The Daily Stoic

On this episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan talks with YouTube Superstar Ali Abdaal 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. He became intrigued by the science of...

“Through philosophy and in the company of philosophy,” Plutarch writes, “it is possible to attain the knowledge of what is honorable and what is shameful, what is just and what is unjust, what, in brief, is to be chosen and what it is to be avoided.” That’s what we’re all trying to do, isn’t it? That’s what Panaetius was trying to do with his “Scipionic Circle,” which met in the great house of Ath...

It can be hard to remember this when you see them on the news, lying through their teeth. It can be hard to remember when they cut you off in traffic. It can be hard to remember when they try to stop progress. It can be hard to remember when they say or do abhorrent things. But we do have to remember, we have to remember, as Marcus Aurelius writes in Meditations that “all of us are working on the...

Dwight Eisenhower gave himself the order. Quit smoking. It had become a 4-pack-a-day habit. It had been part of his life for nearly 40 years. It was comfortable. It was more than a habit, it was an addiction. His health hung in the balance, his doctor said, his ability to serve at risk. So, after nearly four decades of smoking, he made the decision to quit, cold turkey. “The only way to stop is to...

You could argue that Meditations is Marcus Aurelius’ daily philosophical battle with himself to overcome this natural fear of change, to avoid getting trapped in a velvet rut, to not get complacent. Even into old age, Marcus was talking to himself firmly, pushing himself to do better, to not try to stay the same as he always was. It’s why he was famously seen leaving the palace as an old man, tryi...

In today’s audiobook reading, Ryan presents an excerpt from one of the seminal texts of Stoicism, the  Discourses of Epictetus,  read by Michael Reid. As a series of lectures given by Epictetus that were written down by his pupil Arrian in 108 A.D., these discourses provide practical advice to think on and practice in order to move oneself closer toward the ultimate goal of living free a...

On this weekend episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan talks with clinical psychologist Dr. Becky Kennedy on how we emotionally vaccinate, the ability to cope through stress, educating our kids on emotions and her new book Good Inside Dr. Becky Kennedy is an American clinical psychologist who is founder and chief executive officer of the Good Inside company, an online parenting advice service.&n...

So it goes for ego . To the untrained eye, it can be mistaken for confidence. The person’s self-centeredness, their certainty, their entitlement—this seems like the way that only the most important and gifted person in the world could get away with acting. In reality, the person doesn’t feel that way inside at all. On the contrary, they feel very small. Nero, for instance, demanded that enormous a...

It’s sad that when we think of a philosopher we don’t think of somebody tough. We don’t think of a soldier or a skilled professional. We don’t think of a happily married parent raising kids. We don’t think of someone thriving amidst the chaos of the world. No, for some reason, we think of an academic. We think of somebody scrawny. We think of someone whose life is mostly sedentary, mostly spent at...

We often think that greatness is a synonym for brilliance. That great leadership is all about magnetism and communication. For which we need vision and boldness, allies and luck. And of course, to be successful in any field, but particularly in leadership, all of those things are true. But we also need something far simpler that is yet even more rare. We need the ability to focus, to lock in, to d...

On this episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan talks with entrepreneur and wisdom seeker behind  Farnam Street  Shane Parrish on Why people who are popular on social don’t succeed when they write books, The mark of wisdom is looking downstream and seeing how a decision affects your life, Delaying gratification isnt easy but is important to learn and his book  Clear Thinking: Turni...

In 1922, while an unpublished, struggling writer named Ernest Hemingway was covering events in Switzerland, his wife Hadley came from Paris to see him. Assuming he would want them, she packed up the writings Hemingway had accumulated in their apartment–manuscripts, short stories, poetry, and an unfinished novel, it was his life’s work. Hemingway had made some important literary contacts on his tri...

In May of 2019, AT&T did something that, at the time, must have seemed a little ridiculous to even some of its own employees. The company, as The Atlantic reported, “ran an internal war game on how a pandemic would affect its ability to keep phone and internet service running. The company does these exercises routinely to try to get ready—to build teams of people and their reflexes.” For the l...

On this weekend episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan takes the stage to address 200 senior leaders from Herzog Technologies, Inc ., a distinguished and leading rail and heavy highway contractor spanning across North America. Renowned for his profound insights into Stoic philosophy and practical wisdom, Ryan shares his invaluable thoughts on the transformative power of disciplined habits in ach...

On this episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan talks with entrepreneur and wisdom seeker behind Farnam Street Shane Parrish on Why people who are popular on social don’t succeed when they write books, The mark of wisdom is looking downstream and seeing how a decision affects your life, Delaying gratification isnt easy but is important to learn and his book Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moment...

It’s hard to keep a Stoic down or hold them back. They push through. They see obstacles as opportunities . They are not deterred by difficulties or criticism or friction. Like the old motto of the Royal Air Force, the Stoics believed that perseverance and determination were key. Per ardua ad astra –it reads– Through adversity to the stars. This way of thinking makes someone a winner , it makes the...

People spend a lot of money to buy nice land. They want to be in a good neighborhood with good schools. They want to have a beautiful view. Just look at what happened during the pandemic when people rushed to outbid each other for houses outside of major cities–because they wanted safety and space and change of scenery. For centuries, armies have clashed over territory–some of it valuable, some of...

On today’s episode of the Daily Stoic podcast Ryan speaks with author Kate Flannery on how having worked for American Apparel gave Kate a bad reputation, It’s hard to get someone to see something that their salary depends on them not seeing, the difference between quitting and getting fired along with her first book  Strip Tees: A Memoir of Millennial Los Angeles. Strip Tees  is her...

We know the world throws a lot at us. We know it’s noisy out there, and there are competing influences. We know we can be pretty forgetful too. How are we supposed to remember the most essential and important Stoic truths and principles for life? By simplifying. By repeating powerful and key ideas time and time again (with both words and actions). ✉️  Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: ...

Wisdom isn’t just what you seek out. In fact, much of the most important wisdom we learn in life seeks us out. The piece of unsolicited advice from someone who has been in our position. The painful consequences of a bad decision that become undeniably clear. The feedback from the audience or the customer after all those years of work. Epictetus said we can’t learn that which we think we already kn...

It doesn’t feel like much. It’s just a perfunctory part of the morning. A little bit of tidying up, a way to get a little dose of inspiration. A way to keep track of the date. But as you tear the page of that little calendar that sits on your desk– the Daily Stoic version perhaps ?!?–it hardly occurs to you what’s happened. You miss it, but it does not miss you. A tragedy has occurred. A death…you...

Marcus Aurelius was chosen by Emporer Hadrian to be his eventual successor. In 161, Aurelius took control of the Roman Empire along with his brother Verus. War and disease threatened Rome on all sides. Aurelius held his territory, but was weakened as a ruler after the death of his brother Verus. His son Commodus later became co-ruler in 177, only three years before Aurelius died on March 17, 180....

On today’s episode of the Daily Stoic podcast Ryan speaks with author Kate Flannery on Dov Charney and their early journey at American Apparel, the evolution of feminism, imposter syndrome vs being qualified and the difference between quitting and getting fired along with her first book Strip Tees: A Memoir of Millennial Los Angeles. Strip Tees is her first book where she details her exp...

On his way to work each day in Boston, John Adams would hear a man singing. As his great biographer David McCollough writes in John Adams , it was a beautiful, almost joyful song that inspired him as he headed to his law office in the mornings. One day, Adams decided to track the source of the music down. Inside a single room house, packed to the brim with a large family, he found a poor shoemaker...

In Book 7 of Meditations , Marcus writes to himself (as the Gregory Hays translation, which you can grab a special edition of here , has it): "Take care that you don't treat inhumanity as it treats human beings." What does that mean? What exactly does Marcus mean by “inhumanity”? Hurricanes are inhuman. ChatGPT is inhuman. They might be ruthless forces of nature or technology, but they’re not out...