The Daily Stoic

In this excerpt Steven talks about the difference between an amatuer and a professional, the qualities that a professional expresses, and he explains what it takes to become a professional at whatever you do. Published by Recorded Books on Brilliance Audio. 📕 Grab a copy of “Turning Pro” at the Painted Porch Bookshop ✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail 🏛 C...

Ryan talks to the anonymous Instagram poet Atticus about how modern media has distorted old ideas, his experience meeting the Dalai Lama, the decision to remain anonymous in the public eye, and more. Atticus, who grew up in Vancouver, has built a career as a bestselling poet by reading for hundreds, from behind a mask. From being an early investor in SpaceX, to launching a coffee business with Elo...

The Stoics were not perfect. Nothing illustrates this more than Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations . Why would Marcus have to write reminders about not losing your temper or not wasting your time if he was not guilty of those very things? Why would he remind himself that the people he was going to deal with that day would be meddling, ungrateful and dishonest if he didn’t struggle dealing with those typ...

History is a lie. It is written by the victors, as the saying goes. Which means the picture it produces is inherently biased by a particular point of view. It’s also biased towards the things we know about, by our common knowledge. ✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail 🏛 Get Stoic inspired books, medallions,...

This episode comes out for free on 10/26/22. Ryan talks to author and investor Kamal Ravikant about his recent near death experience, why the inner game is the ultimate game, how loving yourself can change your relationship with suffering, and more. Kamal Ravikant is the author of the bestselling books, Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It and Live Your Truth . He’s been a US Army Infantry s...

Seneca was a very rich man . He had nice stuff. Critics at the time, and ever since, have found this to be indisputable proof of his hypocrisy. How can a Stoic have expensive ivory tables? Isn’t it unphilosophical to have multiple houses? Or servants? ✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail 🏛 Get Stoic inspired...

Human beings have been putting things off for as long as there have been things to do. We tell ourselves we’ll do it when we’re older, after we finish, when we have more time, when the seasons change. We tell ourselves we’ll do it tomorrow. And yet… ✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail 🏛 Get Stoic inspired b...

There are very few books like it. Certainly, none written by someone in such an unusual position. You see, Meditations was not meant to be a book for the reader, it was a book for the author. In Greek, it was titled Eis heauton or “To Himself.” A more recent title also captures the essence: The Emperor’s Handbook. 📕 We created a premium leather-bound edition of  Meditations - To learn more a...

This episode comes out for free on 10/23/22. Today’s episode features two sections from the lesser known Musonius Rufus Stoic Fragments: That Man Is Born With An Inclination Toward Virtue and That Women Too Should Study Philosophy. Pick up a copy of That One Should Disdain Hardships: The Teachings of a Roman Stoic by Musonius Rufus at the Painted Porch Bookshop . ✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoi...

This episode comes out for free on 10/22/22. Ryan talks to Maya Smart about her new book Reading for Our Lives: A Literacy Action Plan from Birth to Six (which you can pick up at the Painted Porch Bookshop ), how she developed the ideas in the book over a span of 10 years, how she fell in love with reading, and more. Maya Smart is an author and journalist. Throughout her career, she’s written hund...

Leisure is one of those words that modernity has terribly corrupted and misused. When most people hear it we think of lounging around doing nothing. We think of any activity absent of activity, as an opportunity to completely shut down. And this is a tremendous perversion of a sacred notion. ✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://daily...

“It’s tough to be alive now,” the actor Timothée Chalamet recently said . “I think societal collapse is in the air — it smells like it.” It’s one of those lines that got picked up by dozens of media outlets. Because those outlets know it’s one of those headlines people can’t resist clicking on . As the economist Deirdre McCloskey once put it, “For reasons I have never understood, people like to he...

Ryan talks to World Series of Poker champion Annie Duke about her new book Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away , the power of walking away from things that don’t align with your beliefs, the importance of making decisions in service of a larger goal, and more. Annie Duke is a former professional poker player and a bestselling author. She is an expert in cognitive psychology and co-founded...

People do a lot of things that feel mean. That frustrate us. That cause problems for us. That make the world a worse place. They vote for bad politicians. They say offensive things. They make messes. They screw stuff up. ✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail 🏛 Get Stoic inspired books, medallions, and prints...

Life throws stuff at us. We have to figure out how to catch it and throw it back. That’s what Epictetus meant when he said we don’t control what happens, we control how we respond . ✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail 🏛 Get Stoic inspired books, medallions, and prints to remember these lessons at the Daily...

Each of us goes to work every day and deals with obstacles , with difficult people. We deal with stress at home . We have responsibilities in our community. Some of us have other problems still: A divorce. A looming bankruptcy. Maybe we’re on deployment. Maybe we’ve just done a stint in jail. ✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dail...

Today’s episode is an excerpt from The Tao Of Seneca produced by Tim Ferriss’ Audio. Get the free PDF at tim.blog/seneca . In this letter Seneca talks about how to develop mental calm and reject the fear of death. 📕 Ryan Holiday's new book " Discipline Is Destiny " is out now! We’ve extended the pre-order bonuses for the next week—among them is a signed and numbered page from the original manuscr...

This episode comes out for free on 10/15/2022. Ryan talks to Steve Case about his new book The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream , how the pandemic has shifted the cultural landscape, the opportunity gap that is being created, and more. One of America’s most successful entrepreneurs and executives, best known as co-founder of America Onlin...

We’ve talked before about the so-called Stockdale Paradox —the blazing determination inside Admiral James Stockdale that allowed him to believe that, despite his imprisonment and torture, he would not only survive but thrive because of his experience. There’s something similar in Meditations where Marcus Aurelius, reflecting on the plague and the wars and the troubles that beset his reign, actuall...

Think of all the responsibilities on Marcus Aurelius’ plate. He’s emperor. He’s head of the army. He’s serving as consul (yes, in the Roman system, the emperor also stood for elected office). He judged cases. He was a husband. A friend. A philosopher. He also had fourteen children. 📕 Ryan Holiday's new book " Discipline Is Destiny " is out now! We’ve extended the  pre-order bonuses for the n...

This episode comes out for free on 10/12/2022 Ryan talks to David Rubenstein about his new book How to Invest , his experiences working for President Jimmy Carter, how design your life for happiness and productivity, and more. David Mark Rubenstein is an American billionaire businessman. Former government official and lawyer. A Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s la...

It’s very easy to associate our possessions and our positions with our identity. There’s even an expression to that effect: The clothes make the man. When we have a powerful job, we feel powerful. When the market is hot, we feel like we have a knack for investing. When we are number one in our space, in our industry, in sales, we’re very into checking and monitoring the rankings. When people are s...

No one is more invested in getting better than you. You read books. You have a mentor. You even have a business coach. You go to work conferences. You go to the gym. You have hobbies that you watch videos about, that you have goals for. You have a financial advisor. You put in long hours. 📕 Ryan Holiday's new book " Discipline Is Destiny " is out now! We’ve extended the  pre-order bonuses fo...

You tell yourself you’ll go to bed after one more episode. You’ll put the phone down after one more scroll. You’ll pay your tab and leave after one more drink. That was the last time you’ll ever do that again, you say. 📕 Ryan Holiday's new book " Discipline Is Destiny " is out now! We’ve extended the  pre-order bonuses for the next week —among them is a signed and numbered page from the orig...

This episode comes out for free on 10/9/2022 Today’s episode features an excerpt from Kamal Ravikant’s book “ Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It " provided by Harper Audio. The book is a collection of Kamal’s writings on overcoming depression and living a happier life. This second part talks about the applicable practices that Kamal used to improve his life during a dark time. 📕 Ryan Holi...