The Daily Stoic

This episode comes out for free on 10/8/2022 Ryan talks to author Amy Morin about her book 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do , how to find agency in your everyday life, overcoming mentally challenging situations by gaining perspective, and more. Amy Morin is a psychotherapist turned “accidental” author. In her early 20’s Amy experienced grave loss - both her mother and her husband passed o...

One should understand, or at least empathize with, the difficult position a politician quite often finds themselves these days with the proliferation of divisive, hot-button political issues. Take Utah’s governor Spencer Cox and transgender youth in sports. Cox couldn’t easily decide what side to take on the issue–or at least he didn’t immediately act when the subject came before state lawmakers....

Epictetus said that to live a good life, you have to make good choices. You are what your choices make you, nothing more and nothing less. 📕 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 manuscript of the book. You can learn more about those and how to receive t...

Ryan talks to Robert Mckee about his new book Action: The Art of Excitement for Screen, Page, and Game , the importance of showing not telling, how to tell a great story, and more. Robert McKee is the most sought after screenwriting lecturer around the globe. He has dedicated the last 30 years to educating and mentoring screenwriters, novelists, playwrights, poets, documentary makers, producers, a...

📕 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 manuscript of the book. You can learn more about those and how to receive them over at  Dailystoic.com/preorder .  ✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic emai...

📕 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 manuscript of the book. You can learn more about those and how to receive them over at  Dailystoic.com/preorder .  ✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic emai...

Since the time of the Stoics, people have aspired to command great armies. To accumulate great fortunes. To hold high office. To be famous. To be important. In short, humans have longed to (and continue to) chase power. 📕 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 ori...

Today’s episode is an excerpt from Stephen Harrison’s How To Be Content: An Ancient Poet's Guide for an Age of Excess published by Princeton University Press . In this chapter Horace talks about being content with what you have, the different philosophical ideas that lead us to living “the good life.” and more. 📕Pre-order Ryan Holiday's new book "Discipline Is Destiny" and get exclusive bonuses a...

Ryan talks to economist and author Russ Roberts about his new book Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us , the tension between being ambitious and being a good person, strategies for reducing the fear and the loss of control that inevitably come when a wild problem requires a leap in the dark, and more. Russ Roberts is the President of Shalem College in Jerusalem and the John and...

We are impressed by people who do incredible things–whether it’s creating some great work of art or pulling off some impossible athletic feat, bringing about social change or building an enormous organization. How did they do it? Where did that come from? Sometimes to excuse our own failures, we tell ourselves it was genius or genetics, inspiration rather than perspiration. 📕 Ryan Holiday's new b...

Even if the changes are positive, we can appreciate that they’ve been difficult for people. There is so much to navigate, to be sensitive to in this modern world of ours. People are expected to be tolerant of things that just a few years ago were considered totally out of the mainstream. Words and descriptors, even the names of countries (or the pronunciations of the names of cities) seem to chang...

Think about the last time that someone made you upset. What did they say? What did they do? Now think back: How did you react? What did you say? What did you feel? 📕 Ryan Holiday's new book " Discipline Is Destiny " is available for pre-order now! We’ve put together a bunch of cool preorder bonuses —among them is a signed and numbered page from the original manuscript of the book. You can learn m...

Ryan talks to author and journalist David Maraniss about his approach to his work, and his most recent book: Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe , which is an epic biography on the trials of America’s greatest all-around athlete.  David Maraniss is a New York Times best-selling author, fellow of the Society of American Historians, and visiting distinguished professor at Vanderbilt U...

Before he was a big time comedian, Hasan Minhaj was asked if he thought he was going to make it big. “I don’t like that question,” he said . “I fundamentally don’t like that question.” Because the question implies that doing comedy is a means to an end—the Netflix special, selling out the stadium, doing this, getting that. “No, no, no,” he said, “I get to do comedy…I won. It being predicated on do...

At a critical moment in The Odyssey, Odysseus tied himself to the mast of his ship because he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist steering the ship toward the beautiful sound of the Sirens. In temporarily giving up his freedom, Odysseus became the first person ever to hear the Sirens without fatally crashing into the rocks surrounding the island where they lived. 📕 Ryan Holiday's new book " Discip...

Who wants to think about death? In his Meditations—essentially his own private journal—Marcus Aurelius wrote that “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.” That was a personal reminder to continue living a life of virtue NOW, and not wait. Epictetus, urged his students: “Keep death and exile before your eyes each day, along with everything that seems terri...

Ryan talks to professional baseball catcher Ryan Lavarnway about his experience being the only professional baseball player with a philosophy degree from Yale, the intersection of sports and philosophy, the ups and downs of being a professional athlete, and more. Ryan Lavarnway is the current Detroit Tigers’ Triple A Toledo Mud Hens catcher and 2013 World Series Champion. He has held many valuable...

There are moments where things are so bad it can seem like they’ll never get better. Perhaps we’re young and being bullied . Or we’re in the midst of some massive rush of negative publicity–maybe we’re being canceled , or as the Stoics often were, exiled . Or the political situation seems to deteriorate each day. Or we’re just so sick or in pain that we can’t get out of bed. If you or someone you...

It was the great Athenian leader, Pericles, who said that there was nothing wrong with poverty . It could be caused by so many things—a business failure, the sudden loss of a family’s breadwinner, theft, even just plain old back luck. Like the Stoics, he knew that Fortune could swoop in, and, in the blink of an eye, undo years of hard work and careful planning. 📕Pre-order Ryan Holiday's new book...

Ryan talks to political consultant and writer Tim Miller about his new book Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell , the game of American politics, how to maintain integrity in your work, and more. Tim Miller is a former Republican communications operative who held moderate views and backed moderate candidates for years. But he says in practicing the arts of opposition resear...

When we hear the word “temperance,” C.S. Lewis observed, most of us in the modern world think of “abstinence.” Even when you look up the definition of abstinence, temperance is a synonym. But temperance, Lewis wrote, is actually about going to the, “right length but no further.” 📕 Ryan Holiday's new book " Discipline Is Destiny " is available for pre-order now! We’ve put together a bunch of cool...

Sometimes things become so ordinary, such a normal part of life in polite society, that we fail to see how utterly insane they are. History is replete with these examples. Who would propose today that one human should be allowed to own another? Or that only one specific race and gender be allowed to vote? Just 100 years ago men wore one-piece bathing suits to the beach while women were forbidden f...

Breaking news: an asteroid is hurtling towards earth and could destroy the planet. The judge rules: you have a year to get your affairs in order and report to prison for the mandatory maximum sentence. The doctor calls: you have a short time to live. The sirens sound: nuclear war has broken out and the end is near. 📕Pre-order Ryan Holiday's new book "Discipline Is Destiny" and get exclusive pre-o...

Today’s episode features an excerpt from How to Tell a Story: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Storytelling for Writers and Readers translated by Philip Freeman as part of Princeton University Press’s Anient Wisdom For Modern Readers series. ✉️  Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail 🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and m...

Ryan talks to author and journalist Elliot Ackerman about his new book The Fifth Act: America's End in Afghanistan , the origins of storytelling, his experiences evacuating hundreds of refugees in Afghanistan, and more. Elliot Ackerman is a former White House Fellow and Marine, and served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and...