The Daily Stoic - How Much White Space Do You Have?

Episode Date: October 16, 2020

"Most of us internalize the wrong lesson. We think success = busy. We think that being busy is a sign of a good leader, an important person. Of course this is not true. A full calendar is the sign of someone who agrees to a lot of things, no more, no less."Ryan describes why we must not keep ourselves overly busy, or view a lack of free time as a virtue, on today's Daily Stoic Podcast.***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better.Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow Daily Stoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dailystoicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoic/Facebook: http://facebook.com/dailystoicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoicSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stood Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wundery's podcast business wars. And in our new season, Walmart must fight off target. The new discounter that's both savvy and fashion forward. Listen to business wars on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. music or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the Daily Stoic. For each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's

greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystowach.com. How much white space do you have? Most of us internalize the wrong lesson. We think success equals busy. We think that being busy is a sign of a good leader of an important person. Of course, this is not true. A full calendar is the sign of someone who agrees to a lot of things. No more, no less. Which is why the philosopher in us needs to always remember that the goal of life is not

to do as much as possible, but to do what matters. Marcus Aurelius struggled with this himself, just as you struggle. he had to constantly review his commitments and his impulses and ask, is this essential? Is this really what I am trading my life for? Am I afraid of death because I won't be able to do this anymore? Seneca and Marcus both talk about the need for carving out space and time in our lives for study, for reflection, for philosophy. They knew that we needed white space in our calendar. We needed stillness if we were ever going to think and be our best. Without this stillness, we become reactive. We become overwhelmed. Our compass becomes

uncalibrated. We lose track. The voice inside. Being busy is not success. In fact, it's usually the opposite. Autonomy, white space. The ability to be deliberate to choose your shots. That's success, that's power. Stillness, that's where happiness and insight and truth comes from. So make room for it, prioritize, fight for it. And look as a writer, obviously, stillness is essential to what I do. As a father, it's something I'm always looking for more of. And stillness isn't being off by yourself. It's to me, all my best, most still moments

were with my family. So the idea of that, this concept of stillness which pervades Mark's realises work was the inspiration for my book Stillness is the Key. It debuted at number one on the New York Times Bestseller List, heard from all different people around the world who have loved it. I think you would like it if you're looking for a book especially right now as a social distancing, as the world is this crazy, topsy, turbid place.

I think it's a book for you. Check it out. Stillness is the key. Anywhere books are sold. Let me know what you think. Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic early and ad free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and ad free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts.

Ah, the Bahamas. What if you could live in a penthouse above the crystal clear ocean working during the day and partying at night with your best friends and have it be 100% paid for? FTX Founder Sam Bankman Freed lived that dream life, but it was all funded with other people's money, but he allegedly stole. Many thought Sam Bankman Freed was changing the game as he graced the pages of Forbes and Vanity Fair. Some involved in crypto saw him as a breath of fresh air

from the usual Wall Street buffs with his casual dress and ability to play League of Legends during boardroom meetings. But in less than a year, his exchange would collapse. An SPF would find himself in a jail cell with tens of thousands of investors blaming him for their crypto losses. From Bloomberg and Wondering comes Spellcaster, a new six-part

docu-series about the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of FTX, and its founder, Sam Beckman-Freed. Follow Spellcaster wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, prime members, you can listen to episodes ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. today.