The Strong Stoic Podcast

There's a very helpful idea in Stoicism that we don't actually own anything in life. Of course, there are some obvious examples - you don't own externals, such as other people or other people's possessions - but at the same time, we often fall victim to routine and assume that we do, in fact, own everything around us. We even seem to think, in many ways, that we own those close...

Juan Pérez is a business consultant focused on bringing ancient philosophy, particularly Stoicism, into the business workplace. He is also the host and creator of the Podcast Estoicismo Practico, which is a Spanish podcast on Stoic philosophy. Juan is also, like me, involved in The Walled Garden as a director and philosopher. In the episode, Juan and I discuss language barriers in understanding ph...

We often use the terms "pride" and "ego" interchangeably, but do they really mean the same thing? Pride is often defined in philosophy as a deadly sin. At the same time, we often say things like: "you should have pride in your work". Are we referring to the same thing that the ancient Greeks did, or is there a simple misunderstanding in how we're using these term...

Science has done amazing things for our society. It's the backbone of engineering, which has enabled us to design and build skyscrapers, cellphones, fancy cars, and literally every other piece of technology you can think of. It's also led to the creation of vaccines and other medical breakthroughs, helping us live longer and healthier. However, do we struggle with a scientific hubris? Is...

Shane Sorensen is the owner of the popular Instagram profile “Renaissance Wisdom” where he shares philosophical ideas from the renaissance and ancient philosophy. He recently released his new book, Renaissance wisdom: How to Flourish in the Modern Day. OG’s of the Strong Stoic Podcast would know that Shane’s been on the podcast twice before, so this is his third appearance. In this episode, we tal...

We're all afraid of something, but it's often said that courage isn't the lack of fear, but acting despite it. In other words, fear isn't good or bad in and of itself but rather how you react to such fear. And that is true, but this seems to be only one way of looking at fear. After all, your fear can work FOR you if you think about it in the right way. Learn more about your ad...

Work and duty are very important to a Stoic lifestyle. And there is always so much work to do! Between working to pay for food and rent, building relationships, raising children, and fighting the never-ending list of injustices in the world, you can quite literally work yourself to death. However, is this what we should be doing? It's often said that "evil does not sleep" - does tha...

Todd Leader is a social worker and community psychologist. He’s spent his over 20-year career leading service development and transformation, particularly in the areas of mental health, addictions, health promotions, and primary health care. This is Todd’s second time on the podcast, and in this episode, we talk about leadership: how to be a good leader, the importance of humility and criticism, a...

Human beings inevitably become less and less grateful for the things that we have over time, even to the point where we can catch ourselves complaining about the smallest thing despite having mostly everything else perfect. It's a bit of a curious problem: why are we so consumed by the negative aspects of life when we have so much to be thankful for? From appreciating our work to being gratef...

It's common to have periods in your life when you lose faith. If you believe in a god, perhaps that loss of faith is the loss of belief in your god. For a Stoic, losing faith looks more like losing the belief that you are capable of becoming a virtuous person and that you have a place in the cosmos. These moments are tough... in fact, I think they are the toughest. But we crawl out of that da...

Josh Bertolotti is the host of the In Search of Wisdom Podcast and the Perennial Podcast where he talks about all kinds of ancient wisdom and engages in meaningful conversations with modern thinkers. He also manages the Perennial Leader Project, which includes these podcasts along with a weekly newsletter and blog posts. This episode is actually part 2 of Self-Love. In this episode, we do a brief...

Life has a way of just flying by. Before you know it, you’re in a new place that you would have never thought you’d be. That place can be good or bad. What makes this happen over time is your habits. What are you practicing? Are you making an effort to be courageous? To think critically? To be rude? If you're not careful which train you get on, you may not like the destination. And unfortunat...

It’s often said that we need to "do our duty". Clearly, this means that we need to do our work. But most people struggle with that they should do in life. There are many choices, after all - you can be a welder, engineer, psychologist, or even a humble server at a restaurant. There are also those who think that the necessity to work is a force of oppression. In today's episode, I di...

Quinn Everett is a Team Canada Olympic Weightlifter competing in the 109kg+ weight class (so he’s a heavyweight!). He recently won gold in Canadian nationals for his fourth time in a row, and I’m proud to say that he’s from my home province of Nova Scotia. In this episode, we discuss building good habits, mental strength, and fortitude, being a rebel, and much more. I had a great time chatting wit...

Anger is an emotion that gets a lot of focus in philosophical circles. It's no secret that many people struggle with anger issues, and ancient philosophers like Aristotle, Plato, and the Stoics had strong opinions on the emotion. However, not all philosophers agree on anger. Some believe it is always a vice, while others believe it can, in fact, be virtuous. In this episode, I'll be pres...

You may think of a lazy animal when you hear the word "sloth", but it's also a vice! That is, being a sloth is characteristic of bad character. It means what you probably think it means - being lazy - but can be more properly described as "neglecting one's duties". In the privileged world that we live in, it can be hard for us to appreciate the importance of work befo...

Josh is the host of the In Search of Wisdom Podcast and the Perennial Podcast where he talks about all kinds of ancient wisdom and engages in meaningful conversations with modern thinkers. He also manages the Perennial Leader Project, which includes these podcasts along with a weekly newsletter and blog posts. Myself and Josh connected a while ago and we’ve done several collaborations together. In...

There's an idea in Stoicism that we all share in the divine, which the Christians later adopted. This idea may come off as a bit odd, but it's unbelievably deep in its implications. What is "divinity"? And why is it so important and fundamental that we understand and appreciate that we have a "piece" of it within us? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...

The cardinal virtues are discussed by many philosophers - justice, wisdom, courage, and temperance - including the Stoics. They are often used to define what a virtuous person is and are referenced as guidance for how one should act. But what do they really mean? Are the english translations good enough? And how can we implement these somewhat generic terms into our everyday life? Learn more about...

David Schmeikal is a personal accountability coach, creative director, and technology consultant. He works with people to help them develop their branding, prioritize their work, be creative and monetize that creativity, and so on. In this episode we talk about how to navigate life by defining where and who you are, where you want to go, how to get there, and how to keep aiming North along that jo...

With Elon Musk's recent purchase of Twitter, the age-old freedom of speech debate has awoken yet again. On one end, people claim that we should silence those with offensive and hurtful views. On the other end, the claim is that freedom of speech is required for the functioning of our democracy. However, is free speech an absolute, or should there be a line drawn somewhere? And where, exactly,...

"Character" is often used in the context of self-improvement and philosophy. Stoicism, for example, is all about developing a good character - virtue. At the same time, it's not uncommon to hear people discuss and prioritize their reputation. If you have a good reputation, more people like you and want to work with you. Why is it, then, that we only speak of character and not reputa...

Chuck Chakrapani is the editor for the magazine The Stoic Gym (which I would highly recommend) which is a monthly magazine on Stoicism which focuses on the practical application of the philosophy. Let’s be honest: the ancient Stoic texts aren’t for everyone but the principles of Stoicism absolutely can be, so Chuck through his magazine does a great job of breaking these ideas into a format that yo...

Strength carries many meanings - there's strength of mind, of body of spirit to name a few. Ancient philosophers would have used a term closer to "fortitude" which means the same thing. There are many reasons why strength is a virtue, but we could also pose the question in a different way: why is being  weak a problem? In this episode, I talk about why weakness is a problem, what it...

The term "dark energy" comes off very voodoo-like, but is there a rational way of thinking about such things? The rational part of our brain may think it ridiculous to attach good and evil energy to things, yet how many of us would feel uncomfortable living in a house in which people were murdered? As crazy as it may seem, there's something to "dark energy", but what exact...