The Daily Stoic - You Have The Power

Episode Date: September 24, 2021

Ryan discusses the innate power that resides within us all, on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast.Pre-orders are available for Ryan Holiday’s new book Courage Is Calling: Fortune Favors The Brave - check it out at https://dailystoic.com/preorderSign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/emailFollow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and FacebookSee 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. 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 every day 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. You have the power. To the Stoic's the most important virtue was courage. A Stoic never willingly gives up the power, the belief in themselves, to change their condition and to resist the control of others. That's what Thrasia and Agrippinus clung to as they fought against Nero.

That's what George Washington did when he broke away from the king. That's what Stockdale did in the Hanover, Hilton. That's what we so judge Seneca for failing to do. In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare's most overtly stoic play, he puts it thusly. So every bond man in his own hand bears the power to cancel his captivity.

What was Brutus doing in that play? He was refusing to live under Caesar's tyranny. He and his fellow conspirators were taking quite literally matters into their own hands. Not all resistance is so violent, of course. M.A.L.I.N.Pankers talked about withdrawing your consent to be governed, and that's what women did in Britain.

In some cases refused even to eat until they were given the rights they deserved. Martin Luther King talked about the power of a people who decide to straighten their backs and decide they will no longer be ridden. His boycotts and passive resistance canceled the captivity of African-Americans. It was an active revocation of any consent towards segregation or the deprivation of constitutional rights. Each individual citizen, even in a tyranny, holds incredible power. As individuals,

we have agency over our own lives. And what do far too many of us do? We ignore this power. We decline to vote. We can't be bothered to protest or stand up for what is important to us. Then we wonder why the world isn't the way we want it to be. We wonder why we feel we are slaves to forces outside our control. This must end. Stop being so passive. Straighten your back, cancel your captivity. You have the power. Seize it.

Just a reminder, my new book Courage is Calling is available for pre-order now. It would mean so much to me if you would support it. If you've gotten anything out of this podcast, anything out of the videos, anything out of my other books, anything out of the Daily Stoke email, this would be the time to help support me. Just go to dailystoke.com slash pre-order,

there's a bunch of awesome bonuses you can pick up. 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. Hey there listeners! While we take a little break here, I want to tell you about another podcast that I think you'll like. It's called How I Built This, where host Guy Razz talks to founders behind some of the

world's biggest and most innovative companies, to learn how they built them from the ground up. Guy has sat down with hundreds of founders behind well-known companies like Headspace, Manduke Yoga Mats, Soul Cycle, and Kodopaxi, as well as entrepreneurs working to solve some of the biggest problems of our time, like developing technology that pulls energy from the ground to heat in cool homes, or even figuring out how to make drinking water from air and sunlight. Together, they discussed their entire journey from day one, and all the skills they had to learn along the way, like confronting big challenges and how to lead through uncertainty.

So if you want to get inspired and learn how to think like an entrepreneur, check out how I built this, wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and add free on the Amazon or Wonder yet.