The Daily Stoic
Episodes
Wisdom is the Most Important Virtue
06 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Courage. Temperance. Justice. These are the critical virtues of life. But what situations call for courage? What is the right amount? What is the righ...
Justice: The Most Important Virtue
05 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Being brave. Finding the right balance. These are core Stoic virtues, but in their seriousness, they pale in comparison to what the Stoics worshipped ...
Temperance is the Most Important Virtue
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Yesterday we discussed the Four Virtues, and talked about the primacy of courage. Of course, life is not so simple as to say that courage is all the c...
Courage is the Most Important Virtue
03 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Stoics believed that a life well lived was one which always countered adversity with virtue. And they believed in four aspects of virtue: courage,...
You Can Make This A Game...and Win
02 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Stoics said it over and over: the most important thing to remember about pain and suffering is that it is inevitable. It can’t be avoided, so do...
Daily Stoic Sundays: How to Have Your Best Week Yet
01 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan uses eight Stoic lessons to teach us how to have the best week ever.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice...
Ask Daily Stoic: Guest Starring Steven Pressfield
29 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week's extra-long Saturday episode of Ask Daily Stoic features Ryan talking about, and speaking with, author Steven Pressfield, writer of cl...
You Must Wash Away This Dust
28 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Life is a dirty, dusty affair. It was that way in Rome and it’s that way today. The puddle in the street splashes us. Someone else’s nasty mood su...
You Are A God
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Stoic writings alternate between reminding us of our humility and our power. For humility, we have the concept of amor fati, for example—we shou...
Repeat These Three Words To Yourself Constantly
26 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“Facts are stubborn things,” John Adams once said, “and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictums of our passions, they canno...
You Must Read… and Re-Read
25 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s no secret that John Adams is one of history’s brilliant minds. He was widely respected as a lawyer, a politician, a president, and as a husba...
Don’t Be Zero-Sum
24 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steven Pressfield, whose historically-driven novels about ancient Greece have sold millions of copies, wrote a recent post that posits that there are ...
Ask Daily Stoic: How Do You Recognize What's in Your Control?
22 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan talks about speaking to service members at Aviano Air Base in Italy. Ryan reads a passage from Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit. You can als...
Do What’s Right, Not What’s Easy
21 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It was a somber scene as the pallbearers marched down Pine Street carrying the coffin of General William Tecumseh Sherman on this day 129 years ago. I...
Who Can You Adopt?
20 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most remarkable traditions of ancient Rome—and one for which we have no real modern analog—was the tradition of wealthy, successful fam...
Why Be Angry About Something That’s Already Gone?
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s another mess. It’s not your fault, but you’re dealing with it. It’s another rude person— representing a company you are paying money to...
How To Be Proven Wrong
18 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine writing a book that sells millions of copies over the course of nearly a decade, and then, out of nowhere, another author comes along and chal...
Don’t Take the Money. Don’t Take the Money.
17 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Cicero and Cato both refused to take bribes, despite how widespread the practice was for politicians at the time. Cato refused to be enriched by his o...
Ask Daily Stoic: Who Are Some Famous Figure Influenced By Stoicism?
15 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan talks about putting the finishing touches on his upcoming book, Lives of the Stoics. Featuring today's entry from The Daily Stoic. You can ...
This Is a Command, Not a Mere Reminder
14 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Like most solo pursuits, the artist’s life is one that ceaselessly tests one's mental fortitude. Steven Pressfield likens it to dragon slaying....
You Must Think For Yourself
13 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s never been easier to get information than it is today. You have access to Wikipedia, to podcasts, to social media, and a near infinite library ...
Can You Be Still?
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There is probably no piece of literature that the Stoics were more familiar with than the Odyssey. Seneca quotes it. Marcus Aurelius quotes it. Pretty...
Here’s How To Become an Informed Citizen
11 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When people hear Epictetus quoted to justify not watching the news—“If you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous ...
It Takes What It Takes
10 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Watching a master do their work is always impressive. Whether it’s an orator working a crowd or an athlete contorting their body with ease and fines...
Ask Daily Stoic: Can You Be Informed Without Cable News?
08 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan talks about his upcoming talk in Italy and about James Stockdale, and answers questions from fans. Featuring today's entry from The Daily St...
You Still Have Time. You Have So Much Time.
07 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Seneca’s life is worth looking at for anyone who thinks they missed their shot, who thinks it might be “too late” for them. Because in his early...
You Must Look Beneath The Surface
06 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus, like all Romans, seemed to have loved the theatre. Seneca, in particular, had a great fascination for what “...
If Everyone Is Woke, Then No One is Awake
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s unquestionably a good thing that the world is waking up to the idea of social justice. For too long, marginalized groups have been precisely th...
It’s Better To Share
04 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For Julius Caesar’s grip on power to be complete, he had to eliminate his rivals. So too did Octavius, Caesar’s nephew who succeeded him. Claudius...
You Must Win The Morning!
03 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most relatable moments in Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations is the argument Marcus Aurelius has with himself in the opening of book 5. It’s...
Ask Daily Stoic: How Do I Deal With Long Term Problems?
01 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
**Now featuring twice as much content per episode**In each of the Ask Daily Stoic Q&A episodes, Ryan will answer questions from fans about Stoicis...
Shine On, You Crazy Diamond
31 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There has always been an odd streak in the Stoics. Zeno used to practice begging people for money, even though he had plenty. Cleanthes worked as a ma...
If You Don’t Read, You’re Functionally Illiterate
30 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
General James Mattis is part of a long line of tradition of Stoic warriors. Just as Frederick the Great carried the Stoics in his saddlebags as he led...
How You Look At Things Matters
29 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve ever been stuck in Los Angeles traffic at night, you know it’s miserable. But if you’ve ever seen a helicopter shot of Los Angeles at ...
You Have To Be Kind To Yourself
28 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There’s no question that much of what we talk about in this philosophy is hard. Specifically, it’s hard on the person practicing it. Stoicism asks...
Stop Freaking Out. None of This Is New.
27 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You think this hasn’t happened before? Whatever it is, whatever you’re freaking out about?A crisis at the borders. Agitators riling up the youth. ...
Ask Daily Stoic: How can I get my partner interested in Stoicism?
25 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In each of the Ask Daily Stoic Q&A episodes, Ryan will answer questions from fans about Stoicism. You can also find these videos on the Daily Stoi...
You Must Think The Thing You Cannot Think
24 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s fitting that one of the most important things you can do as a parent requires you to think about something that’s very nearly impossible for ...
You Have To Learn Something From Everyone
23 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Stoics were learners. It’s hard to escape that conclusion when you read their writings. Marcus Aurelius begins Meditations by cataloging the les...
A Good Morning Creates A Good Life
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Stoics believed in the power of ritual, particularly at the beginning and the end of the day. For them, routines and rituals were not productivity...
Do It Because It’s Right. Not So They’ll Like You
21 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve talked a lot recently about the importance of not making yourself a slave to outside approval. Because it’s not something you control. Becau...
Everything is Figureoutable
20 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We all have problems. We have an employee we can’t figure out how to motivate. We have a kid with behavioral issues. We have a job we want to leave,...
Ask Daily Stoic: The Stoic Response to Getting Your House Burgled, and more
18 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In each of the Ask Daily Stoic Q&A episodes, Ryan will answer questions from fans about Stoicism. You can also find these videos on the Daily Stoi...
When It Comes To Family, We Have To Be Kind
17 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Marcus Aurelius’s step brother Lucius Verus was hardly a great man. Unlike Marcus, he was not as driven or as a smart. He was not always so diligent...
All We Can Do Is Propose
16 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There is a great expression: Man proposes, God disposes. You don’t have to be religious to understand or agree with it. It just means: All we can do...
You Win Some, You Lose Some
15 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Politics, like all contests, involves winners and losers. Cato lost elections, such as his first run for praetorship in 55 BCE and his run for consul ...
We Are All Equal At The End
14 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Alexander the Great and his mule driver both died and the same thing happened to both." It is one of Marcus Aurelius’s most withering lin...
The Kind of Opportunity You Should Always Say Yes To
13 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Marcus Aurelius and Seneca both made no secret of their objection to escapism. They both spoke negatively of people who frittered their existence away...
Ask Daily Stoic: January 11, 2020
11 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In each of the Ask Daily Stoic Q&A episodes, Ryan will answer questions from fans about Stoicism. You can also find these videos on the Daily Stoi...
You Don’t Get To Not Care
10 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There are a lot of tensions in Stoicism, as we have talked about before. How do you balance acquiescing to fate and embracing your own agency? How do ...
Here’s an Important Power You Have
09 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The ask is just an ask, you know.Whether they’re asking you to pass the salt or asking you for a hundred thousand dollar loan, whether they’re ask...
Where Are They Now?
08 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a staple of entertainment shows and those clickbait-y links at the bottom of the page on news websites: Where are they now? What happened to th...
Try This Secret Roman Party Trick
07 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Greeks and the Romans were known for their parties. They threw huge ones. Seneca famously owned—not rented—three hundred ivory tables for ente...
All You Control is How You Play
06 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It would be wonderful if teams didn’t cheat and refs always got the calls right. It’d be wonderful if people in the media knew what they were talk...
Ask Daily Stoic: January 4, 2020
04 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In each of the Ask Daily Stoic Q&A episodes, Ryan will answer questions from fans about Stoicism. You can also find these videos on the Daily Stoi...
Pain Is Self Chosen
03 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“My pain is self-chosen,” Layne Staley sings on the melancholy Mad Season hit, River of Deceit. “At least I believe it to be.” That belief, th...
You Become What You Practice
02 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Stoics were all about routine and repetition. It wasn’t just about knowing what the right thing was, it was about doing it daily. Fueling the ha...
All We Control Is The Beginning of Things
01 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Clearly the Stoics were doers. They ran for public office. They fought in the army. They started business ventures. They created artistic works. How c...
Do Not Ignore This Warning
31 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In Greek mythology, the god Apollo curses the Trojan princess, Cassandra, with the power of accurate prophecy that will always be ignored. In Aeschylu...
You Have To Do What You Think Is Right
30 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There will come a moment in your life when you are faced with an important decision that appears to have two choices: one that feels like the status q...
Ask Daily Stoic: December 28, 2019
28 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In each of the Ask Daily Stoic Q&A episodes, Ryan will answer questions from fans about Stoicism. You can also find these videos on the Daily Stoi...
Tell Yourself: This Is All Worth It
27 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Even if you’re not a college basketball fan, you may have heard about this incredible upset in 2018, when top-ranked University of Virginia was defe...
Here is a Pleasure You Can Have Anytime
26 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Stoics did not reject worldly pleasures. They rejected the reckless ones. The dangerous, ephemeral ones. The Stoics were not afraid of joy. They j...
Always Focus on the Response
25 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It was December 25th, 1776. One of the darkest times in the American Revolution. George Washington was planning to cross the Delaware, a desperate mov...
This is a Day About Love
24 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Here we are on Christmas Eve once again. The last couple of years, we took time during this holiday to look at the beautiful symmetry between two of t...
You Must Commit to This Task This Next Year
23 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As a new year is about to begin, many of us are thinking about how we’d like to get healthier, wealthier, and wiser over the next twelve months. Of ...
Ask Daily Stoic: Dec 21, 2019
21 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In each of the Ask Daily Stoic Q&A episodes, Ryan will answer questions from fans about Stoicism. You can also find these videos on the Daily Stoi...
Remember: You Can Lead A Horse To Water, But You Can’t Make It Drink
20 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There is a fascinating statue of Seneca and Nero done by the Spanish sculptor Eduardo Barrón in 1904. Even though it depicts a scene centuries after ...
Just Shrug It Off Pt 2
19 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Epictetus tells us the story of a Stoic philosopher named Agrippinus, who, during Nero’s reign, was delivered some awful news one morning: He was ex...
You Must Train The Coward Inside You
18 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There's a long-standing connection between philosophy and soldiering. Marcus Aurelius, Cato, Socrates, and many other philosophers were all soldi...
Blame Yourself—Or No One
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The causes of things are complicated, and rarely do they go how we’d like them to go. So it’s easy to point the finger—at other people, at unfai...
A New Year is a New Opportunity
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We are what our choices make us. Do we walk the fifteen minutes to work, or do we take an Uber? Hit the snooze button, or get up early? Do we have the...
Ask Daily Stoic
14 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The first Saturday Q&A episode. In each of these episodes, Ryan will answer questions from fans about Stoicism. You can also find these videos on ...
Why You Should Help Others
13 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In his fascinating biography, The House of Percy, Bertram Wyatt-Brown describes a beautiful scene involving William Alexander Percy, the son of a sena...
How to Raise Your Kids Like Seneca Did
12 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Although we know nearly nothing about Seneca’s family life or how his children turned out, we know at least that he gave good advice. We know that a...
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...