What Is Stoicism? A Definition & 9 Stoic Exercises To Get You Started
For those of us who live our lives in the real world, there is one branch of philosophy created just for us: Stoicism. It’s a philosophy designed to make us more resilient, happier, more virtuous and more wise--and as a result, better people, better parents and better professionals. Stoicism has...
How To Be A Bad Emperor: An Interview With Author And Professor Josiah Osgood
There were not many good emperors in Rome. There have not been many good kings since. In fact, there haven’t been many good leaders ever—there is something about power that seems to bring out the worst in people. All one has to do is read Suetonius’ Lives of the Caesars...
History of Challenge Coins
If you’ve served in the Military, Law Enforcement, or in any government agency, you’ve probably seen challenge coins passed around. Historically, a challenge coin holds the emblem or insignia of a specific group and is carried by that group’s members. Roman Legionnaires, military personnel and private sector companies have all...
The Power of Habits: What The Ancients Knew About Making Good Ones & Breaking Bad Ones
Arete—the most powerful word to the Stoics. It means excellence, and it was the ultimate expression of human greatness—moral, physical, spiritual. It’s what the Stoics were chasing. It’s what we’re all chasing. Reaching it requires a certain philosophical approach. Because brilliance and inspiration and skill are not enough. Summing up...
How To Remain Calm When The Rest Of The World Is Freaking Out: 9 Tips From The Stoics
It’s no question that the world is an alarming place right now. Iran is saber rattling in the Middle East. China is ascendant. North Korea is a rogue state with nuclear capabilities. The oceans are rising. Rhetoric grows more hateful and more divisive. And of course, the COVID-19 pandemic is...
How To Plan Your Day Like Marcus Aurelius
We took the best Stoic tactics for better habits and created the Daily Stoic Habits for Success, Habits for Happiness challenge. 6-weeks to your best habits. Learn more here. Two thousand years ago, the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote his personal thoughts and observations in a journal he titled “To...
How To Think Like Shakespeare: An Interview With Scott Newstok
Frustrated by modernity's approach to education and the way we think of thinking, award-winning professor, author, and parent Scott Newstok set out to demystify the making of one of history's greatest minds and unlock the keys to intellectual brilliance in his masterful new book How To Think Shakespeare. A teacher at...
Finding Meaning In Our Suffering: What The Stoics Can Teach Us About Tragedy, Loss, and Pandemics
The Stoics, like everyone who has walked this earth, were not unfamiliar with suffering. It was a fact of life in Rome just as it is a fact today. Marcus Aurelius’ reign, while he was loved by the people of Rome, was anything but easy. Wars, political rebellions, economic collapse,...
Who Is Gaius Rubellius Plautus? An Introduction To Nero’s Rival
Gaius Rubellius Plautus was a Roman noble, Stoic philosopher, and best known for being the rival of the Roman Emperor Nero. Besides being a potential threat to Nero’s reign due to his parentage, he also associated with The Stoic Opposition, a group that opposed the rule of a few emperors...
Nonconformity, Self-Reliance, And Starting Over: An Interview With Bestselling Author Chris Guillebeau
Epictetus tells us about how the Stoic Agrippinus was like a red thread, the piece of fabric that stands out. People often asked Agrippinus why he couldn’t just be “normal,” why he couldn’t just be like everyone else. “And if I do that,” Agrippinus liked to answer, “How shall I...
