The Daily Stoic - Know it Inside and Out

Episode Date: September 14, 2022

Admiral Hyman Rickover, the father of the nuclear Navy in the United States and an unsung hero in the history of the world, was once asked by a Congressman if he was prepared for the upcoming hearing in which Hyman needed to speak about a number of complex, important issues. "Yes," Rickover replied, "I shaved and put on a clean shirt."📕Pre-order Ryan Holiday's new book "Discipline Is Destiny" and get exclusive pre-order bonuses at https://dailystoic.com/preorder ✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook See 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 Stoke podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. Welcome to the Daily Stoke. For each day, we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. 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. Know it inside and out. Admiral Heimann Rickover, the father of the nuclear navy in the United States, and an unsung hero in the history of the world, was once United States, and an unsung hero in the history

of the world, was once asked by a congressman if he was prepared for the upcoming hearing in which Hyman needed to speak about a number of complex important issues. Yes, Rick overreplied. I shaved and put on a clean shirt. Rick over didn't need to prepare because he was prepared. He wasn't some figurehead who had to be briefed before answering questions. He knew his science and his department inside out. Because he lived and breathed his work, famously interviewing something like 14,000 college

grads himself for various positions over the years. He also personally tested every nuclear submarine during its initial sea trial after construction. His joke about preparing by getting dressed calls to mind an analogy from Marcus Aurelius who said that a true philosopher is a fighter, not a fencer. A fencer has to put on armor and pick up a weapon. A fighter just has to close their fists.

That should be our model too. We shouldn't be cramming the night before a test or frantically looking for advice once the crisis has arrived. We need to be prepared. We need to be so on top of our work and the knowledge required that everything we need is right there. Everything already in our hands and in our heads. If you are rushing, you are already too late. If you are looking

for your weapons, you are already beaten. You gotta know your stuff inside and out. You have to live it and breathe it. You gotta be ready. If you like the podcast that we do here and you want to get it via email every morning, you can sign up 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 to the Daily Stoic early and add free on Amazon music, download the Amazon music app today, or you can listen early and add free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts.