The Daily Stoic

Latest Episodes:

You Must Play It Like A Game | Protect Your Own Good Jul 03, 2023

Show notes

Life may have big challenges in store for us. What’s more certain, as we talked about recently, is the ‘petty hazards of the day.’ We may find ourselves thrust in some crisis–a big political moment or some emergency that unfolds in front of us on the street. We will definitely experience traffic and obnoxious people and temptation and burnout.

It’s important we understand that whether the moment is big or small, the Stoic is supposed to respond the same way. That is to say: Calmly. Courageously. With the common good in mind.

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And in today's Daily Stoic Journal excerpt, Ryan reflects what the Stoics teach about the innate goodness that all human beings are born with, and what we can do on a daily basis to better align ourselves with that goodness.

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Epictetus - Discourses Pt. 1 Jul 02, 2023

Show notes

In today’s audiobook reading, Ryan presents an excerpt from one of the seminal texts of Stoicism, the Discourses of Epictetus, read by Michael Reid. As a series of lectures given by Epictetus that were written down by his pupil Arrian in 108 A.D., these discourses provide practical advice to think on and practice in order to move oneself closer toward the ultimate goal of living free and happy. This first section encompasses Epictetus’s teachings on what we should do about what is in our power and what is not.

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Garland Robinette On The Stoic Principle That Shapes His Incredible Life Jul 01, 2023

Show notes

Ryan speaks with Garland Robinette about the brain-altering effects of chasing dopamine, how he has coped with his morally injurious experience serving in Vietnam, his movie-like life and career path, why working in broadcast forced him to let go of his ego, the deep sense of peace and purpose that painting gives him, and more.

Garland Robinette is an artist and former journalist, television news anchor, radio host, entrepreneur, and janitor. Born in deep Louisiana bayou country, Garland dropped out of college and joined the Navy to serve in Vietnam. Just thirty days after returning home from an intense deployment, he found work as a janitor at the New Orleans TV station WWL-TV Channel 4, and four months later, with no experience, he was hired as the news anchor and investigative reporter. After a twenty-year stint which saw him marry his co-host, Garland left news to form his own company, which, after a highly successful run, he then quit to spend more time with his daughter. Finally, he spent ten years hosting a radio program that brought him national acclaim for his coverage on Hurricane Katrina. Now in his seventies, Garland spends his time indulging in his passion and twilight career: painting. You can follow Garland’s work on Instagram @thegarlandrobinette.

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Yes, This Is How It Is | The Obstacle Is The Way Jun 30, 2023

Show notes

Nearly every day was a terror. People died of easily curable diseases. People starved to death. People were clapped into slavery. Wars broke out–fought literally to the knife–where the losers were executed alongside civilian populations…their cities razed to the ground.

Seneca was exiled. Marcus Aurelius buried his own children. Epictetus was tortured, leaving him disabled for life. Yet somehow they wrote and spoke a philosophy that had within it, cheerfulness and love and lofty words about meaning and purpose. How did they even get out of bed in the morning, let alone smile?

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And in today's excerpt from The Daily Stoic, Ryan delves into what the Stoics really mean by "The Obstacle Is The Way."

📘 Visit The Painted Porch to check out Pierre Hadot's The Inner Citadel.

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It’s Really That Simple | Ask DS Jun 29, 2023

Show notes

Sometimes we are so stuck, so in our own heads, so down on our luck that improvement–let alone a full recovery–seems impossible. Our business has been slowing down. We’re not throwing the ball like we used to. Our significant other walked out after 20 years of marriage.

What do we do? Well, first thing is we don’t despair.

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And in today's Ask Daily Stoic, Ryan answers questions about the Stoics of modern times who he admires, whether or not we should try to reconcile the flaws of the Stoics, how to exercise your Stoicism on a daily basis, and more.

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Build A Life You Aren’t Trying To Flee Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Of course, it’s lovely to take a vacation. It’s lovely to go to cool places. Even on the weekend, it’s lovely to go places and do things we can’t do during the week.

But Seneca tells us to be careful. He quotes Lucretius who said, “Thus each man flees himself,” then elaborates, “But to what end if he does not escape himself? He pursues and dogs himself as his own most tedious companion. And so we must realize that our difficulty is not the fault of the places but of ourselves.”

We all seem to be traveling from destination to destination, even when we arrive at our destination.

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Susan Sauve Meyer On Becoming A Better Person With Aristotle Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Ryan speaks with Susan Sauve Meyer about the work of making ancient philosophy accessible in today’s world, the insights that she has gained from teaching philosophy to powerful and famous people, what it was like to practice philosophy in ancient Greece and Rome, in what ways Aristotle and the Stoics would have agreed and disagreed, and more.

Susan Sauve Meyer is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. from Cornell University, and she taught at Harvard University before joining the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. Her work focuses on Greek and Roman Philosophy and the History of Moral Philosophy, and includes her books Aristotle on Moral Responsibility and Ancient Ethics. Susan teaches a popular online course in philosophy on Coursera, which gained national notoriety when it was attended and praised by pop singer Shakira.

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Can You Make It This Long? | How Stoics Find Balance In Their Life Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

We’re supposed to put up with difficult people. We’re supposed to turn the other cheek. We’re supposed to find a way to smile through a tough situation. We’re supposed to be rational in a time of craziness and confusion. We’re supposed to be still despite the chaos. We’re supposed to be grateful for all that life gives us.

Ok? But for how long? What about this exception or that one? Are we supposed to hold this stance forever? Even when it’s not working, even when no one else is doing it?

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And in today's Daily Stoic video excerpt, Ryan shares the key strategies that the Stoics used to maintain balance in their lives.

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How To Astonish and Inspire For Centuries | What's in Your Way Is The Way Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

In Walter Isaacson’s wonderful biography of Leonardo Da Vinci, he spends a lot of time dissecting and exploring the ideas in Da Vinci’s notebooks. As Isaacson observed of Da Vinci’s lifelong habit of journaling: “Five hundred years later, Leonardo’s notebooks are around to astonish and inspire us. Fifty years from now, our own notebooks, if we work up the initiative to start them, will be around to astonish and inspire our grandchildren, unlike our tweets and Facebook posts.”

Paper, Isaacson says, is one of the best technologies ever invented.

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And in today's excerpt from The Daily Stoic Journal, Ryan expounds on the seminal Stoic idea that shaped his book The Obstacle Is The Way.

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The Most Beautiful Model Of A Perfect Life Jun 25, 2023

Show notes

Marcus Aurelius’s father died when he was young. But then this young boy who was cursed by tragedy received a great gift. A gift that all children who have received it know to be one of the most incredible things in the world: a loving step-father.

Ernest Renan wrote that, more than his teachers and tutors, “Marcus had a single master whom he revered above them all, and that was Antoninus.” All his adult life, Marcus strived to be a disciple of his adoptive stepfather. While he lived, Marcus saw him, Renan said, as “the most beautiful model of a perfect life.”

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And in today’s audiobook reading, we hear in Marcus Aurelius’s own words what he learned from and thought about Antoninus, and he admired him so.

🌳 Happy Father’s Day to everyone! Just an FYI, we also send out a daily email (and daily podcast) about parenting over at DailyDad.com. We’d love to have you join us!

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