The Daily Stoic - It’s a Gift (If You Make It One)

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic Podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom in everyday life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoward.com. It's a gift if you make it one.

Starting point is 00:00:38 We didn't ask for any of this. We didn't ask to be born here or there or at all. We didn't ask to be tall or short. To be born into a family of merchants or one that struggles with mental illness. We certainly didn't ask to live through these difficult times. Yet here we are. In my book, The Boy Who Would Be King, Marcus Aurelius struggles,

Starting point is 00:00:58 as he did in real life, with the sudden and immense burden of power. At first, I thought I was unlucky that this happened to me, he says, but now I see that it was a gift. His philosopher teacher Rousticus Corrects him. The job of Emperor was a gift, he says, because you made it one. It may seem unlucky that we are here, wherever that is, but we can make it into a gift. We can decide to rise to the challenge. We can choose not to be implicated in the ugliness. We can commit to doing our best to responding to adversity with virtue. That's what Marcus really is. That's what pretty much everyone you've ever admired has done. They took circumstances. They didn't ask for and turned

Starting point is 00:01:40 them into a gift because what was the alternative? Where would we be if they hadn't? Well, we are here. Let us make it into something. I think of all the books I've written, the boy who would be king is the one that's the most uniquely proud of, because I wrote it in the early days of the pandemic with and for my oldest son. And it's just a story I really wanted to tell, because how did Marcus become who he did? How did he turn this burden slash overwhelming opportunity into such greatness? And I tried to write a fable for all ages that would teach those lessons. And I hope you check it out.

Starting point is 00:02:15 You can go to dailystoke.com slash king. You can pick it up on Amazon or you can buy it from us direct. I'll even sign and personalize a copy to your kids if you want. So check it out. The boy who would be king at dailystoke.com slash king. I hope you like it. Thanks so much for listening to the Daily Stoke Podcast. If you don't know this, you can get these delivered to you via email every day.

Starting point is 00:02:37 Check it out at dailystoke.com slash email. 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. Raising kids can be one of the greatest rewards of a parent's life. But come on, someday, parenting is unbearable. I love my kid, but is a new parenting podcast from Wondry that shares a refreshingly honest and insightful take on parenting. Hosted by myself, Megan Galey, Chris Garcia, and Kurt Brown-Oller, we will be your resident

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The Daily Stoic - It’s a Gift (If You Make It One)

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