The Daily Stoic
Episodes
Don’t Be a Fool
11 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There are lots of ways to spot a foolish person. They say dumb things. They make unforced errors. They make the same unforced error over and over agai...
Why You Should Do Your Own Writing
10 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There is something strange you find when you study the early Stoics. Not Marcus Aurelius and Seneca and Epictetus, but the Stoics who influenced them....
Remember: You’re Just Passing Through
09 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Reputation is a powerful thing. The desire to keep it, maintain it, to not betray it, was a force that made someone like Cato unstoppable. On the othe...
On a Long-Enough Timeline, We Are All Blips
06 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s an interesting exercise. Pull up a Spotify playlist for hits from the ‘90s. Or turn on a satellite radio station built around that time. As...
Don’t Blend In. Stand Up and Stand Out.
05 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In a famous exchange—which we wrote about a while back—Agrippinus explained why he was spurning an invitation to attend some banquet being put on ...
You Are Part of a Team (Whether You Know It Or Not)
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
One question you hear the comedian Marc Maron ask a lot of standups and actors at the beginning of his interviews is: Who did you come up with? Who we...
There is Only One Place to Look for Approval
03 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We all want to be liked. We want the acceptance of our peers. We want to be chosen. We want the stamp of approval—from the critics, from the crowd, ...
We All Need Monuments to Guide Us
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Nobody cared more about statues than the Greeks and the Romans. In fact, the only reason we know what many of the Stoics looked like is because they w...
You Must Avoid The Orgy of Materialism and Greed
29 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The viciousness of the mob is one of the darker themes in Roman history. There was the angry crowd that tore Saturninus to pieces during Marius’s ti...
Be Grateful for Everything—Even the Tough Stuff
28 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On this day of American Thanksgiving, we’re supposed to make time for thanks, to actively think about that word that has become almost cliché in we...
Don’t Let Time Surprise You
27 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Queen Elizabeth I was a remarkable woman. She was uncommon and special is so many ways. She was believed to have known nine languages. She was conside...
You Have The Power To Straighten Your Back
26 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most inspiring themes in the history of Stoicism is how the Stoics responded to tyrants and to adversity. There was Cato, refusing to roll ...
You Must Take All This in Stride
25 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Some people will love you. Some people will hate you. One day, Marcus Aurelius wrote, the crowd will cheer and worship you. Other days they’ll hit y...
Set This Before Your Eyes Every Day
22 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about the importance of positive thinking. Of making sure we are surrounded by good vibes and good energy. Of cutting out the negative influen...
How To Concentrate Like a Roman
21 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There is so much on our plate. We have emails to respond to. Calls to make. There is that meeting in a couple hours. The folks we met with yesterday a...
Thoughts and Prayers are not Enough
20 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The cycle would be almost humorous by now if it were not so sad. Politicians who have sat idly by, not doing their jobs to address the vexing, pressin...
If You Want Tranquility, Here's How to Find It
19 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We all want more peace, right? More stillness. The quiet confidence that comes from being on the right path, as Seneca described it, and not being dis...
You'll Have to Beat Me First
18 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There is a famous moment in the history of Sparta, when they were threatened with invasion by Phillip, King of Macedon. Phillip, whose son was Alexand...
Don’t Run From Pain, Embrace It
15 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It makes sense that we avoid pain. We don’t want to cause it and we don’t want to feel it. We’d rather life be easy. This makes sense—at least...
Remember that People Avoid the Truth
14 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Time and time again, we hear the Stoics tell us to say what is right, to do what is right, to be comfortable swimming upstream or rejecting the choice...
There’s Nothing Special About Philosophers
13 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If you ask most people to describe a philosopher, they end up painting a picture of somebody who works at Harvard and wears a lot of wool and tweed an...
This Is How You Get Tranquility
12 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Marcus Aurelius said that pain either affects the body or the soul. What’s the difference? “The soul can choose not to be affected, preserving its...
You Have To Find The Good In People
11 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Marcus Aurelius was clearly torn about his fellow man. He was loving and kind and spoke repeatedly of serving the common good. He was also clearly fru...
Remember: You Are Not Everything
08 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most haunting moments in all of literature is the moment when King Lear hits rock bottom. He has destroyed his kingdom. He has lost his fam...
These Are The Keys To Success
07 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
For nearly three decades, Tom Morris, one of the world's top public philosophers and pioneering business thinkers, has been on a mission to bring phil...
Is It Even A Question?
06 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The little known Stoic philosopher Agrippinus was apparently the king of one-liners. There was the time he was informed he’d been exiled and respond...
Don't Die Before Your Time
05 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We’re busy. We’re tired. We have so much to do. We had dreams once, sure, but they slowly deflated. The mortgage, the kids, the job, watching TV, ...
You've Chosen Your Own Hell
04 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In Marcus Aurelius’s time, Roman religion was a hodgepodge of different rituals and ideas, which were evident in Marcus’s own behavior. For instan...
There is Only One Place to Look
01 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There was a Stoic named Diotimus who messed up. Like really messed up. Sometime around the turn of the first century BC, he committed what can only be...
Which Founder Will You Be?
31 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It’s easy to whitewash history, to look back at a group of people who did an incredible thing and assume they were all on the same page when it happ...
Don’t Follow The Mob
30 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a fitting warning about man’s nature that in the Old Testament, God would command his followers, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do e...
You Must Live Below Your Means
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Roman elite were constantly living beyond their means. Leaders like Cicero lived lavishly—he owned something like nine different villas at the s...
It All Rests on Pillars of Sand
28 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine, one day you’re king and the next day you’re not. Literally. That's the story of Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, who was made ...
You Are Mortal. You Don’t Have To Be Stupid.
25 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Yes, the Stoics talk a lot about death. How it’s inevitable. How life is fragile. How it can be taken from us at any moment. It’s in our power to ...
It’s True: You’re Exactly Where You’re Supposed To Be
24 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Keanon Lowe grew up in a family struggling to make ends meet. His father left when he was nine. When money was tight or when things were hard, his mot...
Let This Humble You
23 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s a humbling thought: Even if your life is amazing and successful, even if you mind your own business and are kind to everyone you meet, somebo...
You Must Read to Lead
22 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Many “smart” people aren’t actually smart. They just know a lot of trivia. Sure, they can tell you all sorts of facts, they have a library of bi...
Just Shrug It Off
21 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In 1961, Walker Percy published his great Stoic-inspired novel The Moviegoer. Like all classics, the book's success was by no means guaranteed. I...
You Must Learn How To STOP
18 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Seneca wrote about our natural, involuntary physiological responses. Someone pours cold water on you, and you shiver. They jump out of nowhere to scar...
What’s Bad For The Hive Is Bad For The Bee
17 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Although the ancient world was filled with injustices and cruelty, we moderns flatter ourselves when we give ourselves (too much) credit for our enlig...
Time is a Flat Circle
16 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It’s unlikely, given his feelings about the Christians, that Marcus Aurelius ever read any of the books in the Old Testament, but if he had read Ecc...
This is How Dumb Anger Is
15 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Seneca wrote eloquently about how absurd the need to “get even” is. No one would think to return a bite to a dog or a kick to a mule, he writes, b...
Anyone Can Strive for Virtue
14 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
“Where are all the Stoic women? Surely this is not a philosophy only for and by men.” It is a common and reasonable criticism of this philosophy,...
Never Stop Trying To Get Better
11 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Cynic philosopher Diogenes was once criticized by a passerby for not taking care of himself in his old age, for being too active when he should ha...
Tomorrow Will Have Suffering In It
10 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Life is full of suffering, acute and benign. We come down with the flu. We are hit with a costly expense. Someone with power over us abuses their resp...
You Must Carve Out Time For Quiet
09 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
According to the philosopher Blaise Pascal, at the root of most human activity is a desire to escape boredom and self-awareness. We go to elaborate me...
What a Terminal Diagnosis Changes
08 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
“What would you do if tomorrow you were diagnosed with terminal cancer?” We’ve all had a hypothetical question like that thrust in front of us ...
What Are We Fighting About, Really?
07 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a great lyric in the bridge of the new Bruce Springsteen song, Tucson Train: We fought hard over nothin'We fought till nothin' remainedI've...
Every Day is a Bonus
04 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s a way to feel good every single day, no matter what happens. A way to appreciate even a day stuck in the airport or putting out fires. It’...
What Is Luck and What Is Not
03 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The philosopher and writer Nassim Taleb once said that, “Hard work will get you a professorship or a BMW. You need both work and luck for a Booker, ...
How To Always Be Well
02 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In one of his letters, Seneca tells us of an old Roman pleasantry that friends would exchange when greeting each other: “If you are well,” one wou...
This Is The Key To The Good Life
01 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why did Marcus Aurelius study philosophy? What were Seneca or Confucius or Buddha trying to achieve as they pored over their books or sat deeply in th...
The Kind of Politics You Should Study
30 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Following today’s politics is easy. You turn on the news and a bunch of pretty people tell you that your side is good and the other side is irredeem...
Just Don’t Make Things Worse
27 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
At the beginning of The Odyssey, Zeus utters a famous lament that must, one imagines, be shared by all gods and parents and presidents alike:This is a...
Planting Trees In Shade We’ll Never Know
26 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Late last year, a man named Ken Watson died at age 87, but before he did, he made sure to gift wrap fourteen presents for his two year old neighbor. ...
Put Everything In the Calm and Mild Light
25 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
You know sometimes you hear a quote or an aphorism and you think, That’s it. That’s me. That’s my philosophy for life. Well it turns out that i...
You Must Tame Your Temper
24 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
You try to turn on your television, only to find that the batteries in the remote are dead and no one bothered to replace them. Your computer freezes ...
What To Learn From History
23 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When one looks at the dark moments of history, it’s hard not to be a little afraid. Look at what people have done to each other—look at how bad th...
Study The Real Secret of Greatness
20 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When we think of greatness, we think of success. We think of strength. We think of influence. We think of the man or woman exerting their will over th...
Don’t Worry About Them, Worry About Yourself
19 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We spend a lot of time worried about what other people are going to do. Will that colleague muscle you out of the way for the promotion? Will another ...
Why Statues Matter
18 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Nobody cared more about statues than the Greeks and the Romans. In fact, the only reason we know what many of the Stoics looked like is because they w...
Don’t Take Control, Take Charge
17 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In her page-a-day book Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much, the writer Anne Willson Schaef makes a distinction that the Stoics would have certainly ...
You Must Surrender
16 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
One way to read The Odyssey is that it’s a story of human perseverance. Odysseus is cunning and determined, he’s willing to do everything and anyt...
Avoid Special Treatment Like The Plague
13 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
During the American Revolution—as in any war—the British quite rightly targeted the estates and the landholdings of the leadership on the American...
The Real Terrible Thing
12 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Epictetus could not have summed up Stoicism better than when he said: “It’s not things that upset us, but our judgement about things.” What he m...
It’s Okay To Want, But Not To Need
11 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This was a big argument amongst the early Stoics: What was necessary for the good life? What was actually important to the wise man? They came up with...
A Test of Your Worth
10 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s a question to ask yourself about your work and your life: Do you create value for society or do you extract it? Are you a giver or a taker? D...
Treat People As You Would Be Treated
09 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It must be said that the Stoics were cowardly when it came to slavery. Marcus Aurelius, who believed that we were all part of a common whole, that we ...
We Admire The Struggle
06 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It was not lost even on the Stoics that some parts of this philosophy come more naturally to some people than others. Some folks just seem chill by de...
If You Need A Friend…
05 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In her beautiful book about the Los Angeles Public Library fire, Susan Orlean captures the magic of what libraries can offer. She describes walking th...
Fulfilling Your Destiny Will Not Be Easy
04 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It’s pretty incredible to think that Hadrian was able to see the potential in Marcus Aurelius. Hadrian somehow, even though Marcus was just a boy, c...
The Most Powerful (and Underrated) Force in The World
03 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Marcus Aurelius, on nearly a dozen occasions in Meditations, speaks of reaching or achieving “stillness.” Most beautifully, he writes of trying to...
What is Required of You
02 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Marcus Aurelius was an incredibly lucky man. He was born a Roman and he was born a man in a time where to be anything other than a man or a Roman citi...
Heaven Beside You…Hell Within
30 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It’s late summer now and you might be thinking it’s time to squeeze in a last minute vacation. Or maybe you’ve been looking forward to a long-pl...
Where is The Courage?
29 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
These are times of increasing political extremism. They are also times of corruption and rising inequality. Enormous, alarming trends are sweeping thr...
It’s Easy To be Sad
28 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In his new book, Comedy Sex God (as well as on his wonderful podcast and on his HBO show) the comedian Pete Holmes talks about the aftermath of the di...
Forgiveness Isn’t Easy, But It’s Essential
27 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The great C.S Lewis observed that we all find forgiveness to be a lovely idea...right up until we have someone to forgive. It’s true. Forgiveness is...
Don’t Forget To Go Home
26 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The busier we get, the more we work, even the more that we learn and read, the further we tend to drift from our center. We get in a rhythm. We’re m...
It’s About What You Do (And Don’t Do)
23 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
“If it is not right, do not do it,” Marcus Aurelius wrote, “if it is not true, do not say it.” But it’s worth pointing out that as a philoso...
Look With Both Eyes
22 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
One way to look at an iconic or important landmark like the White House is with reverence. This is the seat of a global power. This is where Kennedy s...
But What If We’re Wrong?
21 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In several of Seneca’s letters he speaks about the power of bloodletting as a medical practice. In one, he actually remarks—with some superiority—...
What Kind of Ambition To Have
20 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There are different kinds of ambition. There was, on one end of the spectrum, the ambition of someone like Abraham Lincoln. This was the ambition that...
Be Aware, But Not Troubled
19 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There is a balance to Stoicism between awareness and anxiety. The Stoics want you to be prepared for an uncertain—and oftentimes dangerous—future,...
This Is The Secret To Wealth
16 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is wealth? It’s having plenty, right? The variables in the equation are pretty simple. What you have, what you’ve got coming in, and what’s...
Be Obsessed With Living
15 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There is a morbid theme running through the music of Johnny Cash. His deep, haunting voice is rarely far from a lyric about death or murder or loss or...
If You Were Tried, Would You Be Convicted?
14 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
One of the undeniable realities of the history of religion is persecution. The Christians have been persecuted. So have the Jews, the Muslims, the Hin...
What Will You Do Next?
13 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Stoics believed that stressful and dangerous situations unfold like this: Something happens—we wake up to reports that the stock market has tak...
You Don't Need Credit
12 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps you remember reading The Odyssey in high school or college (or possibly you picked up Emily Wilson’s fabulous new translation). Even if you ...
We All Must Go Into The Wilderness
09 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Seneca was exiled once in AD 41 and then again from Nero’s service at the end of his career. Epictetus was exiled in Nicopolis, Greece by the Empero...
Be A Generalist
08 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If you look at any of the great Stoics, you’ll notice that philosophy was just one of their many diverse interests. Seneca was a philosopher and a p...
How Not To Be Angry
07 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
One gets the sense that Seneca, like many smart and active people, was often frustrated by other people. It is inevitable that someone like him—some...
What Do You Gain By Worrying?
05 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When did Jesus deliver his famous Sermon on the Mount? We don’t know. But we know that Seneca and Jesus were born at roughly the same time and were ...
Winning The Ultimate Victory
02 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There is a tradition in Stoicism that few notice, but is possibly one of the most inspiring and chilling parts of the entire philosophy. There’s no ...
Try The Opposite Remedy
01 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In his essay Of Clemency, Seneca tells a story of a time Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire, had his temper severely tested. Augustus rec...
Be Careful About Who You Want To Impress
31 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When you listen to people talk about choices they regret, whether it was working for the guy who put on Fyre Fest or joining a gang or a cult, it’s ...
We’re Lucky Not To Get What We Want
30 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There’s an old joke: When the Gods wish to punish us, they give us everything we’ve ever wanted. Look at most people who win the lottery. Look at ...
What To Take From All This
29 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Very few people, if they’re being honest, would want their kids to grow up to be like Donald Trump. And that includes the folks who had perfectly go...
Spare Time Is Not Enough Pt II
26 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The great Athenian statesman Pericles once explained to his people that being a great naval power was not some hobby. It was the key to their survival...
Good or Evil...The Choice Is Yours
25 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck thought the tug between good and evil was a necessary contradiction of human nature. There is no better ...
There’s No Excuse For Being Surprised
24 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Fabius was one of Ancient Rome’s great generals, though he was not the bold, reckless type that usually gets all the attention in history books. No,...