This Is What Comes Next

That obnoxious person. That contractor who ripped you off. That slow driver. That overly enthusiastic exercise instructor. That brusk receptionist. That clingy parent. That friend holding a grudge. That loud neighbor.They’re not exactly your favorite. They don’t exactly make your life easier. But you know what you need to remember? You need to remember that they are just doing their jobs. “Is a world without shameless people possible?” Marcus Aurelius asks in Meditations. No, it isn’t, he reminds himself. So why am I surprised to find one he says? Somebody has to be that person and this person is it.In her wonderful book on parenting, Good Inside, Dr. Becky Kennedy discusses what to do when a young child is having a full-on meltdown, what to do when they’re hitting a sibling because they’re upset or frustrated. Of course, your job is to keep them safe, to intervene but as that’s happening, she says we ought to say to ourself, “My child is doing their job of expressing feelings. We are both doing what we need to do. I can handle this.”That’s what Marcus Aurelius tried to do when he encountered jerks and liars and cheats. That’s what you have to do with the people you encounter in your life. Your kids are kids—it’s their job to freak out sometimes, it’s their job to be kids. At least they’re having fun with it. That overbearing police officer? Someone had to be a bad cop…and they’re it. Sucks for everyone, but definitely for them. Somebody has to be the slow driver, the neighbor that gets on everyone’s nerves, the whatever. This is their assignment.But our assignment? Like the parent lovingly calming down that angry toddler, our job is to be patient, decent, calm, and understanding. It’s a hard job but it’s a good one. It’s our job.--And in today's Daily Stoic Journal excerpt, Ryan discusses the importance of questioning our own perspective while trying to understand and empathize with others'.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

11 Maalis 20249min

Today is that day many dread—the day the clocks spring forward. Yes, in the middle of the night, you lost an hour that you’ll never get back. An hour of sleep, an hour of leisure, an hour to spend with your kids. You mourn that loss of time, wondering all the ways you could’ve spent it otherwise.He is the pupil and successor of Dioghenes ho Babylonios (Diogenes of Babylon or of Seleucia) as head of the Stoic school. Antipater is also the teacher of Panaitios ho Rodos (Panaetius of Rhodes). In the field of ethics, Antipater seems to take a higher moral ground than that of his teacher Dioghenes.Today, Ryan reads from his book Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius to share the winding and often confounding story of one of the most important figures of Stoicism.To pre-order Ryan's latest book, Right Thing Right Now, click here.Don’t fall into this trap and join us TODAY for the Spring Forward challenge. It starts March 19 and is set up to push you to examine your habits, your choices, and your relationships to move you closer to living your best life here and now.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

10 Maalis 202420min

Ryan speaks with author Alexandra Hudson about how to navigate pragmatic situations through civility, unbundling the mental framework of people, her new book The Soul of Civility, and more. Alexandra is a writer, speaker, and the founder of Civic Renaissance, a publication and intellectual community dedicated to beauty, goodness and truth. She was named the 2020 Novak Journalism Fellow, and contributes to Fox News, CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, TIME Magazine, POLITICO Magazine, and Newsweek. She earned a master's degree in public policy at the London School of Economics as a Rotary Scholar, and is an adjunct professor at the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy. She is also the creator of a series for The Teaching Company called Storytelling and The Human Condition, now available for streaming. She lives in Indianapolis, IN with her husband and children.Get a signed copy of The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves from The Painted Porch.IG: @alexandrahudsonX: @lexiohudsonStay engaged with Alexandra's work by joining her newsletter and community, Civic Renaissance.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

9 Maalis 20241h 19min

For as long as there have been groups of people, people have wanted to be in charge of those people. For as long as there have been armies, people have tried to use them to conquer, to rule, to accumulate empires.Was it worth it? Did they enjoy it? Did it mean anything? Few, if any of them, ever bothered to honestly answer that question. This is what makes Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations such a remarkable and unprecedented text. Here you have the most powerful man in the world, head of the most powerful army on earth, a victorious general whose triumphs warranted an 130-foot tall marble column lauding his achievements. And what did he say that all this amounted to?Not much! Meditations is Marcus Aurelius’ refutation of the idea that you should want to rule the world. It strips it of its glamor and delusions (literally at one point, Marcus breaks down the feast he was given, removing, he said, “the legends that encrust it”). Being famous is empty, he tells us. Being remembered is worthless. Power is corrupting and an immense burden.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

8 Maalis 202410min

Seneca reminded himself that death is not this thing in the future, but something that is happening now. It is always happening. It is the ticking hand of the clock. It is the spring flowers. It is the fall harvest. It is the summer rains. It is the first snow of the year.This idea is a reminder that each moment is precious. It tells us to wake up and really live, not just watch time go by. To embrace the longer days and make the most of it. If that sounds like something you’re up for, why don’t you join is in what we’re calling the Daily Stoic Spring Forward Challenge?The Daily Stoic Spring Forward Challenge is set up to push you to examine those parts of your life, to examine your choices, to examine your relationships and move you closer to living your best life.Participants will receive:✓ 10 Custom Challenges Delivered Daily (Over 15,000 words of all-new original content)✓ One live Q&A session✓ Printable 10-Day Calendar With custom daily illustrations to track progress✓ Access to a Private Community Platform-On this episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan delivered an impactful talk on "Ego is the Enemy" to a captivated audience of 600 real estate agents, aged between 30 and 60 years old, at Omni Barton Creek. This talk focuses on finding one's process and the importance of mentors. Holiday inspired the attendees to navigate their professional journeys with humility and self-awareness. The talk delved into Holiday's own experiences, emphasizing the value of continuous learning and the influence of some of his favorite books. Additionally, Holiday shared insights on overcoming challenges such as writer's block and providing practical strategies to maintain creativity and productivity.💪 Challenge yourself to spring forward to be the person you know you can be. Head over to https://dailystoic.com/spring and sign up NOW!✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

7 Maalis 202419min

Ryan Holiday is joined by Lt Colonel Mike Erwin. Together they discuss the central practice of journaling and reflection, how wisdom and discipline is a form of freedom, and although emotions make us human, it is critical for us to control them. They also discuss his two books Lead Yourself: Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude and Leadership is a Relationship: How to Put People First in the Digital World.Lt Colonel Mike Erwin is a West Point graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. He was commissioned as an Intelligence Officer and served three tours. Following his third deployment, Mike attended the University of Michigan, where he studied positive psychology and leadership.Mike is the founder of a non-profit organization named Team Red, White & Blue (Team RWB). Team RWB’s mission is to enrich the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their communities through physical and social activity. He is also a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, assigned to the US Military Academy at West Point, where he serves as an Assistant Professor in Leadership & Psychology.Grab a signed copy of Leadership is a Relationship: How to Put People First in the Digital World from The Painted Porch!X and IG: @ErwinRWB✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

6 Maalis 20241h 15min

Seneca was exiled to what he felt was a rock in the middle of the ocean. He hated it. He thought it was torture. And of course, it was unfair that he was sent there—on trumped up charges no less—and it would have been lonely and sad to be so far from his family.Yet it is a little funny that the place he was sent to, Corsica, is a beautiful vacation spot for people all over the world today.Seneca couldn’t see that, just as perhaps you can’t see what’s just underneath the rough exterior of the situation you’re in. We’ve talked before about the Maggie Smith poem Good Bones. It takes a certain eye to be able spot what others are too depressed or too cynical or too devastated to see.Think of the settlers and developers who were able to see what later became bustling cities in the uncultivated land. Think of the people who were able to see the potential for renewal and growth in a run down neighborhood. Think of the leaders who saw a future in an organization or franchise that everyone else gave up on.We can forgive Seneca for his moments of self-pity and doubt and hopelessness. It would happen to the best of us. We can also learn from what he missed by focusing on that. We can try to see the good bones, the better future, the potential in the situation we’re in. We can strive to make that come true.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

6 Maalis 20241min

Spring is the most beautiful of the seasons. Suddenly, after a dreary winter, the colors come back. The birds are out. The days last longer. The breeze is light and the air is cool.But as Phillip Larkin’s bittersweet poem reminds us, beneath this turning of the seasons is a kind of darkness.The trees are coming into leafLike something almost being said;The recent buds relax and spread,Their greenness is a kind of griefThe inherent grief is the passage of time. Each season brings new life, yes, but also marks the cessation of life. It’s a painful truth, the poem points out, written in the rings of the tree. Winter is dead and over…and all of us a little more so too.This notion serves as a gentle nudge, reminding us of the preciousness of every moment. It urges us not merely to exist but to truly live, to seize each season and extract its full potential. It’s saying don’t let a new season come and go without springing forward with it—not just meeting it, but making something of it. If you’re up for that, why don’t you spring forward with us and the Daily Stoic Spring Forward Challenge?Interested in Daily Stoic Life? Click here.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

5 Maalis 202415min