The Daily Stoic

Ryan reads today’s daily meditation and talks to author Nancy Sherman about her new book Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons for Modern Resilience , using Stoicism to work through emotional trauma rather than repress it, her experience teaching Stoic philosophy to the armed forces, and more.  Nancy Sherman is a New York Times Notable Author. She has written several books on Stoicism including Stoic Warr...

“It can be easy to make an excuse. Oh, it’s just a bad habit. Oh, it doesn’t matter. It’s also easy to think you’ve got this life thing handled—because you’ve survived some big adversity in your time. In truth, we are all vulnerable. To our habits. To unexpected weaknesses.” Ryan explains why small steps are no small thing, on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we...

“One way to get a sense of how powerful something is is how scared people are of it. Why have governments gone to such trouble to ban various books over the years? Why do people try to censor things they disagree with? Because they’re scared of meeting ideas on an open playing field.” Ryan explains the powerful impact that books have on culture, and reads this week’s meditation from The Daily Stoi...

Today’s episode is an interview with Amazon Author Fishbowl hosted by Jason Yoong for Ryan’s newest book The Boy Who Would Be King . They talk about Ryan’s writing process, how the book came together over the last year, Stoicism as a practical philosophy for day to day life, and more. This episode is also brought to you by the Jordan Harbinger Show . Jordan's podcast is one of the most intere...

On today’s podcast Ryan talks to bestselling author Greg McKeown about his new book Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most , how the present moment is the true antidote to uncertainty, how effortlessness actually produces better outcomes, and more.  Greg McKeown is a speaker, a bestselling author, and the host of the popular podcast What’s Essential . McKeown’s New York Times bestselli...

“In Greek mythology, characters go through katabasis—or “a going down.” Something forces them to retreat, to experience a breaking point, or in some cases literally descend into the underworld. When they emerge, it’s with heightened knowledge and understanding. These moments are painful but essential. “Although to be driven back upon oneself,” Joan Didion once wrote, “is an uneasy affair at best.....

“The people on your flight tomorrow will be slow and rude. They will recline their seats into you. They will clog the aisles. They will watch videos on their phone without earbuds in. They will fight you for the armrests, even though they obviously belong to the person in the middle seat. They will take too long in the bathroom. And they will do ungodly things in there while they’re at it. They wi...

Ryan reads today’s meditation and talks to Jessica Lahey about her new book The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence , how a Stoic should measure their success, the discovery of our genetic predisposition to addiction, and more. Jessica Lahey is the New York Times bestselling author of The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can...

“You look around and you see people rushing everywhere. Rushing through traffic. Rushing to get their kids down to bed. No time to talk. No time to sit. There is too much to do. There is somewhere to go, and the faster the better.” Ryan explains why this moment is so important, on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podc...

“You clean and then it gets dirty. You do the dishes and then five minutes later, the sink is full again. You made it through your inbox in the morning and by the time late afternoon strikes, you’re already digging yourself out again.” Ryan explains the nature of continual change, and reads this week’s meditation from The Daily Stoic Journal , on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast. This episode is also b...

Today’s episode features a section from Michael Fontaine’s How to Tell a Joke: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Humor part of Princeton University Press's Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers series . How to Tell a Joke is a modern translation and collection of Cicero and Quintilian’s timeless advice about how to use humor to win over any audience. This episode is brought to you by Blinkist , the...

On today’s episode, Ryan talks to Robin Waterfield about his new annotated translation of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations , the art of translating ancient texts, the key Stoic concepts that Marcus writes about in Meditations , and more. Robin Waterfield is a British classical scholar, translator, and editor, specializing in Ancient Greek philosophy. He studied Classics at Manchester University and we...

“It’s wonderful that you are so committed to this philosophy that you get these emails, and you have read these books. You probably know more about Stoicism than most people alive, and probably more than most people who have ever lived (being that most people knew nothing). You certainly know more today than you did yesterday or a year ago.” Ryan explains the paradox that you come across as you ga...

“The thing about most things we label as “bad” is that they aren’t. They just are. A virus isn’t evil. An economic depression isn’t malicious. They are unfeeling, indifferent, inhuman events. Their impact on humans, unfortunately, is not quite so neutral, but the fact remains: They are things that just are.” Ryan explains how a Stoic views external events, and reads The Daily Stoic ’s entry of the...

Ryan reads today’s Daily Stoic meditation and talks to Robin Waterfield about his new annotated translation of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations , the historical accuracy of the critical moments that shaped Marcus’s life, the difference between high and low philosophy, and more. Robin Waterfield is a British classical scholar, translator, and editor, specializing in Ancient Greek philosophy. He studied...

“Late in his reign, a friend stopped Marcus Aurelius as he was leaving the palace, carrying a stack of books. Finding this to be a surprising sight, the man asked where Marcus was going. He was off to attend a lecture on Stoicism, he said, for ‘learning is a good thing, even for one who is growing old. From Sextus the philosopher I shall learn what I do not yet know.’” Ryan explains why you must a...

“Marcus was like us. He wasn’t naturally extraordinary. He wasn’t born to greatness. His destiny was not pre-ordained. So how did it happen? How are we here today—what would have been his 1900th birthday—still talking about him?” Ryan remembers Marcus Aurelius on his 1900th birthday, and reads this week’s meditation from The Daily Stoic Journal , on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast. This episode is  br...

Today’s episode is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of Richard Bett’s How to Keep an Open Mind: An Ancient Guide to Thinking Like a Skeptic published by Princeton University Press. How to Keep an Open Mind is a part of the Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers series and is a collection of Sextus Empiricus’ writings about how ancient skepticism can help you attain tranquility by learning to suspend judgment....

On today’s episode, Ryan talks to YouTube duo Sam & Colby about the early days of their career, finding peace in the practice of memento mori, what they’ve learned making haunted and ghost story videos, and more. Sam Golbach and Colby Brock are an American YouTube exploration and comedy duo. They first started making videos on Vine where they had over 1.6 million followers before the app shut...

“We are so busy. We think we’re supposed to be. We think that’s how we get better. We think that moving is the only way to move forward.” Ryan discusses why you must strive for moments of stillness, on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, t...

“On the one hand, the Stoics were big believers in the power of reason. They believed we were rational creatures, capable of thinking away through all the distractions and impulses and biases of the mind and body. On the other hand, they knew that people were crazy—that our mind, our thoughts were hardly infallible and didn’t always have our best interests at heart. ” Ryan explains the difference...

Ryan reads today's Daily Stoic meditation and talks to sport psychologist and entrepreneur Dr. Michael Gervais about his work in elite performance, the practical path to excellence, how to find purpose and meaning in your life, and more. Dr. Michael Gervais is a high-performance psychologist who has worked with NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, numerous Olympic medalists, and MVPs from every major spor...

“It’d be wonderful if we could get everyone on board. If evidence and data and civic duty convinced people to do the right thing, the smart thing, the selfless thing. It feels like we’re living through a unique era for this kind of dissonance and denialism, but the reality is that since even before Marcus Aurelius' time, getting everyone on board for the right thing has been impossible.” Ryan...

 “There is an expression popular amongst basketball coaches. A coach doesn’t “get” a technical foul, they take one. If you’ve ever watched Gregg Popovich coach, you’ve seen it. When his team isn’t playing with enough passion, when the refs are getting complacent, when the crowd needs to be fired up, or when he’s just plain tired of watching his team not do what they’re supposed to be, he’ll pick a...

“Why are we here? It’s an impossible question to answer, I suppose. Of course, on a fundamental evolutionary level, we’re here to pass along our genes. This is why we strive for success. This is why we lust for sex. This is what keeps the species going. But equally encoded in that evolutionary software and in our culture is another purpose, another less selfish drive: The drive for meaning. Merely...