When the System Breaks Down, Leaders Stand Up
BY RYAN HOLIDAY It began in the East. At least, that’s what the experts think. Maybe it came from animals. Maybe it was the Chinese. Maybe it was a curse from the gods. One thing is certain: it radiated out east, west, north, and south, crossing borders, then oceans, as...
Who Is Porcia Cato? An Introduction To The Stoic Superwoman
Porcia Catonis (or Porcia “of Cato”), was the daughter of the renowned Roman Stoic philosopher Cato the Younger—an enemy of the dictator Julius Caesar—and his first wife, Atilia. She was known for her beauty and bold personality, as well as for her marriage (her second) to Marcus Junius Brutus, who...
Remember: You Don’t Control What Happens, You Control How You Respond
The single most important practice in Stoic philosophy is differentiating between what we can change and what we can’t. What we have influence over and what we do not. “The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself...
Man’s Search For Meaning By Viktor Frankel: Book Summary, Key Lessons and Best Quotes
In September of 1942, a young psychiatrist found himself standing in line just outside of a Nazi concentration camp. At the time, nobody knew the extent of the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. Prisoners, who at first thought they were entering a temporary holding camp, quickly realized the hopelessness...
How To Find Peace: 8 Stoic Lessons You Can Start Today
Peace of mind is something many look for, but few achieve. How wonderful it would be if we could be one of those fortunate souls that seem to be distrbed by nothing and nobody. People like Fred Rogers, the children’s television show host, who always seemed to have a serene...
Who Is Paconius Agrippinus? An Introduction To The Red Thread Contrarian
Introduction It’s humbling to know that as we look up to the Stoics of antiquity, they too idolized those who came before them. In the beginning pages of Meditations, Marcus Aurelius writes out the names of all the people who have mentored and molded him throughout his life. He speaks...
Stoicism, Stillness, And Why Moms Are The Most Powerful Force On The Planet: An Interview With Wellness Mama Katie Wells
If you run down the list of the great Stoics of history, you'd think of Seneca or Marcus Aurelius or Epictetus or Zeno or Cleanthes or Chrysippus. What do all those people have in common? They were all men. In fact, you really have to dig to come up with even...
How To Be A Great Leader: Timeless Leadership Traits From Roman Emperors, Philosophers, and More
“For I believe a good king is from the outset and by necessity a philosopher, and the philosopher is from the outset a kingly person.” Musonius Rufus, Lectures, 8.33.32–34 For thousands of years, the Stoics have not only been leaders, but the resource other leaders have turned to for advice...
Who is Aristo of Chios?
Introduction Not to be confused with the Peripatetic philosopher Aristo of Ceos, Aristo of Chios was a Greek Stoic philosopher, lecturer, and student-turned-contemporary of the more well-known Stoic philosopher Zeno. When exactly he was born and when he died are uncertain, but he lived and worked during the 3rd Century...
It Takes What It Takes: An Interview with Mental Conditioning Expert and Author Trevor Moawad
The Stoics believed the formula to achieve mastery in any field was simple. “First, tell yourself what you want to be, then act your part accordingly,” Epictetus said. “This, after all, is what we find to be the rule in just about every other field. Athletes decide first what they...
