Sometimes readers of the DailyStoic.com (practicing Stoics!) get upset when a politically incorrect or controversial example is used in these emails. Why did you tell that story about Winston Churchill? He was an imperialist! Lincoln was a racist! Rockefeller polluted the environment! Jesus wasn’t real! Peter Thiel’s not a Stoic! What does Hillary Clinton have … Continued
It’s July 4th, 1776. Think about where America was in that moment: Blood in the streets. A revolution against an empire. Families ripped apart because a war forced them to choose sides. Hopeful successes on the battlefield repeatedly followed by dispiriting defeats. The uncertainty of victory, shrouded in the certainty of death and misery and … Continued
Discourses by Epictetus is a work that only survived thanks to a student named Arrian, who’s credited with transcribing the lessons he learned in Epictetus’ classroom at the beginning of the second century AD. Arrian wrote in a letter prior to the Discourses’ publishing, “whatever I used to hear him say I wrote down, word … Continued
“Ego is the enemy of what you want and of what you have: Of mastering a craft. Of real creative insight. Of working well with others. Of building loyalty and support. Of longevity. Of repeating and retaining your success. It repulses advantages and opportunities. It’s a magnet for enemies and errors. It is Scylla and … Continued
Seneca was a prominent Roman philosopher and playwright who published several essential works about Stoicism. He is considered one of the three key Stoic philosophers (alongside Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus), counseled Emperor Nero, and is often credited with rendering Stoicism more accessible to a larger audience than his counterparts. You can read a longer profile … Continued
Distilled into one empowering message – take control and responsibility for your own thoughts and actions – Stoicism will set you on a course for personal fulfilment, regardless of the wealth, health or skillset you have at your disposal. No wonder it has all the hallmarks of a highly successful entrepreneurial programme or bestselling personal … Continued
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Marcus Aurelius It’s this line from Marcus Aurelius, written nearly 2,000 years ago in his private diary, that served as the inspiration for the international bestseller The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday. It is a book that has become … Continued
This is a guest post by Alex J. Hughes, a writer and software product manager based in Nashville, TN. He is also the author of the popular article on our site “8 Stoic Secrets to Help You Build Mental Toughness.” *** “Fortune falls heavily on those for whom she’s unexpected. The one always on the lookout … Continued
As remarkable of a text the Enchiridion is, being one of the canonical texts of Stoic philosophy, and one of the most important ancient documents that we are fortunate to have access to, the story of its creator is equally as impressive. Epictetus rose to become one of the most important Stoic philosophers, but the … Continued