The Daily Stoic

“Sometimes it can feel like you’re surrounded by small-minded idiots. Especially when you’re trying to do something new, important, or good. All of a sudden, you’re dealing with insane red tape, incompetence, or worse, vehement protest from people who plain don’t know what they’re talking about.” Ryan explains why we should focus our energy on being better, not on other peoples flaws, on today’s D...

“We get it. You’ve worked hard. You’re a good person. You respect yourself. That’s why you’re frustrated to be in this job beneath your talents. It’s why you don’t like that your ideas aren’t getting their due. It’s why you hate wasting your time on all this low-level crap.” Ryan explains why a Stoic excels in everything that they do, and reads this week’s meditation from The Daily Stoic Journal ,...

Anger is antithetical to Stoicism, so naturally, the Stoics had methods of dealing with it. In this video, Ryan Holiday walks us through the various tools Marcus Aurelius used to avoid anger. If you'd like to learn more, go to https://dailystoic.com/anger This episode is brought to you by LMNT , the maker of electrolyte drink mixes that help you stay active at home, work, the gym, or anywhere...

On today’s episode, Ryan speaks to author and economist Jonathan Church about his brain cancer diagnosis, coming to terms with mortality through philosophy, the origin and nature of microaggressions, his new book,  Reinventing Racism , and more.  Jonathan Church is an economist and writer with degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, who became a CFA charter holder in 20...

“Early on in Address Unknown, a haunting novel about the rise of fascism in Germany in the 1930s, two German entrepreneurs write to each other with much affection about their business success. One line, written from the entrepreneur Max to his friend Martin, stops us cold in the way that truth, rendered in fiction, occasionally can.” Ryan discusses the cost of the things and experiences that we ch...

“In one of the most vulnerable scenes in the Taylor Swift documentary on Netflix, Swift talks about how she feels while looking at a paparazzi photo of herself. Her lifelong habit she says, is to see what’s wrong with her appearance, to instinctively see that she needs to lose weight, to start monitoring what she eats more closely, quite possibly to stop eating all together.” Ryan discusses the pr...

“It doesn’t matter that you’re a safe driver. Or that you’ve always paid your taxes. It doesn’t matter how hard you’ve worked for this. Or that you volunteer with poor blind kids after school.” Ryan discusses the odds that we are all up against and how indifferent they are to our lives, on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on A...

On today’s episode, Ryan speaks to writer Bryan Doerries about his work in familiarizing service members and veterans with ancient Greek plays, the military history of Greek playwrights, how the performance of theatre can be a useful tool for healing, and more. Bryan Doerries is the founder of Theater of War, a project that presents readings of ancient Greek plays to service members, veterans, and...

“We live in the glorious future. Yet somehow it is exactly the same as the past. The scourge of the ancient world: Pirates. Pompey fought them in Cato’s time. Bandits and highwaymen. Countless Romans suffered their depretations. Epictetus had his house broken into by one. Plagues. Marcus Aurelius lived through a decade and a half of one, likely dying of it himself.” Ryan explains why there is noth...

“There’s a story in the Talmud about a man betting his friend four hundred zuzim that he couldn’t provoke the famous rabbi Hillel into anger. The friend accepted the wager and settled on an ingenious and failproof strategy for pissing someone off: Asking really, really dumb questions.” Ryan discusses the practice and humility that it takes to control your temper, and reads this week’s meditation f...

Today’s episode features a section from James Romm’s How to Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life . How To Die is a modern translation and collection of Seneca’s musings on the shortness of life.  James Romm is an author and professor of classics at Bard College in Annandale, NY. His specialty is in ancient Greek and Roman culture and civilization. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journ...

Ryan Speaks to writer and businessman James Frey about the challenges of being isolated during the pandemic, the philosophy behind his sobriety, the painful discovery of human flaws in your heroes, and more. James Frey is the author of several bestselling books including A Million Little Pieces, My Friend Leonard, and his most recent,  Katerina . He is also the founder and CEO of the transmedia pr...

“In 2017, the New England Patriots were down 28-3 to the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter of the Super Bowl. It had not been a good game. Fans had already begun to write the Patriots off. Announcers had serious doubts as to whether a comeback was possible. But somehow, against all odds, the Patriots would come back to win that game in one of the greatest victories in all of sports.” Ryan discu...

“They hurt you, your parents. Everyone’s did. Some in big ways, some in small ways. It’s just a fact. As the poet Philip Larkin wrote, ‘They f**k you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had and add some extra, just for you.’” Ryan discusses the universal damage that parents do to their kids, why we should do our best to forgive them, and read...

“There’s a beautiful scene in Hunter S. Thompson’s dark memoir, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He talks about how just outside Las Vegas, in the shadow of the lights of the strip and the noise of the casinos, it’s possible to just barely discern the high water mark of the idealism of the 60s, which had by then, given way to the indulgences and selfishness of the 70s.” Ryan discusses how we can lo...

On today’s podcast, Ryan and historian David Roll discuss his most recent book George Marshall: Defender of the Republic , the most magnificent moment in American history, the moral obligation to remove confederate statues, and more.  David Roll is the author of several books and is the founder of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation, an organization that provides free legal services to social entrep...

“Stoicism, as we have said, is not the elimination of all emotion. It’s the regulation of them. Effectively, as Nassim Taleb has said, it’s the domestication of your urges and impulses and knee-jerk reactions.” Ryan explains that the goal of a Stoic is to react with their ruling reason, not to stuff their emotions down into a dark hole, on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’...

“There’s a lot going on in your life. Good for you. It’s a sign of success. It’s also a burden, a source of stress. You’ve got projects wrapping up. You’ve got projects starting soon. You’ve got a long to-do list, a lot to look forward to, a lot to worry about.” Ryan discusses how concentrating on the moment you are in can help you overcome stress and anxiety, and reads this week’s meditation from...

The Stoics have many lessons to share about leadership. From Marcus Aurelius' reflections on his rule as the Emperor of Rome, to Epictetus' experiences as a slave, the Stoics are uniquely positioned to discuss leadership and how to approach it. On today’s podcast, Ryan discusses the Stoic principles that can improve your role as a leader, no matter what you do. This episode is brought to...

Ryan speaks to professor and author Susan Straight about their first encounter at the University of California, Riverside, finding joy in the private process of writing, how specific books can change your life, and more.  Susan Straight is a professor of creative writing and part of the MFA faculty at the University of California, Riverside, as well as an award-winning author. Her newest book, In...

“Wouldn’t it be nice if everything was simple and straightforward? That’s what we’d like to think the job of a leader is. You become president—or emperor—and now that you’re in charge, things can finally be cleaned up. Just bring me the decisions, you think, and I’ll do a much better job than those fools who came before me.” Ryan explains why we have to be prepared to make difficult decisions on t...

“In the year 41 CE, Seneca was banished by the emperor Claudius for supposedly sleeping with Julia Livilla, the sister of Caligula. We don’t know if he was completely innocent of the accusation, but we do know that the incident was hardly an exemplar of justice. The historian Suetonius tells us that Seneca’s ‘charge was vague and the accused was given no opportunity to defend himself.’” Ryan expla...

“It’s a famous story, one we’ve told before. Hillel was asked to explain the Torah. ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself,’ he said. ‘All the rest is commentary.’” Ryan discusses why the fundamental concepts of philosophy are all that matter, and why you should embody them, 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 hel...

On today’s podcast, Ryan speaks to author and historian Mike Duncan (History of Rome podcast) about his incredibly important book, The Storm Before The Storm , and what Roman history can tell us about current events.  Mike Duncan is an author, historian and host of the award-winning podcast series, The History of Rome , which has been downloaded more than 100 million times. His ongoing podcast ser...

“You want it. You want it badly. The promotion. To win that higher office. To get called up. To buy that house. To sleep with that person. To have just one free punch at you-know-who. You want it more than anything and, by god, you’re going to get it. You’re working. You’re scheming. You’re… obsessed. Honestly, what you’re in is a fever dream—a delusion of drive and lust and want. ” Ryan explains...