In Book Six of Meditations, Marcus gives himself (and us) a command to keep an important idea in mind. “Meditate often,” he writes, “on the interconnectedness and mutual interdependence of all things in the universe.” He is speaking of the Stoic concept of Sympatheia, the idea that “all things are mutually woven together and therefore have an […]

  Why did Marcus Aurelius spend those precious hours in his tent, writing by the lamplight, even on the nights and mornings he strained under the burdens of his war-time duties? It wasn’t for our benefit. No, he never expected Meditations would see an audience. He was writing for himself, to himself, as a way to practice the principles of the […]

“Most people don’t understand what Stoic is. They think that a Stoic wants to sort of be robust, no positive nor negative emotions, get rid of [their] attachment from the world…My definition is a Stoic Sage is someone who transforms fear into prudence, pain into transformation, mistakes into initiation, and desire into undertaking. Someone who […]

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 been a common thread through […]

The great German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche would describe his formula for human greatness as amor fati—a love of fate. “That one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backwards, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it….but love it.” The Stoics were not only familiar with this attitude […]

Epictetus the slave. Marcus Aurelius the emperor. Seneca the power broker and playwright. These three radically different men led radically different lives. But they seemed to have one habit in common: Journaling. In one form or another, each of them did it. It would be Epictetus who would admonish his students that philosophy was something they should “write down day […]

This is a guest post by Philip Ghezelbash. *** Stoicism is an ancient Greco-Roman philosophy. The ideal for the Stoic, as with the Buddhist, is to show complete equanimity in the face of adversity. The four virtues of Stoicism are wisdom, justice, courage and temperance. Temperance is subdivided into self-control, discipline and modesty. I think […]

One of your greatest assets is your willpower, your decision-making, your discipline. This is what we’re told. It’s also what we see. Most of us wouldn’t be where we are without hard work or ability to change our circumstances. And so we come to expect that the world will always respond in kind. That it […]

This post was originally published on RyanHoliday.net. Almost exactly ten years ago, I bought the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius on Amazon. Amazon Prime didn’t exist then and to qualify for free shipping, I had to purchase a few other books at the same time. Two or three days later they all arrived. It’s a medium sized paperback, mostly white […]

“Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. … The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.” Seneca At a Roman triumph, the majority of the public would […]

NOTE: The TED talk is now up! Watch it below:  [ted id=2799] On Monday night, at the opening event of TED, Tim Ferriss, bestselling author, entrepreneur and podcast host, introduced the practical philosophy of Stoicism to an audience of scientists, innovators, entrepreneurs, politicians and some of the most influential people in our society. The main […]

Alright, you’ve probably read a zillion articles about happiness online and you’re not a zillion times happier. What gives? Reading ain’t the same as doing. You wouldn’t expect to read some martial arts books and then go kick ass like Bruce Lee, would you? All behavior, all changes, must be trained. The ancient Stoics knew […]

I have “AMOR FATI” tattooed on the inside of my right forearm.  When I went to have it done, after a full year of consideration, the tattoo artist asked me which direction I’d like to have it face. “Toward me,” I answered. “Upside down?” he responded looking at me with that face my puppy makes […]

For more than two thousand years, wise men and women have relied on an ancient philosophy known as Stoicism to help them live their best lives. It’s been a source of guidance, wisdom and practical advice for millions. It’s been used by everyone from Marcus Aurelius and Seneca (one of the richest men in Rome), […]

What matters to an active man is to do the right thing; whether the right thing comes to pass should not bother him. —Goethe Belisarius is one of the greatest yet unknown military generals in all of history. His name has been so obscured and forgotten by history that he makes the under appreciated General George […]

This post originally appeared on bakadesuyo.com People have enormous respect for ancient wisdom. They just don’t read it. Funny thing is, we’re more likely to live happier lives when we visit the classics section than the self-help aisle. So how do we get the skinny on what one group of brilliant dead guys — The […]

Today I want to describe various Stoic exercises that you can do to develop a Stoic outlook on life. While this is obviously useful for the would-be Stoic, I think that everyone can benefit these exercises. If you don’t know much about Stoicism then here would be a good start, or you can read some of […]

A CEO calls her staff into the conference room on the eve of the launch of a major new initiative. They file in and take their seats around the table. She calls the meeting to attention and begins, “I have bad news. The project has failed spectacularly. What went wrong?” The team is perplexed: What?! […]

Charlamagne Tha God is the host of the nationally revered radio show The Breakfast Club where provocative celebrity interviews help drive the daily national conversation about issues related to hip-hop, race, society, and politics. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It. And his second book, Shook […]

The National Football League, like all professional sports, is all about the quantifiable, right? Winning trumps everything, so franchises fill rosters with players whose stats jump off the page. They draft the college quarterback who threw the most touchdowns, the running back who won the Heisman Trophy, the wide receiver who runs the fastest 40-yard […]

Bestselling author and investor Tim Ferriss has been one of the most vocal modern proponents of Stoicism. For years he has advocated the value of the philosophy—whether it is on his widely popular blog which is read by millions, on his podcast which at this point has over 200 million downloads or on the stage […]

In our interview with Daniele Bolelli we said how there is a certain class of people who can’t be placed in a single category. Their interests and accomplishments span multiple industries and fields and are often at complete odds with one another. David “DHH” Heinemeier Hansson is one of them. He is the creator of […]

Kevin Rose is one of the most prominent and prolific technologists in Silicon Valley. He famously founded Digg in his early twenties and later went on to invest in almost every major tech company in the last decade—from Foursquare to Twitter to Facebook. Most recently, he left New York City and moved back to California to […]

The philosopher and author Alain de Botton has dedicated his life to seeking answers—for himself and others—to one of life’s chief questions: How do we live a good life? His prolific body of work has helped bring accessible philosophy to millions of people through bestselling books like The Consolations of Philosophy, How Proust Can Change […]

Except for the Stoics themselves, no one has influenced me as a reader and writer more than Robert Greene. Which is why I was nervous but excited to interview Robert about Stoicism and this ancient philosophy has influenced his work over the years. It’s not everyday that one gets the opportunity to interview their idol […]

“The faculty of desire purports to aim at securing what you want…If you fail in your desire, you are unfortunate, if you experience what you would rather avoid you are unhappy…For desire, suspend it completely for now. Because if you desire something outside your control, you are bound to be disappointed; and even things we […]

“To see the world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wild flower; hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour.” — William Blake, ‘Auguries of Innocence’ The Stoics aren’t exactly famous for their ideas about beauty, and it is easy to understand why. Being champions of reason […]

“To recognize the malice, cunning, and hypocrisy that power produces, and the peculiar ruthlessness often shown by people from ‘good families.’” Marcus Aurelius At a young age, Marcus Aurelius is chosen to one day ‘assume the purple’—to become emperor—by Hadrian. Perhaps Hadrian saw something in him, perhaps since he lacked a son of his own, […]

“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, because an artful life requires being prepared to meet and withstand sudden and unexpected attacks.” Marcus Aurelius Life can knock us on our ass, can’t it? Just out of nowhere, our legs are suddenly in the air and we’re on the ground. An email from […]

“We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.” – Seneca Maybe you are facing a difficult conversation you’ve been putting off for months. Or you’re about to embark on a new project that tests you to your limits. Or it could be a job change, moving to […]

“Keep this thought handy when you feel a fit of rage coming on—it isn’t manly to be enraged. Rather, gentleness and civility are more human, and therefore manlier. A real man doesn’t give way to anger and discontent, and such a person has strength, courage, and endurance—unlike the angry and complaining. The nearer a man […]

  The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living 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 […]

This is a guest post by Hristo Vassilev. If you’d like to contribute to The Daily Stoic, please get in touch. The best part about Stoicism is that you can go to the primary texts, read them and feel like they were written yesterday, not 2000 years ago. You can pick up Seneca, Marcus Aurelius or Epictetus and […]

The starting point of any new pursuit is critical. Stoicism is no difference. Picking up the wrong book can derail even the most interested student. So where should someone start with Stoicism? We decided to put together a short list with three books that will help you both understand Stoicism but also teach you valuable […]

The name Gaius Musonius Rufus may not sound familiar, but the work of “the foremost stoic of his day,” as Roman historian Tacitus prefers referring to him, will. Musonius’s influence in Stoicism was and is substantial. Equally so is the praise spoken in his name by those who were well familiar with it. Origen, himself […]

INTRODUCTION Famous writers like Trollope and Kafka were known to live dual lives: comfortable, dull jobs during the day and writing the rest of the time. Trollope was working at a post office and Kafka was at an insurance company working jobs that require little mental stimulation that allowed them to fully focus on their […]

INTRODUCTION   The great Galen, a prominent Greek physician in the Roman Empire, at one point suffered the loss of all his work and books. In a clear example of what we can call a virtuous Stoic response, he wrote that “the fact that, after the loss of the totality of my pharmaceutical remedies, the […]

This is part of our 3-part short series on the three most important Stoic philosophers: Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus. Here you will find a short introduction to Marcus, suggested readings, three exercises/lessons from him as well as a selection of quotes. You can also read our introduction to Stoicism if you are not familiar […]

This is part of our 3-part series on the three most important Stoic philosophers: Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus. Here you will find a short introduction to Seneca, suggested readings, three exercises/lessons from him as well as a selection of quotes. You can also read our introduction to Stoicism if you are not familiar with the […]

This is part of our 3-part series on the three most important Stoic philosophers: Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus. Here you will find a short introduction to Epictetus, suggested readings, three exercises/lessons from him as well as a selection of quotes. You can also read our introduction to Stoicism if you are not familiar with the […]