The Daily Stoic

Ryan speaks with Adam Kinzinger on losing the things in life that become normal to us, freeing ourselves from fear, his new book Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country , and putting his job on the line for a better purpose. Adam Daniel Kinzinger is an American former politician and senior political commentator for CNN. He served as a United States representative from Illi...

It would be wonderful to live in a time where people got along. It’d be better if the economy was roaring. It’d be nice if the political landscape wasn’t dominated by grifters and demagogues. And of course, who doesn’t wish that our parents had taken better care of the environment, had protected our institutions better, and invested more for the future. But they didn’t. And here we are. People don...

When you’re tired, you stop. When you’re not feeling it, you put it off until tomorrow. When it’s hard, you make an excuse. You listen to that little voice inside you that lets you off the hook, that gives you a break, that gives you more time. And with today's meditation on the day's Daily Journal excerpt, Ryan talks about the real power that can’t be taken from us, the power in conquering our ow...

also known as  Cato the Censor  and  the Wise , was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write history in Latin with his  Origines , a now fragmentary work on the history of Rome. Ryan reads from his book  Lives of the Stoics: The Art of...

Ryan speaks with American country music singer Morgan Wade on physical and mental benefits to our routine, getting sober, ideas while walking, and knowing the vitcory in starting. Morgan Wade is a native of Floyd, Virginia. She began writing songs as a freshman in college, and in 2018, she recruited musicians through Craigslist to record her first album  Puppets with My Heart ,...

Marcus Aurelius was a true philosopher king , but he wasn’t the first or the last amongst the Stoics. The first emperor, Octavian, studied under Athenodorus and Arius Didymus. Hadrian took classes from Epictetus and Antoninus was a kind of natural Stoic. -- And in today's excerpt from The Daily Stoic, Ryan reminds us to to stop fighting against the thing and use it as a prescription, that it is un...

There can be so much about the study of this philosophy that can be overwhelming that’s intimidating. When did Stoicism start? Where did it begin? What the hell is a Stoa Poikile?? Put aside that it focuses on some of the most pressing and complicated topics in the world–good, evil, our mortality–philosophy is also filled with paradoxes and counterintuitive arguments. More pressing and practical f...

Yesterday was Halloween here in America, which is a fun holiday for children. It’s full of masks and candy and staying up late. In Mexico, however, today is the beginning of Día de los Muertos , a much more adult and philosophical holiday. All throughout Mexico, and places where the holiday is celebrated, people will gather not for treats but to celebrate and remember their friends and family who...

Ryan Speaks with Eileen Canney Linnehan on Yips, performance anxiety, and mental block on todays episode of the daily stoic podcast. Eileen Canney Linnehan was a  star pitcher at Northwestern  who suddenly could not throw to first base. Now she helps young athletes get through the debilitating issue. Eileen Canney Linnehan is a consultant who helps athletes at various levels get over the...

You might think that the Stoics were above silly things like superstitions. After all, these were rational folks, serious people. Certainly, they wouldn’t believe in ghosts, right? They wouldn’t have time for something as juvenile as a ghost story, would they? -- And in today's Daily Stoic video excerpt, Ryan talks parenting goals, the most important role philosophy can play in all of your lives i...

Not everyone thinks Marcus Aurelius was so great. And it’s true, his record is not unblemished: He fought in imperial wars. He didn’t stop the persecution of the Christians. His son was disturbed and unfit to succeed him. So can we really call him a “philosopher king?” How great a Stoic was he actually? -- And with today's meditation on the day's Daily Journal excerpt, Ryan talks about us acceptin...

Today, Ryan answers questions on purpose and stoic wisdom at Dr. Edith Egar's workshop. 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… it is the prison created in our own minds. ✉️ Sign up for the Da...

Ryan speaks with organizational psychologist and book author Adam Grant on seeing things in the context of where they actually sit, learning to be pleased but not satisfied, current sports culture and his new book Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things. Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at Wharton, where he has been the top-rated professor for seven straight years. Hi...

Epictetus, who was a slave, looked around at Nero’s court and saw rich and famous men who were less free than he was. Because they spent all their energy trying to get more than what they had , because their happiness was tied up in what other people thought, because their fears were based on things that were not up to them. In The Girl Who Would Be Free (our fable based on the life of Epictetus),...

He didn’t dress in fancy clothes. He didn’t support a large entourage. He liked to walk the streets of Rome, meeting his fellow citizens, being of use and helping them. As a politician, Cato traveled across the empire, again, without a large baggage train or an advance party to make sure he was treated with the respect accorded to his official position.  -- And in today's Ask Daily Stoic, Rya...

A Stoic sense of humor, a tough exterior–these are only the beginning of the process, of processing. Stoicism is a hard slog. It’s a practice. It’s an ongoing thing. It’s something you do. And learning how to practice more, how to actually apply Stoicism to your life everyday, is why we created Stoicism 101: Ancient Philosophy For Your Actual Life . The best practices and routines of Stoicism, all...

Ryan speaks with Dr. Peter Attia on the philosophy and quality aspects of our lives, early morning routines we still practice from the stoics and quotes from Dr. Attia's new book OUTLIVE The Science & Art Of Longevity. Peter Attia, MD, is the founder of Early Medical, a medical practice that applies the principles of Medicine 3.0 to patients with the goal of lengthening their lifespan and...

The Stoics talk about how events don’t need your opinion , they aren’t asking to be judged or labeled or explained by you. They were saying what Depeche Mode once said, that sometimes words are very unnecessary–that they can only do harm. --- And in today's Daily Stoic video excerpt, Ryan shares 10 stoic Laws from his mentor Robert Greene. Like the Stoics, Robert Greene has spent decades operating...

On the surface, there are not many phrases designed to be less appealing. “Stoic philosophy” is like a double whammy of negative for most people, representing emotionlessness on the one hand and abstract or academic thinking on the other. Who wants to be the former? Who has time for the latter? --- And with today's meditation on the day's Daily Journal excerpt, Ryan challenges us to build self con...

More than 60 years ago, a young boy in Pittsburgh, PA was curious about philosophy. He went to his high school library and found a book of the writings of Kant. Excited, smart for his age, he started reading…and only made it a few pages before he threw it aside, hopelessly confused. It was later that day, when he explained what happened to his father, that the boy’s life was changed forever. Becau...

Ryan speaks with Dr. Peter Attia on the philosophy and quality aspects of our lives, early morning routines we still practice from the stoics and quotes from Dr. Attia's new book OUTLIVE The Science & Art Of Longevity. Peter Attia, MD, is the founder of Early Medical, a medical practice that applies the principles of Medicine 3.0 to patients with the goal of lengthening their lifespan and...

It was an awful period of Roman history. A fifteen year plague that killed millions. Political corruption and deceit. Historic floods. Tragic wars on distant frontiers. Marcus Aurelius experienced all the disasters that could befall a leader, smack dab in the middle of a period we now see as the beginning of the decline and fall of the whole empire. - And in today's excerpt from The Daily Stoic, R...

We don’t know a lot about Seneca’s friend Lucilius. From Seneca’s letters though, we get the sense that he, like many of us, was often overwhelmed by his responsibilities. He was a Roman knight. He was the Governor of Sicily. He owned a country villa in Ardea. We can assume he had friends and family vying for his time too. -- And in today's Ask Daily Stoic, Ryan speaks and answers questions for Si...

Ryan talks to Steven Rinella about the sense of wonder, respect & adventure for nature, spending time with family, rockhounding and his new book published back in june catch a crayfish, count the stars: fun projects, skills, and adventures for outdoor kids  . Steve Rinella, from his books to his groundbreaking show MeatEater, has made hunting and nose-to-tail wild game gourmet cooking pop...

In Book Six of Meditations , Marcus Aurelius gives himself (and us) a command to keep an important idea in mind. “Meditate often,” he writes, “on the interconnectedness and mutual interdependence of all things in the universe.” He is speaking of the Stoic concept of Sympatheia , the idea that, as Seneca wrote, “All that you behold, that which comprises both god and man, is one—we are the parts of...