The Daily Stoic - Who Can Tell You You’re Wrong? | What's In Your Way Is The Way

Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to The Daily Stoic early and ad free right now. Just join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcast. It's not the dark you have to be afraid of. It's what's hiding within it. The Shaw Festival presents Wait Until Dark. In a New York apartment, a blind woman becomes the target of ruthless criminals. As night falls, she must use all her wits to survive. Don't miss this heart-stopping thriller, Wait Until Dark at the Shaw. For tickets, go to shawfest.com. Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a stoic-inspired meditation designed to help you find strength and insight and wisdom into everyday life.

Starting point is 00:00:58 Each one of these episodes is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women to help you learn from them, to follow in their example, and to start your day off with a little dose of courage and discipline and justice and wisdom. For more, visit DailyStelac.com. Who can tell you that you're wrong? The thing about power is not so much that it changes you, but that it changes the people around you. Suddenly they want something from you. Suddenly they want something from you. Suddenly they are dependent on you.

Starting point is 00:01:48 Suddenly they are afraid of you. And this changes what they do and think. It changes what they're willing to say to you and how they say it. We're told that the emperor Hadrian once got in an argument with favorinus, his favorite philosopher, who it's worth noting was an intersex individual way back in the year 100 AD, which belies the notion that gender fluidity is some modern woke invention.

Starting point is 00:02:12 But the point is that favorinus had tried to correct his boss, but after experiencing Hadrian's resistance, conceded the point, even though he knew he was right. Why would you do such a thing? His friends asked. Favorinus chuckled and chastised them in turn. Don't you understand? He said, the smartest man was obviously the one who has the 30 legions. One makes a God King feel stupid at their peril,

Starting point is 00:02:39 he was saying. But he was also expressing in this instance, the inherent weakness in Hadrian's position. Because people were afraid of him, he was unlikely to get the truth or the opportunities to improve or learn. That's something that such an important job actually requires. A couple of months ago, we did a video over on the Daily Stoke YouTube channel about how narcissistic leaders almost always fail in the end. It's already approaching like 2 million views. I think it's one of the best things we've done.

Starting point is 00:03:07 The point of the video is that even if these leaders managed to defy the odds and live to die a natural death, as Hadrian did, it's not usually fun for them or the people that they purport to serve. And this is almost certainly why Marcus Realis talks so much about accepting correction and admitting error in meditations. He knew that if he hoped to escape imperialization, he would first have to escape his ego and find a

Starting point is 00:03:32 way around the sycophancy that his occupation engendered. And again, no matter what level of leadership we are, we must do the same. No one is born to leadership. It's something we learn, something we figure out. It's about the structure we build around us, the education we undergo. And this is something that we built into the Daily Stoic Leadership Challenge. It's called Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Leader.

Starting point is 00:03:58 It's, I think, one of the best courses we've done at Daily Stoic. We interview all these people. One of the people we interviewed went on to be the chairman and the Joint Chiefs of staff. We interview the CEO of the Spurs. We interview a bunch of elected leaders, people of all different types of private

Starting point is 00:04:14 and professional power. And they talked a lot about how the Stoic teachings can help make us a better leader. I think it's one of the best courses we did. As I said, it's worth signing up for Daily Stoic Life just to get that, because they're almost the same price. So if you're thinking about doing that, this is a better leader. I think it's one of the best courses we did. As I said, it's worth signing up for Daily Stoke Life just to get that because they're almost the same price. So if you're thinking about doing that, this is a great time. I'll link to that in today's show notes. You should check it out. What's in your way is the way. Obstacles are a fact of life. Even the most powerful and lucky of us are not exempt from this reality, but we have a superpower at our hands through

Starting point is 00:04:55 Stoic philosophy in that our purposes, our intentions, our attitudes can adapt to any conditions to find a way forward. The Stoics talk about acting with a reserve clause that allows us to reconsider and set a new course of action if needed, and Marcus Aurelius tells us that any obstacle can actually become raw material for a new purpose. So that's what you should think about today and this week. How might the obstacles you're facing reveal a new path? And this is from the Daily Stoic Journal, 366 days of writing and reflection on the art of living.

Starting point is 00:05:33 Every week we have a sort of a daily meditation. We've got three quotes from Marcus Aurelius along these lines today. While it's true that someone can impede our actions, they can't impede our intentions or our attitudes, which have the power of being conditional and adaptable. For the mind adapts and converts any obstacle to its actions into a means of achieving it, and that which is the obstacle to action is turned to advance action. The obstacle on the path becomes the way."

Starting point is 00:06:03 That's Meditations 520. Marcus also says in 835, just as nature turns to its own purpose, any obstacle or any opposition sets its place in the destined order and co-ops it, so every rational person can convert any obstacle into the raw material for their own purpose. And then Meditations 832,

Starting point is 00:06:24 so clearly he thinks about this a lot. He says, you must build up your life action by action and be content if each one achieves its goal as far as possible. And no one can keep you from this. But there will be some external obstacle, perhaps, he says, but no obstacle to acting with justice, self-control and wisdom. But what if some area of my action is thwarted? Well, gladly accept the obstacle for what it is and shift your attention to what is

Starting point is 00:06:50 given, and another action will immediately take its place, one that better fits the life you are building. As you know, this is what I built the obstacles the way around these ideas. But let me read you Gregory Hayes's translation in that same line, 520, because it's obviously been so instrumental to me. And I think Hayes does it quite well also. And it's interesting, he's clearly referring Marcus not to a specific kind of obstacle, difficult people. In a sense, people are our proper occupation. This is Meditations 520. Our job is to do them good and put up with them.

Starting point is 00:07:24 But when they obstruct our proper tasks, they become irrelevant to us, like the sun, wind, or animals. Our actions may be impeded by them, but there can be no impeding our intentions or our dispositions, because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way. Let's look at the Robin Waterfield translation of the same line. From one point of view, nothing is more proper to me than a human being, in so far as it's my job to do people good and tolerate them. But in so far as some people threaten my proper work,

Starting point is 00:08:06 I count a human being as just another indifferent, no less than the sun or the wind or a wild animal. These things may impede some of my activities, but they can't impede my impulses or my state of mind, because I have powers of reservation and adaptation. The mind can adapt and alter every impediment to action to serve its purpose. Something that might have hindered a task contributes to it instead, and something that was an obstacle on the road helps you on your way." So it doesn't matter which translation you read,

Starting point is 00:08:36 the message is the same. Stuff happens, stuff gets in our way, but it presents us the opportunity to do something different. So in this sense, the obstacle is the way it's not that, you know, life erects this wall in front of you and the way is through that wall. It's that when the door shuts, a window opens. It's that when you wanted everything to go well, and then someone screws it up. Now it's a chance to practice patience. Now it's a chance to practice forgiveness. Now it's a chance to practice patience. Now it's a chance to practice forgiveness. Now it's a chance to start over. Now it's a chance to extricate yourself

Starting point is 00:09:12 from this toxic relationship, whatever it is, right? What Marcus is saying is that everything that happens in life, every obstacle, as maddening and frustrating and as painful as they might be, they are opportunities to practice a different virtue, that virtue is always the way and that nothing stops us from being able to do that. I just love that passage so much. If I had the time, I'd grab the Pierre Hedot chapter on this very idea, which also helps inspire the obstacles the way he talks about

Starting point is 00:09:40 sort of the art of turning obstacles upside down. To me, this is a central practice in Stoicism. It's why I've got it tattooed on my arm. It's why I wrote a book about it. It's why we talk about it so much. This idea of a morfati we accept, and then we use what's happened to our advantage. That's the essence of Stoicism. I hope that inspires you a little bit today. People are our proper occupation. We tolerate them. We put up with them. And all the obstacles they roll into our way, all the problems they cause us, are actually not problems, but opportunities to practice the very virtues of courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom. That's what we're doing here. And by the way, we do have leather bound edition of the Obstacles the Way, which comes with the Obstacles the Way Challenge Coin as well. Check that out at dailystoic.com slash obstacle leather.

Starting point is 00:10:27 Hey, it's Ryan. Thank you for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. I just wanted to say we so appreciate it. We love serving you. It's amazing to us that over 30 million people have downloaded these episodes in the couple years we've been doing it. It's amazing to us that over 30 million people have downloaded these episodes in the couple years we've been doing it. It's an honor. Please spread the word, tell people about it, and this isn't to sell anything.

Starting point is 00:10:50 I just wanted to say thank you. If you like The Daily Stoic and thanks for listening, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. And before you go, would you tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey on wondery.com slash survey. Hey Jack, I got some trivia for you. You ready? Nice. Which company's iconic fleece jacket

Starting point is 00:11:32 was inspired by a toilet seat cover? Gotta be Patagonia. What's next? Okay, which sneaker was banned by the NBA, but then became the most iconic basketball shoe in history? Air Jordan. Come on, give me something hard. All right, what energy drink used to plant empty cans

Starting point is 00:11:47 in nightclubs to fake its own popularity? That was Red Bull. Legendary move by a legendary brand. Instant classic, this is Nick. And this is Jack. We're best friends, ex-finance guys, and resident 90s cultural experts. And every week on our podcast, The Best Idea Yet,

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The Daily Stoic - Who Can Tell You You’re Wrong? | What's In Your Way Is The Way

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The Daily Stoic - Who Can Tell You You’re Wrong? | What's In Your Way Is The Way

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