The Daily Stoic - This Is the Most Impressive Thing

Episode Date: September 30, 2020

"In Meditations, we have Marcus Aurelius writing notes to himself about who he wanted to be, what he expected of himself. In Book X, he writes about how he never wants to be overheard complaining—not even to himself. In Book X, he talks about greeting death cheerfully, bravely, because what choice do we have?But as we’ve said before, to talk about something is one thing, to do it is another. That’s what makes Marcus Aurelius so inspiring."Ryan describes why Marcus stands out amongst the Stoics on today's Daily Stoic Podcast.Get your copy of Ryan's new book, Lives of the Stoics (https://geni.us/LUN7). To get the special bonuses for ordering the book, visit dailystoic.com/lives.***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 @DailyStoic: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. This is the most impressive thing. In meditations, we have Marcus Aurelius writing notes to himself about who he wanted to be, what he expected of himself. In one section, he writes about how he never wants to be overheard complaining, not even to himself. In another book, he talks about greeting death cheerfully,

bravely, because what choice do we have? But as we've said before to talk about something is one thing to do it is another. That's what makes Marcus Aurelius actually so inspiring. Meditations is his private journal when he never expected anyone to read. He could have complained to himself and gotten away with it, and he had much to complain about. But the book is devoid of any of this self-pity. When Marcus felt ill and near death, it would have been perfectly reasonable for him to be scared, to be sad, to be bitter.

But we know from the historical record that he was brave. He cheered up his weeping friends. He thought only of preparing the empire for transition. He went peacefully to the other side. Yesterday we talked about how Seneca wrote beautifully about stoicism, but failed sometimes to live up to it. What makes Marcus Aurelius so impressive is that he more or less did live up to his beautiful writings. He didn't just talk about his philosophy, he embodied it. In that, he is such an inspiring example, a called us to follow in his footsteps. And in my new book, Lives of the Stokes, we studied and wrote the life of not just Marcus Aurelius, but 25 other essential stoic philosophers. Did some of them fall short like Dio Timus and Seneca? Yes, but for the most part,

Marcus Aurelius was the rule and not the exception. Clienti's lived stoicism. So did Cato, so did Zeno. So must you, or at least you must try. Remember, Seneca said that the goal of philosophy was to turn words into works. Even if he didn't quite manage that himself, he's right. And you know that. To live up to these teachings to turn there and draw words into works, that's what we're trying to do here. That's the greatness that we're chasing. And that's what philosophy is all about. So look, I'm so excited. Lives of the Stokes, the art of living from Xenota Marcus to realize, the first book ever to put the lives, the biographies of all the Stokes in one place is out now.

It came out yesterday. It's available everywhere. Books are sold. Support your local indie retailer. You can click the show notes on the podcast page and get it on Amazon. Barnes and Noble has got some signed copies left. We are still giving out the pre-order bonuses. If you get them this week, you can check that out

at dailystoke.com slash lives. Look, if you've gotten anything out of the email over the years, if I can ask one thing of you, it would be to please support this book. Check it out, Lives of the Stokes, the art of living from Xenota Marcus Aurelius. To me, the purpose of philosophy is to make you a better person. And so what I've tried to do is even in this biography,

come up with all sorts of real actionable things that you can apply in your life. Check it out, lies of the Stokes, the art of living from Xenota Marcus Aurelius available now. 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 Banity 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 Wondery 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 Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. you