BONUS: Clock’s Ticking—You Listening?

In matters of law, Cato was a stickler. In matters of principle, Cato was uncompromising. His opponents found him exhausting. Even some of his friends thought he was impossible.Yet as we wrote about recently, people who bumped into him in the street were always surprised. By how nice he was. By how low key he was. There was the man who struck Cato in the baths, not aware of whom he was fighting with, only to be unceremoniously forgiven by the great Roman he had assaulted. There were the local dignitaries who didn’t notice the powerful politician in their midst, and were gently reminded that future visitors might not be as easy-going as Cato. Again, few would have described the meticulous Cato as low maintenance, but in an important way–which is to say, ironically in unimportant things–he was. We should follow this example.---And in today's Ask Daily Stoic, Ryan addresses questions after a talk he gave to employees at the new Austin Public Library about how he curates his bookstore, the importance of having a physical space for books, the huge benefits that reading out loud provides for your brain, and more.You can watch the full speech and Q&A on the Daily Stoic YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUY7igobTqY ✉️ 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.

24 Aug 202316min

Ryan speaks with Christina Pazsitzky in the first of a two-part interview about her new Netflix comedy special Mom Genes, why she believes that comedians should go to college to study philosophy, how she balances her work and home life, why ego is a tool for survival in a comedy career, what the Stoics would have to say about cancel culture, and more.Christina Pazsitzky is a stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, host and TV personality. Since starting her comedy career in 1997, Christina has been known for her intelligent, thought-provoking, and hilarious takes on the realities of women’s issues, motherhood, and popular culture. In addition to touring the world, she has released four comedy specials, two of which have been featured on Netflix: Mother Inferior (2017), and Mom Genes (2023). Christina and her husband and fellow comedian Tom Segura host the hugely successful podcast "Your Mom’s House" together, and she also hosts her own podcast, the popular “Where My Moms At?” where she discusses motherhood. You can find more about Christina’s work, tour dates, and booking information at christinaponline.com and on Instagram @thechristinap, Twitter @christinap, and on her YouTube channel christinacomedy.✉️ 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.

23 Aug 20231h 7min

Seneca, Cato, and Marcus Aurelius operated in the real world. They navigated within and around the halls of power. They had people working above and below them, and they needed to figure out how to motivate, influence, understand, and accommodate those people. And while virtue kept them from being too Machavailian, they had to figure out how to affect change and get things done inside a world that wasn’t so virtuous.So it’s an interesting question: What is the most Stoic law of power?You can catch the entire conversation with Ryan and Robert in the video below. And don’t miss out on their two live events next month: Strategy And Philosophy For Turbulent Times.Listen to the two best-selling authors discuss big ideas touching on a wide-range of topics–from apprenticeships to cutting-edge technologies, to productivity habits, to happiness—and take your questions from the stage.Grab your tickets to the Los Angeles event on September 19 here, and the Seattle event on September 21 here.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwURNy2Lfe8&ab_channel=DailyStoic✉️ 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.

23 Aug 20233min

You may well have said it yesterday, or overheard someone else saying it, “Oh, I’ll do it in the morning…I’ll do it after I wake up…I’ll get to it later…I just need to do this other thing first.”It’s one of the oldest, most insidious lies in the world. Yet it’s so common that we don’t even notice it. We don’t even realize that it is a vicious untruth that deprives us and the world of potential, of awareness, of understanding.---And in today's Daily Stoic video excerpt, Ryan shares what habits did the Stoics say we ought to cease, what vices should we avoid?.✉️ 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.

22 Aug 20238min

An explorer at Jamestown in the 17th century.A London gentleman during the Stuart Period.An unidentified person with the initials T.S. who lived during the Renaissance.Another with the initials E.R. who lived sometime during the 16th century.We hardly know anything about them. They almost certainly didn’t know each other. But they have two things in common. First, they are dead. Second, while they were alive, they each reminded themselves every day that they would one day be dead. How do we know? Because they each carried a reminder of it on them at all times via their signet ring.---And in today's reading from The Daily Stoic Journal, Ryan discusses why the Stoics believed that to give in to hope of a better outcome - an outcome that is out of your control - is the same as giving into fear.💍 Signet rings are still being used today to help remind the wearer of an important symbol or message. Which is why we created the Memento Mori Premium Signet Ring. Grab yours at dailystoic.com/MMring. ✉️ 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.

21 Aug 202310min

Known as the “Second Founder of Stoicism,” Chrysippus was a philosophical giant as revered as he was controversial. 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, and to explain why he died laughing.✉️ 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.

20 Aug 202324min

Ryan speaks with Paul Kix about his new book You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live: Ten Weeks in Birmingham That Changed America, how Ryan helped him shape his writing career after being laid off by ESPN, the painful realities of the Jim Crow south and 1963 Birmingham, and more.Paul Kix is an author, journalist, and podcaster whose wide-ranging work examines sports, politics, social movements, and world history. He is a former senior editor at ESPN Magazine, and has written for numerous publications from the Boston Globe to the Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker. His highly acclaimed writings include his book The Saboteur: True Adventures of the Gentleman Commando Who Took on the Nazis, and his articles The Entrepreneur Who Is Dying to Succeed, Prepare for Death, and The Accidental Get Away Driver. You can find his work and writing course at paulkix.com, and on Instagram @paulkix and Twitter @paulkix.✉️ 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.

19 Aug 20231h 31min

In August of 1967, Lieutenant Dave Carey was shot out of his A-4 Skyhawk over Vietnam. Soon enough, he found himself a prisoner in Hanoi, where he would subsequently be beaten, tortured and placed into solitary confinement. For six years, he languished there, kept going only by the comrades around him and an occasional pick me up from the Stoics.As Carey explained on an incredible episode of the Daily Stoic podcast, fellow prisoners would tap, “Stockdale wants you to remember what Epictetus said,” through from an adjoining cell. Carey came to understand this to mean focus on what you control, focus on the choices you can make.---And with today's Daily Stoic excerpt reading, Ryan explains why Marcus and the Stoics said time and time again that the ultimate key to success is being yourself no matter what.✉️ 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.

18 Aug 20237min