This Is What Comes Next

So eventually a group of corrupt Romans contrived to have Cato assigned to a posting in Cyprus, a veritable hotbed of misdeeds and sin. It was a place where politicians got rich, where they had fun, where they lived the colonial high life. “You will come back from there a far more agreeable man and more tame,” one of them predicted to Cato. They weren’t trying to bribe him, they just wanted to expose him to how things were supposed to be done. They wanted him to get a taste.This was what Marcus Aurelius was warning about in Meditations where he talked about “imperialization,” about being stained purple, about being “Caesarified.” The status quo doesn’t like people who buck it. No, the status quo contrives to apply pressure and persuasion on us, to get us to go along. It tries to change us, tries to lead us away from those pesky virtues of courage and temperance and justice and wisdom.If you want to learn more about Cato, the Stoics all other Stoics admired, the man that George Washington made his hero, check out our video: 5 Stoic Secrets from the Man of Principle (Cato the Younger). We also dedicate a whole chapter to Cato in Lives of the Stoics (signed copies 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.

13 Feb 202416min

Maybe you don’t see yourself as an artist, just like Socrates didn’t see himself as an athlete, but maybe you are. According to Mikel Jollett, the founder of the band The Airborne Toxic Event and the author of a fascinating and haunting memoir about his troubled childhood, we have to “take our pain and make it useful. That’s what it means to be an artist.” His own art came from growing up in a cult his mother had joined, then living with her series of messed up husbands, struggling with addictions, getting in trouble at school, not knowing what he ought to do with his life. But all this struggle ultimately shaped him and in turn shaped the art he would make.-P.S. Building the skill to take the challenges life throws at you and transform them into something useful takes practice. That’s why we created the Daily Stoic Challenge Deck, full of actionable daily challenges for you to push and develop yourself year round. Bundle your pack with the Challenge Deck Vol. II and save—available over at the Daily Stoic Store!If you want to do more reading on these topics, we highly recommend Dying Everyday by James Romm (and we have a podcast with him on this topic). Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe is a great modern read on one of the biggest crimes of the 20th/21st centuries. And for more on the life of Seneca and Thrasea and some Stoics who did resist Nero, check out Lives of the Stoics (signed copies here).-And today's Daily Stoic Journal reading, Ryan discusses what the Stoics teach us about keeping constant watch over the flood of perceptions that fill our minds. Ryan quotes Mark Manson's Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life reminding us to find the right things to care about.✉️ 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.

12 Feb 20248min

In today's weekend episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan reminds us How To Plan Your Day Like Marcus Aurelius by the way of voice actor Michael Reid. Two millennia ago, the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius penned his personal reflections in a journal titled "To Himself," not anticipating its widespread publication. Known as the last of the "Five Good Emperors of Rome," Marcus' enduring legacy lies in the honesty of his words. Today, amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis and rising unemployment, Marcus' timeless wisdom, documented in "Meditations," has seen a surge in popularity. This article explores Marcus Aurelius' daily habits, offering insights into how his routines can be integrated into modern life. From waking up early to embracing negative visualization, journaling, and seeking stillness, Marcus' practices provide a roadmap for cultivating a Stoic life in the face of adversity.✉️ 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 Feb 202417min

On this episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan continues his conversation with writer, academic and associate professor of journalism, Evelyn McDonnell. Together they discuss the obstacles and how to get through them, the illusion of stability, how staying calm can be contagious, and her book The World According to Joan Didion.Evelyn McDonnell, professor of journalism in the LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, has been appointed the inaugural faculty director of Media Arts & A Just Society (MAJS), effective January 2024. The acclaimed journalist, essayist, critic, feminist, native Californian, and university professor who regularly teaches Didion’s work, is attuned to interpret Didion’s vision for readers today. Inspired by Didion’s own words—from her works both published and unpublished—and informed by the people who knew Didion and those whose lives she shaped, The World According to Joan Didion is an illustrated journey through her life, tracing the path she carved from Sacramento, Portuguese Bend, Los Angeles, and Malibu to Manhattan, Miami, and Hawaii. McDonnell reveals the world as it was seen through Didion’s eyes.Signed copies of The World According to Joan Didion are available at The Painted Porch. X: @EvelynMcDonnellIG: @msLadyEvelyn✉️ 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 Feb 202457min

We talked about this recently, but ruling the world is not great. The evidence bears this out. In Lives of the Stoics, we tell the story of a haunting meeting between Posidonius and Marius, when Marius, during his seventh consulship of Rome, was on his deathbed. Marius was powerful but pathetic, his success having destroyed his soul, stripping him of happiness and the possibility of peace. Marcus Aurelius would have known this story. In Meditations he takes pains to remind himself that the cost of becoming Alexander the Great is not worth it—that few survive it.Power and wealth, they change a person. Command is lonely and isolating, disorienting and corrosive. These are not environments conducive to virtue. They are not fantasies…they are nightmares.We are lucky that destiny has not made us sovereigns, even in modern times (just ask King Charles what his childhood was like). But we are still ambitious, still have dreams of extreme wealth and power and influence. As if it actually serves the people who get it well—as if it doesn’t rip their families apart, doesn’t consume their every waking moment with dread or busyness.Marcus Aurelius would have given anything to have had a life even half as normal as yours, half as stressful, burdensome, corrupting as his. You are so lucky…and yet here you are, dreaming of things that would ruin it.-In today's Daily Stoic excerpt, Ryan reminds us that not all things are asking to be judged you, to let whatever is not in our favor become irrelevant. This kind of selective discipline is what the stoics practiced. They practiced having the ability of having absolutely no thought about it.You can grab the leatherbound edition of The Daily Stoic 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.

9 Feb 20248min

Then there is the stuff that does harm the community—a corrupt politician who tries to overthrow the rule of law, discrimination, violence, pollution. This stuff happens, it’s the definition of injustice. But again, anger is not the right response. Not because these things aren’t upsetting, but because they are bad remedies to the problem.When the community is at risk, with justice at stake, we need our wits about us. It’s here that we need to be most controlled, most in command of all our faculties. We can be angered at what is happening, but we cannot afford to respond in anger. We need to be rational, strategic, patient, courageous, creative (as well as forgiving, empathetic, and nurturing in the way that our many emails have highlighted about the brilliance of the Civil Rights activists). We need to bring our best to fight the worst.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8hmX7RPyYo]If you’re serious about being your most controlled self when the stakes are high, then check out our 11-day Taming Your Temper Course. It’s full of Stoic practices to defuse your anger in the moment and will help you find constructive outlets for your emotion—freeing you to work on fixing those problems that stoked your anger in the first place. Learn more here and conquer your anger today!✉️ 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 Feb 202410min

On this episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan talks with writer, academic and associate professor of journalism, Evelyn McDonnell. Together they discuss the resurgence of psychedelics, how will you deal with tomorrow, the job of the artist, and her book The World According to Joan Didion.Evelyn McDonnell, professor of journalism in the LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, has been appointed the inaugural faculty director of Media Arts & A Just Society (MAJS), effective January 2024. The acclaimed journalist, essayist, critic, feminist, native Californian, and university professor who regularly teaches Didion’s work, is attuned to interpret Didion’s vision for readers today. Inspired by Didion’s own words—from her works both published and unpublished—and informed by the people who knew Didion and those whose lives she shaped, The World According to Joan Didion is an illustrated journey through her life, tracing the path she carved from Sacramento, Portuguese Bend, Los Angeles, and Malibu to Manhattan, Miami, and Hawaii. McDonnell reveals the world as it was seen through Didion’s eyes.Signed copies of The World According to Joan Didion are available at The Painted Porch. ✉️ 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 Feb 20241h 3min

Nobody wants to be criticized. It doesn’t feel good when people judge what you’ve done. We want the right people to like us, we want all people to like us. We want to be accepted, appreciated, celebrated. So we try to be like other people, like the people that everyone likes.Imagine if he had tried instead to conform to their expectations, to fit more clearly in the box they wanted him to be. Imagine if he’d tried to win the mob’s favor or the respect of future generations by conquest or dazzling deed. Imagine if he had written Meditations for an audience instead of from a far more personal and vulnerable place.It doesn’t matter what you do, the criticism is always going to be there. So you might as well do what you think ought to be done. You might as well do what seems meaningful and important and fulfilling and right to you. People are going to say what they’re going to say, haters will find a way to hate. In the meantime, just be true to yourself, be true to the mission you have, fight for the respect (and praise) of yourself, not the mob, not the future.✉️ 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 Feb 20242min