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Daily Stoic 2019: The Best of the Best

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Every Saturday, we send out the best of what we’ve done that week here at Daily Stoic. Today, we’re sending something even better—a round-up of the best stuff we’ve made this year. 

You see, as we’ve built up this site and thought about the ways we could help spread Stoicism, we’ve tried to honor the insights of Marcus Aurelius and Seneca and Epictetus, as well as stake our own claim and make our own contributions. To that end, we’ve tried our best to write exemplary articles and emails, and make and sell creative objects, that will help ordinary people remember the virtues and principles of the Stoics. Each one of the products, websites, and social media accounts we’ve created was made with that goal: to bring Stoicism as a practice to ordinary people. We wanted to make things that we could actually use or enjoy ourselves (we’ll leave the T-shirts to someone else).

It has been truly inspiring to see thousands of people carry around our memento mori medallion, using it as a daily reminder to focus on the things that matter. We’ve been honored to help thousands of people learn to manage their anger and rebuild their relationship with reading by using our online challenges. There are more than 500,000 copies of The Daily Stoic in print now, and every morning, we use The Daily Stoic Journal along with the rest of you guys. Seeing people retweet, reblog, and share, read, and listen to our various articles, podcasts, and posts is equally inspiring. Our team of writers works hard to popularize Stoicism—and we’re glad that they’re doing such a good job.

Below we’ve included our best work from this year—the posts and articles that have resonated most with our audience, and the products we’re most proud of having sold or designed this year.

All products are designed and manufactured in the United States.

TOP INSTAGRAM POSTS

Memento Mori Medallion

Our most popular item, the memento mori medallion has been added to the daily carry of thousands as a literal and inescapable reminder that “you could leave life right now.” The front features an interpretation of the three essentials of existence – the tulip (life), the skull (death), and the hourglass (time). The back shows a quote from Marcus Aurelius “You could leave life right now.”

Each coin is shipped in a velvet ring box with an accompanying information card, explaining the practice to anyone receiving the coin. Learn more here.

Amor Fati Medallion

Amor fati (Latin: “a love of fate”) is a mindset that you take on for making the best out of anything that happens: Treating each and every moment—no matter how challenging—as something to be embraced, not avoided. The flame on the front of the medallion is inspired by Marcus Aurelius’s timeless wisdom: “a blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it.” The back features an excerpt of the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s formula for greatness: “Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it….but love it.”

Each coin is shipped in a velvet ring box with an accompanying information card, explaining the practice to anyone receiving the coin. Learn more here.

TOP ARTICLES

Everything Is F*cked: An Interview About Hope With Mark Manson

How To Recover From A Breakup (Timeless Lessons from The Stoics)

How Stoicism Can Help You Love Better

Daily Stoic Challenge Deck

Thousands of people have pushed themselves to new levels of achievement and self-improvement with the Daily Stoic’s email challenges. Now we’re proud to release the Daily Stoic Challenge Deck and help you to challenge yourself all year round. Each deck features 30 individual challenge cards, all of which include challenge instructions, a quote from Stoic philosophers like Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, and an inspiring illustration.

This is a perfect gift for anyone who’s looking to grow as a person and just needs some inspiration to do so. Get yours here.

Marcus Aurelius Bust

This bust of Marcus Aurelius was inspired by Ryan’s own antique bust that he keeps on his writing desk. It was a source of inspiration to him while he wrote his own reflections on Stoicism like Stillness is the Key, Ego is the Enemy, and The Obstacle is the Way. Designed exclusively for readers of the Daily Stoic by ES Schubert Sculpture Studios, this bust was made to be passed down and to one day serve as an antique of its own. This is a great tribute to Marcus Aurelius for the serious student of Stoicism.

Each bust is mounted on a black marble base. It comes with a hand-numbered, signed certificate of authenticity, and is wrapped in an emerald-green velour pouch. Learn more here.

TOP TWEETS

Read to Lead: A Daily Stoic Reading Challenge

We launched our bestselling Read to Lead Daily Stoic Reading Challenge this year, and the response has been phenomenal. Read to Lead has shown thousands of Daily Stoic readers how to get the most out of the books they read. In this 13-day challenge, we teach you all sorts of tactics and strategies designed to change your relationship with reading. Each day also features a video message from Ryan Holiday, as well as exclusive book recommendations and activities. Read to Lead is the perfect gift for that person on your list who can’t put down a book. Check it out here.

Memento Mori Signet Ring

The newest addition to our Memento Mori collection, the Memento Mori Signet Ring is both a beautiful piece of art and an admonition to focus on the things that truly matter. The Memento Mori Signet Ring was designed by Daily Stoic. Each one is handcrafted in Los Angeles using pure sterling silver or plated with 14 karat gold.

Each signet ring is shipped in a velvet ring box, with an outer embossed box showing the three essential symbols, along with an accompanying information card, explaining the practice to anyone receiving the ring. Check it out here.

TOP PODCAST EPISODES

Don’t Run From Pain, Embrace It (Nov 15)

Spare Time is Not Enough, Pt 2 (July 26)

Never Stop Trying to Get Better (Oct 11)

The Obstacle is the Way Medallion

We don’t control when things get hard, but we always control how we respond. The things that test us make us who we are. To keep this thought in mind, we’ve created The Obstacle Is The Way medallion to carry with you. The front features a great mountain. The back shows Marcus’s enduring words: “The impediment to action advances action, what stands in the way becomes the way.”

Each coin is shipped in a velvet ring box with an accompanying information card, explaining the practice to anyone receiving the coin. Learn more here.

Memento Mori Pendant

Another great new addition to our Memento Mori collection. A beautiful memento mori pendant, a literal and inescapable reminder that “you could leave life right now.” Available in both sterling silver and plated 14K gold. Each pendant is shipped in a velvet box . Learn more here.

TOP EMAILS

Look for Teachable Moments (May 13)

This is How Dumb Anger Is (October 15)

You Have the Power to Straighten Your Back (November 26)

The Daily Stoic + The Daily Stoic Journal

The Daily Stoic offers 366 days of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright Seneca, or slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, as well as lesser-known luminaries like Zeno, Cleanthes, and Musonius Rufus. Every day of the year you’ll find one of their pithy, powerful quotations, as well as historical anecdotes, provocative commentary, and a helpful glossary of Greek terms. And if you want a more personal touch, you can get a signed copy at BookPeople.

Another great book of Stoic wisdom is The Daily Stoic Journal. Just like The Daily Stoic, this book contains guidance and wisdom from the great Stoic thinkers, designed to make you think and help you find your own path to living virtuously. Each day has space for you to write down your own reflections on Stoicism as well as inspirational words from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and other Stoic thinkers.

These two books are great additions to the bookshelf of anyone interested by Stoicism, and they make a great set as well.

Daily Stoic Life

2020 is set to be a wild year, full of uncertainty and confusion. What better way to face the year ahead than with a community of like-minded thinkers, by joining Daily Stoic Life? Daily Stoic Life members get all sorts of great benefits—extra Daily Stoic emails on weekends, discounts on Daily Stoic products, private Q&A sessions with Ryan Holiday, and more. It’s the ultimate gift for someone who loves Stoicism and wants to learn about it and practice it in more depth. Learn more here.