The Daily Stoic - If You Want To Be Great, This Is All You Have To Do | Can Ryan Pass This Stoic Quiz?

Episode Date: July 9, 2026

We haven't been who we want to be. The routine slipped, the momentum disappeared, and before long, we weren't just off track, we'd given up. How do we fix it?👉 The Daily Stoic Habits for Success, Habits for Happiness course is a six-week challenge designed to change your entire relationship with habits for the better. Sign up to take the first step toward a more effective, happier life | https://challenge.dailystoic.com/habitsCheck out AJ Jacobs' podcast Hello, Puzzlers! Listen to AJ Jacobs' FULL interview on The Daily Stoic Podcast | Apple Podcasts & Spotify🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here |  https://www.dailystoiclive.com/🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemailSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to the Daily Stoic podcast, designed to help bring those four key stoic virtues, courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom into the real world. If you want to be great, do this. At the start of the year, we said we were going to go to the gym more. We're going to eat better. We're going to be more present at home. We're going to read more. We're going to waste less time.

We're going to finally get serious about the thing we keep saying matters. Then life got in the way. We missed a day here, another day. We had a bad week, which became a day. game two, the routine slipped, the momentum disappeared, and before long we weren't just off track, we'd given up. And so we haven't been who we want to be. How do we fix it? Epicetus reminds us how. He says every habit and ability is confirmed and strengthened by the relevant actions, the ability to walk by walking, the ability to run by running. If you want to be a good read or read, if you want

to be a good right or write, if you wish to do something, make it habitual. Habits are not built or rebuilt by guilt. They are not restored by grand declarations or perfect plans. They are strengthened by doing the thing. We said this last week. Excellence, good habits, virtue. It's not a state of being. It's a state of action. If you want to be it, you got to do it. And that's what the habits for success, habits for happiness challenge we have for daily Stoic was built around. It's six weeks of stoic-inspired challenges to help you build and maintain good habits, habits that make you better, habits that make you stronger, habits that make you happier. And we built this challenge several years ago.

It's been one of the most popular things we've ever done. But we updated it now for this moment. We wanted to keep the things that worked. I wanted to add some new ones. We added some great new tools to help you reflect and sort of meditate on the changes you're making. There's also a great new community space because I think habits are something best done with others.

It's really awesome. We're going to start it on July 21st. So I'd love to see it in there. We're offering a group discount if you enroll with some of your friends. And it's going to be awesome. I don't want you to think about the year is over. I don't want you to think about the person you want to become

as being something out of reach. Just get after it. And you can sign up right now for the Daily Stoic Habits for Success, Habits for Happiness Challenge, and get back on track to being that person you want to be. That's what it's all about. And you can sign up right now at dailystoic.com slash habits. Hey, it's Ryan.

I'm on the road right now doing talk all over the country. I love traveling. I love going to new places. The thing I don't like about it, though, is I don't get to sleep at my bed, which I like, not just because it's home, but because I have an eight sleep on my bed. I've had an eight sleep on my bed. I don't know, five years. I love it. My wife loves it. We love it because it cools the mattress. It heats the mattress. You can have different sides cool at different temperatures. It's even how I wake up in the morning. Instead of an annoying alarm clock or that, you know, horrible sound on your phone, it lightly buzzes you awake and then when you're up, you want to turn it off, you just tap the mattress.

There's all sorts of awesome features in my eight sleep. It was worth every penny. The point is, I love my eight sleep and the eight sleep keeps getting better. Eight sleep users report up to 32% better sleep and up to 34% better deep sleep. This is all stuff you love. You can use the code daily stoic at eightsleep.com slash daily stoic right now for up to $500 off. And this fourth of July sale ends on July 12, so don't wait. And if you have an HSA or an FSA, some 8Sleep stuff qualifies for that as well through TrueMed and qualified customers save about 30% on average. Check your eligibility at trumed.com slash 8Sleep before you buy. TrueMed is for qualified customers. HSA and FSA tax savings may vary. We're traveling internationally

this summer and some of those places like in Europe, you know, you can't just go, like you're slobby American. You got to dress up a little bit. I can't show their shoulders, can't wear shorts. So I'm going to take some of the stuff I bought from Quince, because it holds up well, looks good, it's fancy without being uncomfortable. I'm going to try to pack clothes that are light, airing uncomfortable. I can use them in multiple settings. You've certainly seen me in some of these things, if you've ever watched the Daily Sto of video or seen me talk live. I want something that looks good on stage, that I'm not going to sweat through. That's not going to get super wrinkled. has got great t-shirts, they've got great light sweaters, and everything at Quince is priced

50 to 80% less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen so you're paying for quality, not brand markup. And Quince goes way beyond clothing. They've got sofas and ceramic cookware, premium betting. It's the kind of brand you end up recommending to everyone for everything. Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to quince.com slash do it for free shipping on your order in 365-day returns, now available in Canada, too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash Stoic for free shipping and 365-day returns, quince.com slash stoic. Hello, Puzzlers, and welcome to the Puzzler podcast, the marble pediment atop your Roman puzzle temple. I am your host, AJ Jacobs, and I am joined by today's guest, the amazing Ryan

holiday, podcaster, multiple best-selling author of books such as the ego, the enemy and stillness is the key. Welcome, Ryan. Thanks for having me. I am so excited. I know you're not a huge puzzler, but I think you're going to like this. Okay. I think you're not because...

This is more of a quiz, right? It's a little more of a quiz. I think I would make a difference between puzzles and quizzes, I feel. And you prefer the quiz. Yeah, I could do a quiz. All right. Well, I did give you a hint of what it is, and it's based on your wonderful podcast, the Daily Stoic, which I am honored to have been a guest on.

And on your podcast, you talk about the whizzer. of the ancient Greek and Roman Stoic philosophers and how their wisdom can be applied today. So this puzzle is all about stoic wisdom. Okay. And the quiz is Stoic philosopher or cartoon character. Okay. So I'm going to give you two quotes, one from a Stoic philosopher,

one from a cartoon character or comic character. You have to tell me which is which, and they're going to be mixed up in the order. So are you ready? Yes. All right. Now, I think, honestly, you, I think, I think you're going to do pretty well on this, but hopefully...

It'll be embarrassing if I don't. Well, I'm hoping that maybe some of the listeners might be fooled by some. Okay. All right. Here's the first two quotes. Quote number one. My life has no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm happy. Quote number two, be content with what you are and wish not change.

I'm going to say the first is a stoic and the second maybe sounds like. like Yoda or something. Wow. Right out of the gate, I think I got you. No. Yeah. Wait, so let me. Okay.

My life has no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm happy, is from Snoopy. Oh, great. The Peanuts character. All right. I'm also a bad start already. And be content with what you are and wish not change is from Marcus Aurelius. Wow. At least according.

Now, we should, I did try to fact check this, but, you know, the listeners could come in and tell me if I got it. Well, it's all about the translations, right? So you can hear that exact quote from a different translation and recognize it immediately. Exactly, yes. And I think that that's something I've always been struck by when a lot of the things that are free on the internet from the Stoics are like the 19th century translations. And so they tend to be very kind of wonky. It's like he wasn't saying like thou shall not, you know, because that was an 18th century can, yeah, a configuration of speech. so interesting.

Well, that is interesting. All right, great. All right. How about this one? Quote number one, whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time. Okay. And quote number two is, rivers know there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.

I would say the first one is a stoic. You are correct. You are correct. It's your man, Marcus Aurelius, great Roman emperor and stoic. And the second is Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh. I feel was there was a whole book, like the Tao of Poo. There is.

There's a lot of rivers metaphors in meditations. Oh, really? Yeah. Do you remember any? He wrote a good chunk of it near the Danube River. Really? Obviously, the tiber goes through Rome. Yeah, he talks about how he talks about the river's unending flow.

He talks about how time passes bias like a river. Is he the one who said when you put your foot in the river? That's Heraclitus, but the Stoic sort of, he talks about Heracletes a lot. So it kind of alludes to that quote. Got it. Yeah. And that was, I'm butchering it, but something like you put your foot in the river, take it out, put it in again. It's a different river.

Was that the idea? Yeah, it says we never step in the same river twice. Got it. Yeah, that's a good one. I think Winnie the Pooh would agree. Okay. All right, here's another. The circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant.

It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are. That's quote number one. Quote number two is, circumstances don't make the man. They only reveal him to himself. So that's a challenging one because they're the same quote. They're the same quote. I think the second one is Epictetus. Yes, you do.

You know your Epictetus. And the first one you might not know as well, but is Muteu from Pokemon. It was apparently in the first movie said some very profound things. He was a genetic clone. Oh, my eight-year-old will like to hear that. Yeah, there you go. All right. A few more.

Very little is needed to make a happy life. It is all within yourself in your way of thinking. Catch Marcus. No. You got to let the people catch up. Sorry, yes. All right. Forget you heard that.

There is no secret ingredient. It's just you. Do you having to know which philosopher said that? No, the panda's father from Kung Fu Panda about the noodle soup. No secret ingredient. It's just you. All right. Let me see a couple more.

All right. This one I thought was, they were both profound. Quote number one, accept the things to which fate binds you. except what fate tells you, gives you. Quote number two, you can't keep blaming yourself. Just blame yourself once and move on. The first is Marks Ruelis? That's correct.

That is correct. And the second, do you know who it's a philosopher said that? No, I like it, though. Homer Simpson. There we go. I think it's so true, though. It is such a blame yourself once. The best Homer quote is where he goes, like,

this is the worst day ever. Bart says this. Homer says, worst day ever so far. I like that. That's my problem with Goathe, the greatest of all time. Yes. It should be greatest of all time so far. Yeah.

Goetus. All right. Two more. Two more. How about? All right. This one I think you will get, but I just like the contrast. A gem cannot be polished without friction nor a man perfected without trials.

That's quote number one. Quote number two is, dude, sucking is the first step to being sort of good at something. Yeah, that definitely sounds like Marcus Rios there, the second one. The first is Seneca, right? Exactly. Seneca. And the second, I don't know if your kids watch this yet, but it is Jake from Adventure Time. Oh, yes, my son loves the Adventure Time books, but I did not know that he says that.

but that makes sense. I like it. Well, yeah, Jake the Dog. That is a great show if your kids get into it. We have the books in the bookstore. I didn't even know it was based on a book. Well, they are saying very profound things all the time. Here, actually, I'll just read one other quote from Jake the Dog outside of a quiz.

Let's go in the garden. You'll find something waiting there for you where you left it. You'll see how it spaded. The underside is lighter. Everything stays right where you left. left it, but it still changes ever so slightly. Ooh, that's like the no river, you can't step in the same river twice. I thought it was stoic.

Yeah, I thought it was stuic. Yeah, I thought it was tough. I like it. All right, last one. All right, what about this? Because this relates to what we are talking about in our interview about sort of one, the personal responsibility in making change. Quote number one is, if it is not right, do not do it.

If it is not true, do not say it. You're shaking your head. I know. Okay. And then number two, one person, really can make a difference, but most of the time they probably shouldn't. The first is Marcus Aureliate.

Right. And we actually even have a coin that we sell in Daily Stoic. It says, just that you do the right thing, the rest doesn't matter. That's part of that quote, I believe. But I don't know where the second one is from. What's that from? That is from the wife of another philosopher we quoted.

That's Marge Simpson. Oh, sure. So she was saying, I guess one person really came. Yeah, the epistemic humility. Exactly. We all think we're so sure we're making a difference. Well, I think you did what you had a, yeah, I got your first one, which is very exciting. But after that, you nailed them all.

Well, the Stoics, there's a quote from Marks to Reus. You could put it in a quiz where he talks about, you know, when you mess up, you got to come back to the rhythm very quickly. You can't get rattled. So I feel like I've recovered nice. Yeah, no. You were living. That's why you did it.

so that you could live out, Marcus. Before I go, do you feel that there are any particularly stoic characters in fiction, either comics or movies or? Ooh. I mean, there's a, I think, a stoic element to Yoda. He's sort of a philosopher type. Who else would I pick? I mean, who were sort of the people who are able to control their passions?

I'm trying to think of. Well, my favorite George Washington wanted to go to your new book. is one of the painters or sculptors of Washington. He spends all this time with them, and he says, you know, this idea of, because Washington was known for his, like, self-command. Yes. And everyone thought he was this kind of superhuman guy. And what he realized watching him up close and seeing how he interacted with people

is that he was actually a very tense guy and that he said, Washington's first victory was clearly over himself. Right. So instead of seeing Washington as this guy who didn't have, passions or a temper. It was actually more impressive to see him as a very angry guy who didn't get angry. Right. And that like he had all the passions. He just had actually practiced the philosophy and had a certain amount of self-awareness that allowed him not to be at the mercy of them all the time. Right. I thought that was very impressive. That is impressed. And he was at the more. I know he he cursed a lot at his cabinet. But yeah, he was there is one quick story about how early in his politically. career. He got in an argument. Another guy insulted him and hit him with the hickory stick. Yeah. Actually hit him. And George Washington's sent word that he wanted to meet this guy the next day. The guy is freaking out. You know, George Washington. And George Washington apologized to him for any offense he might have caused and extended the hand of friendship.

So Washington's model in all things other than Cincinnati was Cato. There's a story about Cato getting job. in a bath. They're walking in the Roman baths and he gets bumped and it's sort of a fracas breaks out and the man the man punches him and later then apologizes to Cato for punching him because he doesn't want a sort of a blood feud or something and Cato's response is I don't even remember being hit like he's probably he not only doesn't respond but he's purging himself of even the incident having happened. Nice one. Yeah. Well, Cato was one of the other ones. I begin to speak only when I'm certain what I'll say is not better left on said, which is quote. And then from another philosopher, there's no sense of doing a lot of barking.

If you don't have anything to say, that's from Snoopy. All right. Well, thank you. Yeah, of course.