talks with American author, lawyer, and legal scholar Kermit Roosevelt III on Honoring and doing what is right, Why peoples values and sense of honor are collapsing, How many people know who Marcus Aurelius is because of Gladiator, and his book The Nation That Never Was. Kermit is an American author, lawyer, and legal scholar. He is a law professor...

You do a lot. You try hard . You hold yourself to high standards—higher anyway, than most people. You’re not exactly a reincarnation of Cato but still, you’re doing great. But do people appreciate this? Not really. Not nearly enough. But as we’ve said before, appreciation and recognition is not a thing we control. It’s not something that’s up to us. The line from that play about Cato , the one the...

Some time around the year 141 CE, Junius Rusticus gave Marcus Aurelius a gift. “The remembrances of Epictetus,” as Marcus would refer most gratefully to the book Rusticus gave him, “which he supplied me with out of his own library.” How well-worn this copy must have become! As Marcus would say, Rusticus had taught him to never be satisfied with just “getting the gist” of things he read, but e...

In today's weekend episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan presents an excerpt touching on grief and the 10 timeless strategies read by voice actor Micheal Reid. If you want to spend time with more dedicated Stoics, if you want to join a culture full of people rising together, we invite you to join the 2024 Daily Stoic  New Year New You Challenge . We did the first New Year New You Challenge...

Today’s episode features clips from some of the best interviews throughout 2023. This year, we had a handful of great comedians come onto the podcast and I got the pleasure of having them in the Daily Stoic Podcast studio where we talk about ego, discipline, procrastination, memento mori, and of course why some of the funniest jokes come from a dark place. Here's a recap of some of our best topics...

The pages were a safe space. A place away from the intrigues of court. A place away from war and death and pestilence. A place to process his stress, his anxieties, his fears. We can see in Meditations what these meditations were doing for Marcus Aurelius—they were doing what journaling can do for all of us. Give us space to think, space to calm down, space to get perspective, space to be grateful...

We know what Seneca thought of Alexander the Great. We know what he thought of Marius. We know what he thought of entitled and gluttonous Romans. We have his seething satire of Claudius. His prolific writings condemn and judge—rightfully so—these hypocritical and often miserable folks. We have hundreds of his letters ( a must read! ), dozens of essays, volumes on natural history, multiple books th...

Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, filmmaker, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder best known for his roles in high-profile action movies. He  served  as the  38th governor of California  from 2003 to 2011 and was among  Time  magazine's  100 most influential people in the world  in 2004 and 2007. Ryan spe...

Marcus Aurelius read Epictetus…a lot. We know this because Meditations is proof of it. Almost every page has some direct quote or allusion to Epictetus. We also find, upon deeper inspection, references to the works of Panaetius, Chrysippus, the plays of Euripides, Zeno and countless other philosophers. How does someone develop recall like that? How did he become so wise, not just on the page but i...

Like any normal person, part of Marcus Aurelius did not want to wake up, especially early. No, he wanted to “huddle under the blankets and stay warm,” he would say. It was nicer there. Easier there. But another part of him knew he wasn’t created to feel nice, to have it easy. “I have to go to work — as a human being,” he said, hauling his feet up and onto the floor. This is the internal back and f...

It’s January 1st. It snuck up on you, didn’t it? You knew the year was wrapping up, you had resolutions you meant to make, a review you meant to do of the last twelve months, goals you intended to set, habits you were going to start in 2024…and then here it is already. Or worse than procrastination, you may have already relapsed on your resolutions. You had a late one last night, and you’re alread...

Meditations is perhaps the only document of its kind ever made. It is the private thoughts of the world’s most powerful man giving advice to himself on how to make good on the responsibilities and obligations of his positions. Trained in Stoic philosophy, Marcus Aurelius stopped almost every night to practice a series of spiritual exercises—reminders designed to make him humble, patient, empatheti...

They come from all over the world. They have little in common. And, for some reason, instead of beginning the New Year by making resolutions, they begin by taking on a set of actionable challenges. Some of the challenges are physical. Some are mentally challenging. Some spur them to practically investigate and overcome internal adversities. Others have them take on external adversities out in the...

Today’s episode features clips from some of the best interviews in 2023. Ryan talks to reality TV personality, and former professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek, along with record executive and co-founder of Def Jam Records Rick Rubin about the value of experimenting with new methods and building a routine that fits you. Ryan also talks with Alexander Ludwig , and Whitney Cummings over trusting the...

The latter was something that the late Paul Woodruff tried to remind himself, having picked up the insight from Marcus Aurelius. The squirrels were not trying to give Paul a hard time, they did not mean any harm when they stole the birdseed he was putting out. As Paul explained in his wonderful episode on the Daily Stoic podcast before he died, he came to understand that the squirrels were simply...

At last the day came and you made a New Year’s resolution that would get rid of the whole base evil. And then the next year came around and you were doing the same old evil thing. Can you remember the surprise and disappointment that gripped you when you discovered that…after all that you had done through your resolutions to get rid of it—the old habit was still there? And out of amazement you fou...

Today’s episode features clips from some of the best interviews in 2023. Ryan talks to Academy Award-winning actor and producer Matthew McConaughey , life coach, and executive consultant Greg Harden who is best known for his work with 7-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady, American country music singer Morgan Wade, and YouTube personality, filmmaker, vlogger, Casey Neistat , the co-foun...

Sometimes it’s obvious why certain things are expensive, why people will pay more for it. The feel of a luxury vehicle. The taste of one of those insane smoothies from Erewhon. The upgrade to a better seat on an airplane. It’s not cheap, and maybe you don’t do it all the time, but when you can afford it, you go for it. It almost makes you question this whole Stoicism thing, you wonder if perhaps y...

What about you? Are you ready for the inevitable, unending challenges that lay ahead? Just think about what 2024 could bring—we’re facing global conflicts, a make-or-break presidential election, untamed inflation, climate change…plus all the regular stuff! How dug in are you? How tough is your inner citadel? How is your battle stance? How sharp are your weapons? How prepared is your mind? Are you...

This is the story of Jesus, who people all over the world celebrate today on Christmas. But just as well, this is the story of Seneca. Remarkably, Seneca and Jesus lived nearly parallel lives. Not only that, but they were also born—according to many sources—in the same year. No one can confirm for certain the exact birth date for either, but it is indisputable that two of history’s greatest philos...

It’s kind of crazy to think how recent December 2019 feels. Not that long ago, it seems, we were getting ready for what a new decade might bring us. It’s even crazier when the truth settles in: 2019 was FOUR years ago. We are almost half way into that “new” decade. So much has changed. So much has happened. But at the same time, so little has changed. We’re still struggling with the same things. T...

On today’s special episode of the Daily Stoic podcast, Ryan talks at  Dr. Edith Egar's workshop about 4 stoic quotes to get us through the new year. Dr. Eger’s story as a Holocaust survivor & work as a renowned therapist has impacted millions around the world. As someone who lived through unthinkable trauma, Dr. Eger intimately knows the greatest prison is not the one created by the world...

On this episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan talks with YouTube Superstar Ali Abdaal during part 2 of 2 interview on how stoicism influences analytics, concrete vs. ineffable, the importance of sticking to the system, and his new book:   Feel Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You. Ali Abdaal is a doctor, entrepreneur, and the world’s most followed productivity expert. H...

In Meditations , Marcus Aurelius says that what you throw on top of a fire is fuel for the fire . But anyone who has had a little campfire going knows how easily you can snuff out the flames with a poorly placed log or even a few sticks. Marcus is speaking metaphorically of obstacles , not of an actual campfire…but that metaphor only works with a few assumptions. - And with today's meditation on t...

At the founding of Stoicism was a choice. Zeno hears the legend Hercules, a story about a young man who came to a crossroads one day in Greece, where the great hero had to choose between virtue and vice, the easy way and the hard way. It was inspired by this very story that Zeno rebuilt the wreckage of his life and founded the school of Stoicism. So we’ll leave you today by putting a challenge in...