The Daily Stoic

Marcus Aurelius hated the gladiatorial games. He despised the violence and the pointlessness of it. But it was part of his job to attend them, so he did his best to distract himself with a book–often to the bemusement of the crowd. When he was emperor, he tried to give the gladiators wooden swords so they wouldn’t hurt each other. Seneca found the violence disturbing too, as he was wary of anythin...

This life thing: It’s wonderful. We are sentient beings. The apex predators at the top of the food chain. We have brilliant technology, incredible pleasures, as well as talents and skills that bring us joy and success. And guess what? We’re still gonna die. Each and every one of us. That’s the thing about life. As wonderful as life is, none of us get out of it alive. We were born mortal. Born frag...

Today, Ryan reads from an email he received from his mentor Seth Roberts pioneering and peerless scientist. Seth collapsed of a fatal heart attack while hiking in Berkeley before Ryan could return his email, remaining us the power of intuition, the fragility of life, and the enduring impact of Memento Mori . In Meditations , Marcus Aurelius writes “You could leave life right now. Let that determin...

Ryan speaks with Arnold Schwarzenegger on how to be useful while we still have the time, the mental, physical and psychological benefits to nurturing the mind and body, keys moments during his bodybuilding career, running for governor and more.. Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, filmmaker, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder best known for his...

All day long, we tell ourselves stories. When something goes wrong—“this is my fault.” We blame ourselves even though the reality might be that we had little control over the situation. When someone is rude—“they don’t like me.” We take other people's actions or behaviors personally even though the reality might be that they are going through a tough time. We walk into a meeting—“they’re all judgi...

There is a morbid theme running through the music of Johnny Cash. His deep, haunting voice is rarely far from a lyric about death or murder or loss or grief. He has songs about  soldiers killed in Vietnam , songs about  dying cowboys on the streets of Laredo ,  about tragic rifle accidents , songs about salvation and damnation, songs about tragedy and war. Famously, he performe...

As you wrapped yesterday up, you should have said to yourself, as Seneca did each night, “that’s it.” I have lived my life. As you tucked your children in last night, you should have said to yourself, as Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius did, this might be the last time . The  memento mori medallion  ,  memento mori signet ring  And the  memento mori pendant , All these were c...

Ryan speaks with Tom Segura in the second of a two-part conversation about the changing landscape of stand-up comedy, the philosophical mindset that he brings to his work, how he manages his media diet, why kids made him more tied to reality, and more. Tom Segura is a stand-up comedian, writer, author, actor, and podcaster. He co-hosts the Your Mom's House podcast with his wife and fellow comedian...

“What would you do if you found out you were diagnosed with a terminal illness?” We’ve all mulled this hypothetical question over at one point or another. Then we go back to our normal lives as if life wasn’t, in fact, terminal for every person ever born, as if we have a lot more time. We treat it as a thought exercise, a philosophical conversation starter and not much more. The Stoics tried to re...

It may have been a hard couple weeks. It may have been a hard couple years. It may have been a tough decade–like the one that Marcus Aurelius had, complete with plagues and floods and betrayals and health issues and more. It may have been a hard life–like Epictetus’s. But you know what? At least you woke up above ground this morning. You’re alive. Not everyone is so lucky. In fact, it may have see...

In this Sunday episode of The Daily Stoic, Ryan Holiday takes us on an exhilarating journey through a weekend filled with preparation, family time and embracing what the Stoics call "alive time." After he sits down for a captivating interview with none other than the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger, he also shares his personal experiences driving along the stunning Pacific Coast Highway, and expre...

Ryan speaks with Tom Segura in the first of a two-part conversation about the links between writing comedy specials and writing philosophy books, the mindset it takes to succeed in a creative field, Tom’s weird and winding journey through professional comedy, and more. Tom Segura is a stand-up comedian, writer, author, actor, and podcaster. He co-hosts the Your Mom's House podcast with his wife an...

Marcus Aurelius, like all of us, would catch glimpses of himself in the mirror. As we talked about recently , Marcus would have checked himself in the mirror in the morning, he would have seen his reflection as he passed through a hallway, from one room to the next. -- And in today's excerpt from The Daily Stoic, Ryan explains why its so beneficial to watch other people around us succeed, and why...

There are so many beautiful passages in Meditations . “The way loaves of bread split open on top in the oven,” Marcus Aurelius writes in Book 3, “the ridges are just by-products of the baking, and yet pleasing, somehow: they rouse our appetite without our knowing why.” His poetic observation of the way stalks of wheat bend under their own weight. His reflection on the way things in life are often...

Ryan speaks with Nate Boyer in the second of a two-part interview about why his new movie is aligned with the Stoic ideal of encouraging people to ask for help, the moment from basic training that made him belief in himself, why the greats try to do their best every single time, and more Nate Boyer is a United States Army Green Beret, former football player, actor, director, producer, and televisi...

You’re alive right now or you wouldn’t be reading this. But what proof do you have that you’re really living? Don’t overthink that question. It’s not some complicated metaphysical question. ✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email:  https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail 🏛 Check out the  Daily Stoic Store  for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more. 📱 Follow us:  Instagram ,&n...

Marcus Aurelius was already quite old while writing Meditations . He was sick and surrounded by plague. Seneca was a marked man from the moment he left Nero’s service. But as aware as these men were of their ticking clocks, they were also quite aware that they were not dead yet. Seneca wrote many of his most beautiful letters in those final years. --- And in today's Daily Stoic video excerpt, Ryan...

One of the most highlighted passages in the digital version of The Daily Stoic is the December 9th quote from Seneca: “Were all the geniuses of history to focus on this single theme, they could never fully express their bafflement at the darkness of the human mind. No person would give up even an inch of their estate, and the slightest dispute with a neighbor can mean hell to pay; yet we easily le...

Today, Ryan presents a talk he gave to a group of coaches at the Tennessee Athletics Department about the core concepts of Stoicism and how they can apply them to their coaching practices in order to make their players, teams, and themselves better. In this second half of the talk, Ryan explains how the ego can be harnessed for the good of the team, the importance of coaches to model the attitude...

Ryan speaks with Nate Boyer in the first of a two-part interview about what serving six years and multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Green Beret taught him about life, how he was able to become an NFL starter at a position he had never played before, how he is striving to be great in his television career, and more. Nate Boyer is a United States Army Green Beret, former football player, a...

It’s impossible not to read Marcus Aurelius or Seneca and sense that they were always working. Not that they were literally always at the office–as we said, they believed in a kind of work life balance –but on themselves. They were studying. They were reflecting. They were asking questions. Late at night after his wife went to sleep, Seneca would pull out his journals and evaluate the day , going...

When Marcus Aurelius heard that his beloved teacher Fronto had lost a grandchild, he sent him a letter. Perhaps, if you believe in the stereotype of the unfeeling Stoic, you might expect that this letter was intended to buck his friend up, or attempted to remind the grieving Fronto that loss was a part of life and something we had to be prepared for. In our recent interview with Professor Martha N...

Ryan speaks with Heather Cox Richardson about her new book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America , her mission to deliver history as a way of promoting human connection, changing the game of story-telling, how to combat the dark energies that are fed by sowing division and more. Heather Cox Richardson is an American historian, author and educator. She is a professor of history at Bost...

Because of the work we’ve done. Because of the study. Because of the experiences. We know. We know what’s right. We know what’s possible. We know how things should go. The problem, as we’ve said before, is that it’s very easy to forget that the Stoics believed only in * self-*discipline . 📗 Go to store.dailystoic.com/pages/discipline to order your copy of Discipline Is Destiny: The Power Of Self-...

Look, we all mess up. We take certain people or clients for granted and a relationship deteriorates. We get distracted and make an unnecessary mistake. We are overwhelmed by a passion or a temper and do something bad. We’re humans. It happens. What follows are consequences. --- And in today's video excerpt from the Daily Stoic YouTube channel , Ryan defines nine key methods that the Stoics used to...