The Daily Stoic
Episodes
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Jocko Willink On How to Thrive in Challenging Times
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan and author (Extreme Ownership, Discipline Equals Freedom) and podcaster Jocko Willink talk about maintaining a ...
Think About How Lucky You Are
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Marcus Aurelius was wealthy on a scale you cannot even imagine. Seneca too. These were men with enormous fortunes… and control of imperial pow...
Use It. That’s What It’s There For.
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"There’s no question that the Stoics accustomed themselves to hard living. For many people, this is the image we have of them: Cato walking bar...
No, It’s Good This Happened to You
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The divorce. The bankruptcy. The car accident. The night you’re having to spend at the airport. The business you poured your savings into that...
Daily Stoic Sundays: 10 of the Most Stoic Moments in History
30 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today's podcast, Ryan discusses 10 moments in history where the power of Stoicism became apparent, from Adm. James Stockdale's time in a ...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Mark Manson Discuss What You Should Actually Give a F*** About
29 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan and Mark Manson (author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck) talk about working to figure out your true prio...
Here’s How To “Not Be All About Business”
28 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Marcus Aurelius had workaholic tendencies. Even if he hadn’t had the most important job in the world, we get the sense that he would have trea...
Why You Must Return Again and Again
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"You were in high school when you read The Great Gatsby for the first time. You were just a kid when you read The Count of Monte Cristo or had so...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Dominique Dawes on Olympic Gold and Pursuing Excellence
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan and Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes talk about the difficulty of striving for an extraordinary goal during a pa...
Is This Teaching You To Appreciate Things?
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"How suddenly life can take from us all the things we took for granted. Whether it’s a global pandemic that locks you in your house or one of ...
You Must Challenge Yourself
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"After returning from particularly notable campaigns, the commanders of Roman legions would distribute small coins to their men as rewards for th...
You Should Know This Before You Get Angry
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"People will piss you off in this life. That’s a given. You’ll get cut off on the highway. You’ll be spoken to rudely. You’ll get blown o...
Daily Stoic Sundays: 5 Life Changing Quotes from Marcus Aurelius
23 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today's Daily Stoic Sunday episode, Ryan goes over five of Marcus Aurelius' best quotes and describes how you can live up to his words.Th...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Robert Greene Discuss the Laws of Human Nature
22 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today's episode features a 2018 interview in which Ryan talks with author and strategist Robert Greene. They discuss the core message of Robert’...
We Have to Be Smart
21 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Dr. William Osler was a giant of the medical field in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was also a fan of the Stoics. He was a deep rea...
You Must Burn the White Flag
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The odds are looking bad. They are asking you to compromise. They want you to betray what you believe in. It would be so easy to take your buyou...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Angel Parham On Why Studying the Classics Is So Important
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan and Angel Parham of Loyola University New Orleans talk about the classics: how she first fell in love with them...
Why We Admire Socrates
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Socrates was smart. He was clever and funny. He was, as we can tell from just two of his students, Xenophon and Plato, clearly a great teacher. ...
No One Can Trigger You
18 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"There are things that just set you off. There are things that happened to you that you prefer not to think about. There are the things you asked...
This Is the Perfect Time to Ask This Question
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Now, unlike any other moment in recent memory, we are being forced to reevaluate things. We’re looking at our jobs, at our finances, at the pl...
Daily Stoic Sundays: The Daily Stoic, August 16 - How to Turn Your Trials Into Triumphs
16 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today's podcast, Ryan discusses today's reading from The Daily Stoic, about how to overcome your challenges through the Stoic mindset. We...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Donald Robertson On the Brilliance and Insights of Marcus Aurelius
15 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan and author and therapist Donald Robertson talk about the history behind Stoicism, including how the historical ...
Start Each Day With This Habit
14 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Marcus Aurelius said we should get up early. But what should we do then? Seneca agreed, saying that it was important to start the day at a good ...
This Will Come and Go
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It seems terrible now. It does, of course. How could it not? Each day the number of new reported cases comes in. Each day the reports of overloa...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Author Rich Cohen On How to Succeed When Everyone’s Against You
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan and author Rich Cohen talk about the ever-changing lens through which we judge historical figures, how the subj...
This Is Not a Drill
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Many of us can be forgiven for having thought that this life thing was pretty easy. The last few decades have been pretty good to us. Booming ec...
This Is How It Will Feel
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Zeno dreamed of following in his father’s footsteps, into the family business. Panaetius did the same, becoming a famous diplomat, just as he ...
You Must Run War Games
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"In Rome, as today, things went wrong all the time. Wars broke out. Earthquakes struck. Pandemics infected populations. In Rome, as in our time, ...
Daily Stoic Sundays: The Daily Stoic, August 9
09 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, Ryan describes the new leather-bound edition of The Daily Stoic and reads today's entry.Get your copy of the limited lea...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Writer S.C. Gwynne Discuss the Great Stories and Leaders of the American Civil War
08 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan takes a deep dive into the American Civil War with author and journalist S.C. Gwynne. They discuss the immense ...
You Should Understand This by Now
07 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The iron law of history is that people do dumb things. They behave this way for many reasons: Ignorance. Fear. Bad habits. Because they’ve be...
There’s Always Been a Darkness on the Edge of Town
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It feels a little bit like things suddenly got really bad. Like the political order is not working. Like government agencies are failing. The st...
Will You Be Proud of This?
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Marcus had no interest in posthumous fame. He was a private man. It’s a historical irony that today he is famous for a work of art he desperat...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Sportswriter Kate Fagan Talk About Stoicism in Sports
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan speaks with sportswriter Kate Fagan about the issues surrounding physical and mental health in sports, how our society promotes sports to childre...
This Is How Reading Is Supposed to Go
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"We Stoics don’t just get a book and put it up on our shelf. We devour it. We take notes. We fold pages. We throw it in our backpacks and suitc...
We Must Be Antifragile
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"As Hemingway writes in one of the most beautiful passages in A Farewell to Arms, the world eventually breaks all of us. 'Afterward,' h...
Daily Stoic Sundays: Ryan Talks Stoicism with the Cleveland Browns
02 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s Daily Stoic Sunday episode features Ryan’s talk to the NFL’s Cleveland Browns from 2019. In it, he gives the team a breakdown of Stoicis...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and David Epstein Talk Range & Resilience
01 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan talks with author and journalist David Epstein about the power of range, how to get the right kind of experienc...
People Are People and Places Are Places
31 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"With all the change of history, with all the progress we’ve made, we’re still people. Places are still places, cultures still cultures—wit...
You Have to Dye This With Your Own Color
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"What has happened here is objective. A virus spread from China to countries all over the world. First to the Philippines, then to Italy and Iran...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Wellness Expert Kimberly Snyder Talk Stillness, Yoga, and the Beauty of Daily Life
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan speaks with wellness and natural beauty expert Kimberly Snyder about the intersection of Stoicism and Eastern practices, the pursuit of simplicit...
How to Be Born Again
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"One day, some 2000 years ago, Marcus Aurelius put up his stylus and jotted down six epithets for himself, values he said that should not be “t...
Don’t Ignore the Smell
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"From 165 to 180 AD, Rome was hit by a plague. The “Antonine Plague,” also known as the Plague of Galen, would kill literally millions of peo...
Congratulations, You Get to Start Over
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It’s fitting that the story of Stoicism began with a catastrophe. On a merchant voyage between Phoenicia and Piraeus in the 3rd century BC, Ze...
Daily Stoic Sundays: How Seneca Overcame Stress
26 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today's Daily Stoic Sunday episode, Ryan talks about Seneca, author, playwright, and advisor to the emperor Nero, how he faced the multiple st...
Ryan and Comic Pete Holmes Talk Work-Life Balance and Why Joy Matters
25 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan talks with comedian and writer Pete Holmes about understanding your own brain, finding personal fulfillment whe...
Now’s the Time to Sharpen Your Sword
24 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It’s when you actually need something that it’s too late to get it ready. It’s in times of peace that nations must sharpen their swords. I...
You Decide the End of This Story
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"I never lost faith in the end of the story, I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the...
What Else Can You Do?
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"When all this began, folks were excitedly using this time at home to tackle projects they’d long been putting off. They were focused on being ...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and James Romm Talk Seneca, Nero and Dying Every Day
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan speaks with James Romm, an author and professor of Classics, about Seneca, one of the three key figures of Stoicism who later in life became an a...
This Is Why You Can’t Care What People Think
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It seems silly: Cato, one of Rome’s most courageous and steadfast leaders, had to practice wearing ratty clothes and walking barefooted and ba...
The Good News About Wisdom
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The bad news is that wisdom doesn’t come easily. The good news is that it is cheap. Or at least, cheaper than it has ever been before."Ry...
Daily Stoic Sundays: If You’re Not Seeking Out Challenges, How Are You Going to Get Better?
19 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today's Daily Stoic Sunday episode, Ryan talks about the importance of taking on new challenges so that you are pushed to greater and greater ...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Dr. Harvey Karp Talk Preparation, Patience, and How to Be a Great Parent
18 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan speaks with Dr. Harvey Karp, a parenting expert and inventor of the SNOO Sleep System, about how people prepare for parenthood, the benefits of s...
Are You Ready To Ration?
17 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It might have seemed crazy to read that, all those years ago, Seneca practiced a day of poverty each month. He fasted or he ate sparingly. He wo...
Slow Is Smooth, Smooth Is Fast
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"When you are talented and smart, you know what you want and you know when you want it done. You want it done now, that is. So you work fast. So ...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Maria Konnikova Talk Poker, Psychology, and Focusing on What You Can Control
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan speaks with writer, psychologist, and poker champion Maria Konnikova about how she uses Stoicism to win big at Texas hold’em, and how you can u...
Not What, But Who?
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"We’ve spoken about the commencement address that Arnold Schwarzenegger made to the Class of 2020. In it, he makes an important distinction tha...
Always Think About What Is Above You
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It’s easy for power to go to your head. You see all the people that work for you and think you’re important. You fill out that online survey...
There’s a Bad Moon Rising
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The global economy was strong for over a decade. All sorts of wondrous new technology is cheaper than ever before. You might think this is cause...
Daily Stoic Sundays: Find Contentment Where You Are NOW With Stoicism and Stillness
12 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today's Daily Stoic Sunday episode, Ryan talks about how the pursuit of stillness and inner calm can be found, how he finds it in his own life...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Congressman Dan Crenshaw Talk Fortitude, Outrage, and How to Be Inspired By History
11 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Ryan and Congressman Dan Crewnshaw talk about personal accountability, who if anyone we should commemorate as heroic figures, ho...
Don’t Let Them Steal What Can’t Be Replaced
10 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"In early January, Kobe Bryant got a note from a reporter at ESPN. She was working on a story about a moment in Lakers’ history and she wanted ...
This Is What Living Through History Looks Like
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Perhaps you’re alarmed about the state of the world. Perhaps you’re horrified at the risks and dangers that lurk about. Pandemics, political...
It’s Time for Class
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"No one is saying you’re not smart. No one is saying that you aren’t pretty well-versed in philosophy. You might even be the most informed ou...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Writer David Frum Discuss Political Courage and Standing Up For Your Beliefs
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Ryan and conservative pundit David Frum talk about how it feels to be a conservative who opposes Donald Trump, the limitations t...
Keep Your Eye on the Big Picture
07 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It’s so easy to be reactive these days. We are drowning in information from unlimited sources. Much of it is inaccurate, most of it is sensati...
It’s Never A Straight Line
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"You had plans for how this year was going to go. You had plans for your business, for your relationships, plans for your house or your finances....
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Billy Bush Discuss the Stoic Reaction to Public Shaming and How to Grow Beyond It
05 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Ryan and TV news anchor Billy Bush discuss how to deal with being publicly shamed, the practical use of premeditatio malorum, an...
This Work Must Continue
04 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“Today is the 4th of July. It’s the celebration of the American Declaration of independence, which was signed on this date in 1776. There’s no q...
This Is the Challenge We’re Rising To
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"There’s almost nothing more difficult than other people. They’re just tough. They fall short. They get in our way. They do hurtful things. T...
So What Do We Do?
02 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It’s hard to argue that we are not beset by many problems as a society. Depending on where you sit, those problems might be different, and tha...
We Are Who We Honor
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It was Malraux who said that we judge a society by the monuments it puts up. So imagine a society that puts up statues to tyrants, to someone w...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and E.S. Schubert Talk the Purpose of Monuments and Why Statues Matter
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Ryan and sculptor E.S. Schubert discuss the purpose of monumental statues and the complex issues surrounding who society venerat...
It’s Not Over Until It’s Over
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"We have fought very hard, together, in an unprecedented display of global and national courage, justice, discipline and wisdom.How many people h...
You Need to Have a Vision
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
***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 li...
Daily Stoic Sundays: How to Feel Like You Have Enough
28 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Ryan discusses how to feel satisfied with what life has brought you—whatever that may be—using the wisdom of the Stoics.This...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Jessica Lahey Talk Parenting, the Process of Writing, and How to Fail Gracefully
27 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Ryan and author and teacher Jessica Lahey talk about how to teach your kids to fail, the process of putting together a book, and...
They Still Hide Money In Books
26 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"As a young boy, the famed basketball coach George Raveling learned an invaluable lesson about the power of both knowledge and ignorance from his...
It Keeps Coming and Won’t Stop Coming
25 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"In March, Brent Underwood thought he’d found the perfect place to ride out the pandemic: a small California ghost town he’d been slowly reno...
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, Should Stop
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"If you’ve ever made it to the end of Homer’s Odyssey, you might have noticed a rather strange part of the ending. It’s a part that’s tal...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Lauryn and Michael Bosstick (The Skinny Confidential) Talk Stoic Morning Routines and How to Manage Your Life in Quarantine
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Ryan speaks with Lauryn and Michael Bosstick of The Skinny Confidential, They talk about how they start their days off strong wi...
This Is Your Fight
23 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It’s tempting to tell yourself that we don’t have a problem. That you don’t have to get involved. This doesn’t affect your community. It...
Life is Overwhelming. Or Is It?
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It’s incredible to think of what has occurred in the last twenty years. The tech bubble. 9/11. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Great Rec...
Daily Stoic Sundays: This Is Your Most Important Job
21 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“How do we emulate the great parents of history? How do we work on improving ourselves at this essential job? The one for which we are given next to...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Brett McKay Talk Parenting, Living Through History, and Modern Manliness
20 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Ryan and Brett McKay, founder of The Art of Manliness (https://www.artofmanliness.com/), talk about being a parent in the age of...
You Need Less Philosophy
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"All this reading, all these quotes. This love of learning, our fascination with books. No one is saying it’s a bad thing. Because it isn’t....
You Must Avoid This Weakness
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"We’d like to think that our mind is our friend, but of course it isn’t. The Stoics knew this. The mind wants to jump to conclusions. The min...
The One Purchase That Pays You Back
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Is a Stoic stingy and frugal about everything? Some take it that way, but that’s probably the incorrect view. Instead, a Stoic should think bo...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Ben Hardy Talk Family, Self-Improvement, and How to Take On a Challenge
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Ryan and Ben Hardy, the author and organizational psychologist, talk about the path of self-improvement, being a parent to foste...
We Have To Try Harder To Get There
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It’s not that our ancestors didn’t know what was right, it was that they had trouble fully getting there. In the opening pages of Meditatio...
Are You Holding Your Shield?
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The world has asked a lot of us over the last few months." Ryan describes the sacrifices we've all had to make and why they were so ne...
Daily Stoic Sundays: It’s Always the Time to Act Bravely
14 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Ryan reads an excerpt from Stillness Is the Key, describing the importance of actually taking action and living the way that you...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and UT Basketball Coach Shaka Smart Talk Self-Control and Using Your Time Wisely
13 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Ryan and University of Texas basketball coach Shaka Smart talk about focusing on what you can control, how the COVID-19 pandemic...
This Is the Most Powerful Force on Earth
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Over and over again, the Stoics remind us how weak we are compared to the force of nature and the whims of nature. Why get angry at the world, Marcus ...
This Is Why You Have to Slow Down
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"There’s no question that we are facing a number of pressing issues as a planet: Public health dangers. Homelessness. The rise of authoritarian...
Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Author Tom Mueller Talk Whistleblowers, Courage, and Doing the Right Thing
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Ryan and bestselling author Tom Mueller talk about the history of whistleblowers, the crisis of courage in the world right now, ...
No One Can MAKE You Upset
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"These are strange times. We all have entrenched political beliefs, for which the stakes seem dreadfully high. There are trolls everywhere. There...
This Is the Hardest Thing
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"So much is happening. At home. Abroad. On the news. At work. You have the things you need to do. And the emails that keep pouring in. You have...
How Can You Lighten the Load for Others?
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"When things get hard, a Stoic steps up. We’ve talked about that before. We do this because we know we can carry a heavy load, a load heavier t...