Geeky Stoics

It's a good day to be a Geeky Stoics subscriber here on Substack! You all get first access to this week's video conversations with Ryan Holiday of the Daily Stoic. I told you about the trip to Palm Springs, and it was to moderate this panel tackling the differences and overlaps of Stoicism and Objectivism. To recap: Stoicism is ancient Greek and Roman philosophy rooted in self-mastery, emotional regulation, and letting go of things beyond your control. Objectivism took form post-World War II through the philosopher and writer Ayn Rand. It is about self-focus, individual fulfillment, and “rational egoism” or putting yourself first as a matter of rational thought.Ryan Holiday is famed for his books, "The Obstacle Is the Way," "Ego Is the Enemy," "The Daily Stoic," "Stillness Is the Key", “Courage Is Calling” and his new book “Wisdom Takes Work” comes out this fall. Millions of people receive his daily emails and podcasts, and most of what Geeky Stoics does would not exist without his work. It was cool to meet him and ask him some questions about the life well-lived. Thanks for reading Geeky Stoics! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Some takeawaysHoliday framed freedom as the opportunity for self-discipline. Drawing on figures like Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and even Eisenhower, he emphasized that inner liberty (freedom from passion, chaos, and internal compulsion) is central to Stoic ethics. Stoicism holds that true freedom is achieved through mastery of the self, rather than simple absence of constraint. In Ryan's books, he has called this “the empire between your ears”. Even a person living in chains cannot be truly forced to vacate their freedom of thought and action. For Stoics, unchecked liberty is a quick road to being enslaved by desire, and so self-restraint is not seen as a limitation but as a form of empowerment.This is an area I tend to strongly agree on. Richards, representing Ayn Rand's Objectivism, defined freedom as freedom from coercion (force or fraud) that threatens one's ability to think, act, and pursue personal happiness. Objectivism prioritizes the individual's rational mind as the highest tool for flourishing, arguing that the pursuit of joy and personal achievement is the purpose of freedom. It's not dismissive of self-discipline, and so Richards emphasized how a person can harm oneself with the pursuit of constant vice. Enjoying the panel discussion? Now check out our 1-on-1 interview with Ryan Holiday about parenting, Hamilton, and philosophyOverlap and Contrast on the panel Both philosophies value rationality, personal responsibility, and civic virtue. However, Stoicism is inward-facing, concerned with moral resilience and inner peace, while Objectivism is outward-facing, focused on creative achievement and individual flourishing.Holiday illustrated Stoic freedom with the example of Epictetus—a slave who, despite literal bondage, enjoyed greater internal freedom than Rome's elite who had to suck up to tyrants to make a living. Richards acknowledged this but argued that Objectivism's strength lies in its systematic approach, beginning with metaphysics and epistemology, and ending in ethics and politics centered on the primacy of the individual. It's very anti-collectivist. That point on collectivism is important because it's perhaps the most pointed area of disagreement. Most Stoics would say that all “goods” must be considered for the whole of a community. Objectivists, or Ayn Rand, did not believe “the public” even exists. Her philosophical focus was on living, breathing things, and she rejected the notion that the disjointed “we” was a thing worthy of acknowledgement. I am alive. The “public” is not. I have interests. The public does not. Stoics don't buy this, especially not Ryan Holiday. Now, go enjoy the discussion and tell us what you thought in the comments below. New on YouTube from Geeky Stoics This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com

"What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears. New ills will come, or old ones will return. Meanwhile, keep your spirit cheerful." - Epictetus, DiscoursesThe other day, my daughter was stressed about some complicated logistical stuff happening two days in the future. She was visibly distraught and trying to figure out what to be prepared for in case it all went badly. I am not great at this myself, but I reminded her that tomorrow's troubles don't require your negative energy today. Lighten up. Thanks for reading Geeky Stoics! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Seneca wrote in one of his "Letters to Lucilius” that, "We are tormented by what is to come more than by what is. The future is uncertain, and we often suffer more in imagination than in reality." That is to say, we go over scenarios for how badly something could go, it causes us suffering, and then it comes, and it wasn't really that bad. Then we laugh. What was I so worried about? There's a balance between planning for all eventualities (being prepared) and suffering in advance of imagined problems. You're planning a hike and need to prepare for the possibility of rain and sleet, so you pack a rain jacket and the appropriate shelter. You don't get into a huff about weather that hasn't come yet. That's silly. When it's all said and done, though, and you realize you've been wound tight over imagined struggles that never even came about, feel free to have a laugh about it. Don't take yourself so seriously, or even this messy life. If you want to go a bit deeper on humor and leadership and when to laugh it off, check out this video above. It's exclusive to newsletter subscribers before it hits YouTube later this week. Be well. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com

This week, I put together an essay I've been dying to make for well over a year. This is about Star Wars: Andor and whether or not the show supports a Marxist lens on freedom in a galaxy far, far away.Star Wars fans online had a field day with the words and deeds of one character, Nemik, who not only writes a “manifesto” for the Rebellion but also wears in Ushanka-style hat. Naturally, this got the Tankies (online communists) a little excited.In this video essay, being previewed FIRST for email subscribers to Geeky Stoics, I lay out why Nemik isn't very Marxist. I begin with an assessment of his views on Self-Reliance, then turn to Andor's nod to Natural Rights doctrine. And I conclude with my view on why Stoicism fills in the gaps left by political ideologies that claim to free mankind.I would like your feedback in the comments section before launching this on YouTube. Any fat that could be trimmed or argument that can tightened up, I'd like to hear about it!A beautiful excerpt from Nemik's ManifestoThere will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy.Remember this, Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they've already enlisted in the cause.Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.And remember this: the Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear.Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empires's authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.Remember this: Try.Thanks for reading Geeky Stoics! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com

My family has taken to teasing me over my annual surprise when a shrubbery or tree on our property shows signs of life around March or April. I must admit, I do look at my plants in the winter and think to myself, “Well, that's it. They're dead.” And I do this every year.I kneel at the side of my bushes and snap their branches to check the inside for moist green. I stare at them for long periods of time, wondering if I need to uproot the plant and toss it out for a new one.Tonight over dinner, I noticed that our tree in the backyard was beginning to reveal fresh buds where pink flowers will soon blossom. My surprise was evident. Many of the other trees on the property had already flowered, and in the back of my mind, the only explanation for why this one hadn't done so yet was that it had finally died.Maybe I'm a fringe lunatic, and this is just evidence that I lack a certain chill. It also might reflect my lack of faith in miracles.Spring is something of a miracle. I don't easily take to miracles. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com

Did you see the news about The Chronicles of Narnia? After years of negotiation, director Greta Gerwig has closed a deal to have her Narnia movie hit theaters on November 26, 2026 before streaming on Netflix that Christmas. It's pretty exciting! We love C.S. Lewis' Narnia here on Geeky Stoics. The best available information out there points to Gerwig starting her Narnia series with the chronological first book, The Magician's Nephew. In this video, I explain the significance of Narnia's return AND summarize all of The Magician's Nephew in less than 5 minutes. Enjoy and have a restful Sunday. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com

The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater. — Tolkien, The Fellowship of the RingThroughout The Lord of the Rings, doom and tragedy are constantly on the doorstep of J.R.R. Tolkien's heroes. Failure and defeat happen frequently. The Witch King of Angmar overpowers Merry and Éowyn, Boromir is struck down by Uruk-hai scouts leaving the Fellowship without its great son of Gondor, Frodo is overcome by the power of the Ring on more than one occasion; including at the Crack of Doom when he must throw it into the fire, Gandalf seemingly perishes in the Mines of Moria.Tolkien coined a term in his early academic writings, Eucatastrophe, to describe an unexpected peril resolved by an unexpected hope. The Greek prefix "eu-" means “good”And “catastrophe”, of course, implies disaster or upheaval. I often imagine a table being flipped upside down. The table is adorned in fine food and wine, among other trappings of the good life. Then someone ruins it all in anger. They flip the table over, destroying all of it. But on the bottom of the table, the dinner guests see a treasure map that has been etched into the wood of the table. The dinner isn't necessarily redeemed at that very moment, but there is now a bright and shining hope that it could be. Good comes from the bad. “-I am a Christian, and indeed a Roman Catholic, so that I do not expect ‘history' to be anything but a ‘long defeat' –though it contains (and in a legend may contain more clearly and movingly) some samples or glimpses of final victory.” - Tolkien, Letter 195 It should go without saying that in the Christian world, for believers and non-believers alike, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ rests as the great beacon of eucatastrophe. It captures Tolkien's notion of “Christian joy…which produces tears because it is qualitatively so like sorrow”. There's a strange place in the human heart where Grief and Joy meet and reconcile their differences. They become one. “Is everything sad going to come untrue?”My Dad died rather suddenly a little over a week ago. I'm in the stage of grief where even as I write this, I am confused by the words. I don't understand what has happened. The funeral, eulogy, and urn of ashes feel very much like a dream and every few hours I blink rapidly in recognition that it was all real. In the final installment of The Lord of the Rings, Samwise Gamgee awakes in bed after the destruction of the Ring. He is in the presence of Gandalf. He mutters about the whole adventure having been a dream and remarks that he is glad to be awake. Then he turns over and sees Frodo lying next to him, missing a finger from his final confrontation with Gollum. “Full memory flooded back”Gandalf asks Sam as the Hobbit awakes, “Master Samwise, how do you feel?”Sam is described as laying back with his mouth agape, fumbling through bewilderment and joy, and unable to speak. Then he gasps.“Is everything sad going to come untrue? What's happened to the world?” asks Sam.It's all true, and all that has happened will remain so. But there is a light that is coming. That's the whole meaning of the Christian Advent season where for four weeks, candles are lit in the runup to Christ's birth. It's a dark season. The sun sets early and it's cold as death. I've never hated December the way I hate it right now. I so badly want the sun and its warmth around me. But light is coming. There is a treasure map beneath the ruined feast. In all of the Tolkien scenes I described at the start of this entry, there is a positive resolution brought about by unexpected forces. Eucatastrophe sings in the pitch black of night. “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.'” - Revelation 21:5 Whatever you're going through, good can come of it. Debts can be paid and in ways you never imagined possible. Be faithful, honest, and true in your dealings with others. Do not despair. Warmer days are coming. Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.We're beyond excited to share a new video from the Geeky Stoics YouTube channel, on Dragon Ball Z and Pride. In this video essay, I lay out the character arc of Vegeta in DBZ and offer a lesson on his infamous Pride that can be applied to your life. Also on YouTube, we have our first viral video, On Anger. Almost 63,000 views. A massive highwater mark for Geeky Stoics. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

It's a rare and beautiful thing to meet someone with whom you discover so much in common. Not just experiences, but sentiment and aspiration. That's how I felt after taping a podcast with Evan, best known for his viral Twitter account, @MidddleearthMixr. Going into this conversation about Tolkien and the relevant philosophy of The Lord of the Rings, I didn't realize I knew Evan from my professional walk. We had a connection. Beyond that, we shared a similar sort of awakening in how we returned to the well of stories that delighted us as children…drawing from them something to help us in adulthood. What Star Wars is to me, Tolkien's works are to Evan. This was a podcast I had planned to only be 45 minutes, but we couldn't stop, so it's more like 90 minutes. I can confirm though, it's worth every second. My hope is that you'll walk away from this encouraged to embrace the stories that move you and listen to what they say. When you were young, you understood certain truths so much more clearly than you do now. In this mashup between MiddleearthMixr and Geeky Stoics, you'll learn why. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

The first thing you'll see in my home when you enter is a framed portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Below the image of America's 16th president, a man who arguably refounded the United States and became one of its most consequential figures, is a list of his numerous failures. The guy posted a lot of L's. This list of Lincoln failures is pretty well known, so you might have seen this before. Here is the text I have framed in our doorway. “Lincoln”Lost job in 1832.Defeated for state legislature in 1832.Failed in business in 1833.Elected to state legislature in 1834.Sweetheart died in 1835.Had a nervous breakdown in 1836.Defeated for Speaker in 1838.Defeated for nomination for Congress in 1843.Elected to Congress in 1846.Lost renomination in 1848.Rejected for land officer in 1849.Defeated for U.S. Senate in 1854.Defeated for nomination for Vice President in 1856.Again defeated for U.S. Senate in 1858.Elected President in 1860.Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.This piece always catches my eye, particularly in the morning when I'm having coffee and thinking about the day ahead. Today is no exception. Last night I lost my race for City Council in Manassas, Virginia. It was my first foray into politics, and I'd never run in this city before for anything. I've lived here about 10 years, whereas all my opponents pretty much grew up here or have lifelong roots in town. That counts for something when a small town of 45,000 people vote. In reality, only about 8,000 people vote in elections around here. It's kind of crazy. I'm not launching into some narrative in which I'm a Lincoln figure in the making. It's just that I've had a lot of strikeouts at the plate lately. Let me run through them. My career has been a pretty wild ride since 2015 when I started a semi-popular podcast called Beltway Banthas. It opened the door to me doing something almost no one gets to do, which is go on TV and talk politics on some of the biggest news networks in the country. From 2016 to 2022 I had a really active and exciting run as a political commentator. All of this led to me securing a book deal with Hachette Publishing for How The Force Can Fix The World, another rare professional notch on the belt that not many people get to experience. It's special, and that's not lost on me. Especially when there are so many better writers out there. At the same time, I was selected to host a political talk show for an international news network. Here's the thing though. By objective measures, in every single one of these ventures, I “failed”. As a podcaster, Banthas never generated revenues. As a commentator, I secured no contributor contracts or invites to the “major leagues” for top shows in the world in the mainstream or alternative media. My debut book had a niche audience but was not a best seller on any list of “importance” in the publishing world. My talk show was canceled after one year. We couldn't find an audience for it. After that, I entered a professional wilderness for almost 2 years. Luckily, a friend offered me a job right when I needed it, but it was a job I ended up being very bad at. As I started looking around for a better fit and interviewing, I felt untouchable. I couldn't secure a job after all of this. No one wanted to hire me. I landed on my feet in the end at a really great nonprofit, one where I still work. That was by virtue of managing my relationships and having a good reputation for hard work and honesty. But it was a really hard road. Then this year I finally ran for office, a dream of mine since I was a kid, and I lost. Not only did I lose, I was the lowest vote-getter in the city. Deep sigh. NEW VIDEO FROM GEEKY STOICSWhat I told my wife last night when the results came in was that it's not that I feel like some kind of loser who never has any wins. No, it's not that. Because in many ways I keep making it to Championship matches (big opportunities), and then striking out when I step up to the plate. I think that people go on these journeys in life where they think they've found “the thing” they were called to do and it turns out to have been a mirage. I imagine it like a long hallway of locked doors. You have the keyring in your hand and a hundred keys on it. You fumble around to find the right key for the right door, you open it, and then it's just a wall behind the door. That wasn't the door for you. I think I'm just good at feeling around for certain keys to certain doors.Part of this thought reminds me of one of Geeky Stoics' central pillars, the life and ideas of C.S. Lewis. As you know, Lewis is famous, immortal really, because of The Chronicles of Narnia. The first book was published in 1950, at a time when Lewis was almost completely drained of his self-confidence and hope. Lewis had become an international superstar in the 1940s for his wartime radio broadcasts on the BBC and Mere Christianity, his most cherished nonfiction work making the case for Christian morality. Then there was The Screwtape Letters, making him even more of a star and the voice of Christian apologetics. Yet, when he was invited onto the BBC in 1950 to discuss faith, Lewis declined saying, “Like the old fangless snake in The Jungle Book, I've largely lost my dialectal power.”Lewis had become a symbol of Christian thought and argumentation but had “failed” to convert his own friends and family. In fact, the woman in his life (Mrs. Moore) only grew more hostile to faith over time. He felt powerless in his own sphere of influence. Just a year before declining the BBC, Lewis participated in a Socratic debate at Oxford against a young woman named Elizabeth Anscombe about “naturalism” and Christian belief. Anscombe was a Catholic and fan of Lewis, but she disagreed strongly with some of Lewis' cherished conclusions in his book, Miracles. Long story short, Anscombe defeated and embarrassed Lewis in his own dojo during that debate in 1948. In front of his colleagues, fans, critics, and students, Lewis was dismantled. But it wasn't just Lewis, it was the premise of one of his great books.Like a good man with an open mind, Lewis knew he lost and he knew then that Miracles was deeply flawed. For a man like Lewis, it's the kind of thing that keeps you up at night. He entered a dark period at this time. Friends of his were dying of age or illness. His ideas were being beaten back by younger thinkers. His famous friendship with J.R.R Tolkien was in disrepair. He'd lost his zeal to write. He was still quite financially strapped, for many reasons. And because Oxford was as hostile to faith as it still is today, Lewis had a target on his back at his university. He was passed over again and again for new roles at Oxford. Disparaged by department heads and treated like the plague. Academics at elite universities tend to hate their colleagues who have mainstream success, which Mere Christianity was by a large margin. Lewis was in the shadowlands of his career. Then he came across a door in that long hallway, opened it, and crossed a threshold into something new. In 1950, C.S. Lewis published The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The rest is history. In his lowest moment, C.S. Lewis' purpose was revealed to him. All the work that he had poured into Christian argumentation in his nonfiction books became the basis for his fictional work in Narnia. The ideas he tested on atheists and believers for 15 years became the story of Wardrobe, Aslan, and White Witch. Reading over the lives of Lincoln and Lewis, you get the sense that these men considered giving up. Lewis drank too much and was pretty depressed for a period of time. Lincoln's depression is well-known. But they held on. Their purpose was revealed to them. One of C.S. Lewis' central arguments about God is that if you set out to find Him, it will always be He who finds you first. The hunter becomes the hunted. But it doesn't happen unless you're open, aware, and searching. God, I'm listening. Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Hey Geeky Stoics, right now I'm reading The Creative Act by music producer Rick Rubin. This book is lovely. Two-page chapters that are all about artistic expression and connecting with your ability to create. It's like Meditations, really. The Creative Act is a book about the idea I described above. Being open, aware, and searching. If you're distracted, numb, drunk, overstimulated, or fearful, you won't hear your call when it comes. That call may be a painting, a business idea, a song, or a message for a political campaign. Check it out! You won't regret it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

“It is not a golden bit that makes one horse superior to others.”-Seneca, Letters from A StoicIt's taken longer than I intended to find a Dragon Ball Z topic for Geeky Stoics. This uniquely popular anime in the United States was my second love growing up, right next to Star Wars. My favorite character is Vegeta, the Prince of Saiyans. He is a total jerk, but it's something of a novelty as the show grinds on. The whole schtick is that Saiyans are immensely prideful and take their race and blood lineage very seriously. Vegeta is like most royal-born characters in great stories. He's privileged, entitled, arrogant, and often whiny, but you like him anyway, because Vegeta is broken down constantly and forced to build himself up again. The reinvention is what makes him interesting. Humility is one of the more classical virtues that I'm drawn toward in my writing. It was the topic of the first chapter of my 2021 book, How The Force Can Fix The World. In general, we shouldn't be obsessed with the traits in life that were gifted to us by virtue of being born.What is gifted to us? Health. Ability. Family. Lineage. Status. Among other things. Gifts are given to you. You did nothing to deserve them. Awards are earned. Recognition is earned. Gifts are understood to be wrapped with a bow on top and handed to you by the grace of someone else or God himself. I have a gift for teaching and writing. It would be wrong to strut around acting like I am some self-made man on either of these items. They come naturally to me, and both of my natural talents were strengthened by mentors who entered my life and shared their knowledge freely.Who am I to be prideful when it comes to these things?St. Thomas Aquinas (1274 AD) said “Humility removes pride, whereby a man refuses to submit himself to the truth of faith.”C.S. Lewis said of pride, “Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” Still, Vegeta and his precious pride. "Only a failure abandons his principles and his Pride,” the Prince of Saiyans says in Dragon Ball Super. Vegeta goes on a series-long journey to reform what his pride is made of. At the start of Dragon Ball Z, it is purely this ethnic radicalism based on lore about Saiyan history. His blood is everything to him. Blood is cheap.Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.But then like I said, he's broken down. Vegeta is defeated again and again, even killed. His rivals usurp him, namely ones without royal blood, and scoff at his entitlement to praise and honor. Vegeta learns something that we've all seen in the real world…..Success is more often the product of natural talent + hard work. I'm a good writer, but I know damn well there are less-good writers who outwork me by leaps and bounds. Those writers will see greater success in this field than me. I could sit in my office and be pissed about it, or I can work harder. Vegeta is never really cured of his Saiyan Pride, but with time and suffering it becomes based on something more real — which is Vegeta's own special resolve to never stay down. He will always get back up. The Roman stoic known as Seneca the Younger wrote in his letters, “No one should feel pride in anything that is not his own. In a man, praise is due only to what is his very own. Suppose he has a beautiful home and a handsome collection of servants, a lot of land under cultivation, and a lot of money earned out of interest; not one of these things can be said to be his own – they are just things around him.” - Letters From A StoicVegeta believes in himself, and that's a variation of pride we make allowances for in philosophy and culture. No one likes or follows people who don't believe in themselves. Vegeta's Pride becomes something he earned. Something that is his own, cultivated within through trials and defeat. He knows at a certain point that his “special blood” won't save him. If you were to take pride in one thing, it might be how well you get back up when smacked down. But even that, in my opinion, comes from a God who made you differently than every person around you. Some people will have to fight their whole life for the resolve to stick up for themselves even once, that's where you come in. Their meekness is your call to duty. Your strength should be put to work in service of those who have none. You're unique. Listen for that whisper. Notice what you're good at from the earliest age when it's easiest to hear these whispers.It's what you were made for. Are you up to date on our YouTube videos? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

A podcast addition to Geeky Stoics“Don't seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will—then your life will flow well”- Epictetus, Enchiridion, 8.Grey Worm looks at Missandei, with a profound seriousness on his face but a sort of sadness in his eyes. He has not just accepted what happened to him, but he has chosen something akin to gratitude.“If the masters never cut me, I never am Unsullied. I never stand in the Plaza of Pride when Daenerys Stormborn orders us to kill the masters. I never am chosen to lead the Unsullied. I never meet Missandei from the island of Naath.”Read more in the article below This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.geekystoics.comA few weeks ago, Riley and I got together in Northern Virginia to spend some time working on Geeky Stoics' future. For me, the highlight was taking a morning walk out in the Manassas Battlefield Park and sharing some ideas with each other about why we take fiction so seriously. The goal was a candid conversation. At the heart of this exchange is a commo…

“There's no difference between responsibility and adventure” is something said by Jordan Peterson in his most recent chat with Joe Rogan. I scribbled that one down as soon as I heard it. It resonated for a few reasons, chief among them that accepting responsibility in my own life around age 20 led me to the life I have now…with a beautiful wife of 13 years and an equally lovely daughter of 13. The adventure has been unbelievable and has taken me in so many directions I didn't anticipate.Like most individuals faced with that kind of crossroad moment, I didn't initially know which road to take. I resisted the path of responsibility, however briefly. Luke Skywalker had this kind of hinge moment in Star Wars: Episode IV. He had always dreamed of leaving Tatooine. He talks about it with his best friend, Biggs, who is packing his bags to leave and join the Rebellion. Then Obi-Wan Kenobi gives Luke an opportunity when he says “You must learn the ways of the Force and come with me to Alderaan.” You must. Not should.Luke evades. “I can't get involved.” Yeah right. He was scared of change and more content to dream about leaving home than actually doing it. But fate forced Luke's hand when the Empire burned his home to the ground, killing his Aunt and Uncle in the process. Now there was nothing for Luke on Tatooine. He agrees to go with Obi-Wan. Hardly a heroic motivation. He had run out of excuses for doing what he knew to be right. Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Like the Force of Star Wars, God also has a way of compelling proper action and walking the path of responsibility. The whole reason Jonah ended up inside a whale was because he refused to heed God's command to travel to Nineveh and preach against its evil and corruption.Moses was commanded by God to be his champion in confronting the Pharaoh of Egypt and freeing the Israelites, but he relented. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh —- Please send someone else.”Jonah fled God and was taken in by a whale till he came to his senses. Luke Skywalker had to lose everything in a very Job-like tragedy. What are you running from that you've been called to do? It's true that not all of us are meant to go on grand adventures. We shouldn't be seeking out what the culture considers “adventure”… mountains, skydiving, cross-country treks, and living off the grid for fun….instead, think of adventure as taking responsibility, or doing what must be done. 1 Timothy 2:2 says “live peaceful and quiet lives” and for some of us, that's exactly what we've been called to do. Raise kids, go to work, love our spouses, and pay bills. Why? It might be your child or their child who God will call on for some kind of dangerous physical adventure….and your job is to feed and educate that person so they can one day do it. I know of something that I'm running from which I feel called to do. What about you? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings have two very similar moments. As a great threat makes itself known in each world, a band of potential heroes circle up to assess the danger and devise a plan. In Star Wars: Rogue One this is the “rebellions are built on hope speech” delivered by Jyn Erso who has discovered the plans for the Death Star and wants to lead the fractured Rebel Alliance in stealing them. The Rebels are divided and hardly interested in risking everything over a rumor. In The Lord of the Rings, what will soon become the “Fellowship of the Ring” is gathered in Rivendell under the hospitality of Lord Elrond. He has gathered the Elves, Men, and Dwarves all together with Gandalf and the Hobbits, to unveil the Ring of the Power and make it known — it must be destroyed. In both stories, everyone learns of the threat with bated breath and in silence. Then fear and self-interest sink in. Argument erupts. In Star Wars and Middle-earth, we see a confluence of civilizations and leaders with their own unique concerns. Mutual destruction is only part of their calculus. For almost all of these men and women, their will to fight and risk it all comes from something you and I know well — a love of home. Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Before we continue, our new video, The School of Tywin Lannister, is out on YouTube in its entirety. This is a rundown of 3 Stoic lessons offered by the most powerful man in Westeros, a worthy villain in Game of Thrones. Check it out and be sure to leave a Like and Comment with your thoughts! A love of home is sometimes made into a controversial thing, even though we all know it is not. The Rebels and Fellowship are not risking their lives for one another homes, that is quite clear. Elves don't much care for Dwarves and vice versa. The Hobbits don't give a damn about Gondor, nor does Gondor care what happens to the Shire. They only care about what happens in faraway lands so much as it will eventually harm them and their lands. Jyn Erso reminds the Rebels of what the Empire did to Jedha just days before their meeting. The Empire tested the Death Star on a city called Jedha, which was completely wiped off the map. The Rebels know she's right. They think of their homes.Call this instinct patriotism or nationalism or whatever you want. I would prefer the former…patriotism, where you view your homeland as special, good, and worthy of defense. Nationalism is something else. It's when you take that belief and decide to carry it like a torch into other people's lands. In C.S. Lewis's The Four Loves, he begins the book with a deep explanation of this love of home and why it matters to human beings. With this love for the place there goes a love for the way of life; for beer and tea and open fires, trains with compartments in them and an unarmed police force and all the rest of it….a man's reasons for not wanting his country to be ruled by foreigners are very like his reasons for not wanting his house to be burned down because he “could not even begin” to enumerate all the things he would miss.”This love is what propels Sam and Frodo across all of Middle-earth. They think of the Shire. Frodo cries for it in his lowest moments, with the great irony being that he never feels comfortable there again after coming to its ultimate defense. Lewis says “Patriotism is not in the least aggressive. It asks only to be left alone.” For any man with imagination, he says, “How can I love my home without coming to realize that other men, no less rightly, love theirs?”In this sense, you get a perfectly reasonable take on self-interest as a motivating factor in the heroism of Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. Modern people love to talk a big game about being global citizens and tout their open-mindedness about cultures in corners of the globe they've never experienced or studied. It's performative. The only thing tangible is loving your own garden and tending to it. A deep and gentle love leads you to wish no harm to other people's gardens, for they must feel as strongly about them as you do yours. This well of empathy is valuable and leads to beautiful outcomes in both Star Wars and Tolkien's tale of Middle-earth. You can build it by investing in your own community, your own home, and local culture. You'll see how it differs from the cultures around you. And that's okay. There is beauty in difference. It would not be home unless it were different-C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

“Just because some people are nice to you, doesn't mean you should spend time with them”-Epictetus in The Art of LivingYou probably have gotten an earful for most of your life about choosing your friends wisely. Mom or Dad might have told you this, maybe a coach and most certainly your Sunday school teacher. I don't know about you, but I didn't listen to this when I was 16. I wanted to be friends with anyone who accepted me and welcomed my company. That was the extent of my discrimination on who I shared time with. I wish I had thought about it differently now, looking back on those years. You really do become more like who you hang around. You adopt their mannerisms. Sayings. Lingo. Wardrobe. Ever seen Mean Girls? It's natural. We are social creatures and will do all sorts of things in order to not be the lone wolf traveling the world without support. All friendships are transactional, even the ones we think are not. You are making deposits on every relationship. Is the other person putting something into it that adds value to your life at a positive rate of interest? C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia) and J.R.R Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) were friends and colleagues at the University of Oxford. It's cool to imagine these creative titans sharing time together and swapping ideas. The friendship had limits, of course, and it became strained over time as their evolving values and commitments clashed. They had a literary and writing club at Oxford known as The Inklings. This group of men (exclusively) would meet to share their work with one another. They'd offer feedback, argue, and poke holes in different ideas presented by the members. But the goal was to sharpen one another. At times this was known to be frustrating for members with varying degrees of ego. After the untimely death of C.S. Lewis, to which Tolkien had become estranged, he wrote of his old friend, “The unpayable debt I owe to C.S. Lewis was not influence but sheer encouragement. He was for long my only audience.”You see, Tolkien was not as prolific a writer as Lewis. He was more in the weeds of his worldbuilding, sure, but he struggled to finish his work in a way that Lewis did not. Tolkien had doubts and at times lacked motivation to continue. He very much did not have wind in his sails to complete The Hobbit, a story he had reservations about releasing to the public. Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Tolkien had even greater doubts about the longer tale that would become The Lord of the Rings. But Lewis loved the stories. He read the drafts with great enthusiasm and clamored for his friend to continue forward. Tolkien did, and the world has never been the same. Lewis was known as a serial encourager of others. He loved to brainstorm and workshop other people's ideas. There is no telling how many great works came from Oxford and The Inklings as a result of Lewis' desire to make sure fruit never died on the vine. You need friends like this in your life.The Stoic philosopher Epictetus is known to have shared these very ideas in his lectures. “The world is full of agreeable and talented folk. The key is to keep company only with the people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best,” he said. You need to be choosy. The company you keep will rub off on you. In the case of Lewis and Tolkien, these two men were in each other's lives at a time when they needed one another. They sharpened each other's craft and uplifted spirits at late hours of the night when their creative energies would boil over. Then it stopped. The men grew apart. It's rather sad the more you read about it and the slow demise of The Inklings. But that's the truth of 90 percent of friendships. They are chapters in a book and people move in and out of our lives like the tides. Only a select few will be in your life from start to finish. Hopefully, they are company you chose to keep. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

“When you've done well and another has benefited by it — why like a fool do you look for a third thing on top—credit for the good deed or a favor in return?”-Marcus AureliusLove languages are funny. Some people really value conversation in their relationship, others value closeness. I remember early on in my marriage I thought it was uncomfortable to sit on the couch in silence with my wife, just watching TV and saying nothing for two hours. Inside I was panicking like, “Are we not in sync?! Why aren't we talking?!” But she would always say it was just nice to be together and share space. What are the love languages you've seen in your life? Flowers….jewelry….ice cream…physical touch…My Mom is in town visiting. She has a farm in North Carolina. More of a petting zoo, honestly. Lots of cute and fuzzy animals who don't produce anything but smiles. There are rabbits! She told me that contrary to popular belief, bunnies don't like to be held. It goes against their instincts as prey for larger animals to be held and taken off their feet. Their ability to dart away at any given moment is their strength. Without feet on the ground, they feel helpless. My dog (Kylo) hates being hugged. It's funny to watch. His head moves away and his body pulls in the other direction as you wrap your arms around him. But as human beings, we have wants and needs ourselves. We show love differently. We want to hold the rabbit because it's like a baby. We want to hug the dog because he is a dear friend. But that's not what they want. Can we accept that? Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.CS Lewis once said that the true mark of human beings' primacy over animals is how we “acknowledge duties to them which they do not acknowledge to us.” We do things for them without any real hope of thanks. Marcus Aurelius called this the “third thing”, referencing how we sell ourselves short by doing what we're supposed to do but only in search of validation or praise. Animals are never going to give that to you. This matters. Our gentleness to animals is an expression of deep love and empathy. It's something that makes you unique.But what good is it if you are gentle to your cat and cruel to your spouse? What good is it if you're understanding of the dog who threw up on the rug after eating too much grass, but angry when your toddler throws a spoon full of pudding across the dining room? Animals are training for how we should treat our fellow human beings. We diminish our dignity when we are mean-spirited to animals because we have the greater capacity for choice in how we engage them.Be patient. Be gentle. Trust me, I'm writing this as a reminder to myself. It's hard sometimes. But it's what we're here to do. So do it. Have a great weekend folks. VERY EXCITING NEWSGeeky Stoics on YouTube is just 15 hours of watch time from being able to support Ads on YouTube. We've grown a lot this year and you all are to thank for that. If you haven't joined us there, go Subscribe and watch a video. Leave a comment and tell us what you think. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

There are two truths I want you to hold at once. The first truth is that you have no time to waste being someone you're not. I recently interviewed this young entrepreneur named Nicolas Kirkland, and he said something that stuck with me — “Why do you gotta act like everybody else? Everybody else is taken.” We're either on the hamster wheel of trying to fit in or we've slipped into the sinkhole of mistaking someone else's dream for our own. Related note: One of my absolute favorite musical tunes is “From Now On” performed by Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman. He lets his father-in-law and insecurity about growing up poor corrupt his ambitions, and he quickly finds himself living the life of a two-faced businessman. Somehow he lost touch with who he was at the start. But it wasn't too late to turn things around. BTW the Zac Brown Band does an A+ cover of this song I highly recommend.“The politicians praised my name. But those are someone else's dreams, the pitfalls of the man I became. For years and years, I chased their cheers, at the crazy speed of always needing more.”Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.The second truth is that you can also become the person you want to be by simply playing the part. You can call it “fake it to make it” or couch it in that old saying, “dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” These truths could be mistaken for a contradiction, one demanding authenticity and another promoting inauthenticity, but it all depends on how honest you're being with yourself about who you're meant to be. None of us come into the world born the way we'd like to eventually leave the world. We are in a process of becoming. The trick is becoming the person you want to see in the mirror till your final days, and doing that work for yourself…not someone else. I hope you enjoy this video for Geeky Stoics subscribers. Leave a comment with your thoughts and share with a friend. If you enjoyed this post and want more to read, here are a few recommendations This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

This week we've been back through Game of Thrones in our house. I haven't watched it again since 2011 when the series first premiered on HBO and took over popular culture for the next eight years. There's so much to be said about the characters in this show. Starks. Lannisters. Targaryens. Dothrakis. Baratheons. I'd forgotten how powerful this contest for control of Kings Landing and Westeros is. It's not my intention to dunk on House of the Dragon, the new spinoff series set generations before GoT during the reign of House Targaryen, but there wasn't much about the new series that left an impression or stuff to think about. King Viserys Targaryen and his willingness to let critics speak freely is one notable exception that we wrote about here on Geeky Stoics.Viserys hears that rabble-rousers are questioning his choice of royal heir, and his advisor urges him to have their tongues cut out. The king, very much not inclined toward violence, declines. “Tongues will not change the succession. Let them wag.” He sounds a bit like Cicero, the Roman senator who scribbled down “Let other people worry over what they will say about you. They will say it in any case.”“Those who can't talk about those who can” is what actor Denzel Washington once had to say about his critics in Hollywood.It's true. You must not distract yourself with the useless opinions of others. “A lion doesn't concern him with the opinions of the sheep” is what Tywin Lannister says to his son, Jaime, in Game of Thrones' first season.We have a balance to strike in our lives. Can we carry on with our work without reading the comments section or nervously checking on reviews? Can we be receptive to feedback and eager to learn or adjust without our entire existence hinging on the validation of others?The tricky thing about this scene between Tywin and Jaime Lannister is that they're the villains of this chapter in Game of Thrones.Tywin is a nasty man, but he's quite sane. In a Westeros full of madmen and murderers… controversial opinion here…but Tywin Lannister would be a decent king….simply because he is practical, understands power politics, and can be reasonable.We don't want to take advice from a bad guy, but not caring what people think about them is sort of their superpower. They are freed from self-imposed obligations to people around them whom they hold in contempt or see as lesser.Good people need to hear this sometimes. They tend to think about others more than your villains of the world, and then they get trapped by that sense of care. A time will come when doing good requires being at odds with those around you who have been deceived or caught up in evil.This little exchange between two Lannister men about the limiting effect of other people's opinions is worth remembering. There is real wisdom there. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com

While I was chaperoning my daughter's Scout Troop at summer camp in July, I took The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe with me to revisit the classic C.S. Lewis tale with adult eyes. It was fun. I fully appreciate now why I loved this story so much growing up. I also can appreciate with even more clarity why I loathed the character of Edmund so much. He's the younger brother and family traitor who sells out his siblings to the White Witch, setting into motion a series of events that results in the death of Aslan, “King of Beasts”.Most readers of this book (or fans of the movies) will dislike Edmund. Perhaps there is a legion of younger brothers out there who see themselves in Edmund and hate Peter instead. That seems likely, now that I think about it.He is awful though. Edmund bullies his younger sister (Lucy) for her belief in Narnia, learns of it himself, and then lies again to make Lucy look foolish. All the while he is conspiring with the White Witch to bring her his siblings and be anointed “king” of Narnia. The Turkish Delight candies the Witch feeds him do legitimately skew his judgment, something the book goes to great lengths to make clear. Edmund is a rotten boy but he is a victim of deceit and malicious spiritual intoxication.“When faced with people's bad behavior, turn around and ask when you have acted like that. When you saw money as a good, or pleasure, or social position — Your anger will subside as soon as you recognize that they acted under compulsion. What else could they do?”- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Owen: "We don't need anything from you, Kenobi." Obi-Wan: "It's just a toy."Owen: "It's a lot more than that."―Owen Lars to Obi-Wan KenobiI've been thinking a lot today about why I do this. Here's what I came up with. Geeky Stoics is about drawing out the transcendent from the entertaining. It's about reaching beyond “escapism” and expanding your potential in the real world through the enjoyment of other worlds. Every place we visit, we take something home. You travel to South Carolina….you come home with a sea turtle mug and sand between your toes. You return from California with a tan. You go to school and hopefully return with fun facts, or maybe a black eye. You go to the movie theater to see Star Wars or Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings or The Avengers, and you come home with ideas of a larger world. Why do you think Obi-Wan Kenobi gave young Luke Skywalker a toy T-16 Skyhopper as a gift? The one we see a more grown-up Luke playing with in the original Star Wars film. It was to inform Luke, to delight and direct his mind toward the stars. Uncle Owen forbids it at first. He takes the toy away and angrily returns it to Obi-Wan. Knowledge of the stars and ships to visit them would direct Luke's imagination toward them. That opens Luke up to great danger. He could be harmed by the galaxy. But Obi-Wan persisted and made sure Luke had this toy at his desert home on Tatooine. It primed Luke to want more. Yes, it's just a toy, the definition of escapist entertainment. But toys are how we act out greatness. We roleplay heroism and courage with toys and costumes. In the theater seat, are you not doing the same thing? Wondering to yourself during the movie, “Is this how I would respond to Darth Vader's offer of power and empire? Would I walk away from the burning Homestead and leave Mos Eisley with strangers to rescue a princess?” Every few days I hear from someone that we take these stories too seriously, and that they weren't meant to be philosophies or profound insights about life. They're just meant to be “simple” and “family entertainment”. When I think of simple family entertainment I think of a waterslide. You climb up, you go down, you get wet, and do it all over again. But I don't know how you could look at Spider-Man….when Peter Parker chooses out of vengefulness to let an armed robber escape with a bag of cash, something he has the power to stop, but he shirks that responsibility and it cascades directly to the murder of his beloved uncle by that same thief….and think, “simple entertainment”. Someone quipped to me that it's not like Michael Bay's Transformers movies are philosophical. Surely that would be a huge stretch to argue. I don't particularly care for those films, but just five minutes of reflection would lead you to see that even the Transformers movies, which are dripping in shiny objects, sex appeal, and big explosions, have a very basic perspective about human existence….which is that it's worth fighting for. Optimus Prime doesn't come down to Earth and encourage the people he meets to roll over and die. When you come to realize that there a tons of people, philosophers even, who promote the idea that humanity is an invasive species, you then have to ask yourself, “Well what is this goofy Transformers movie telling me?” And it's saying, in the booming voice of Optimus Prime…Defend planet Earth from the Decepticons. Be brave. Stand up for yourself. Fight. Almost every story you've ever read has a point of view and something it wants you to understand. Every story is written in the context of a civilization and its values, and every little thing that you think is “simple” is very likely an alien concept to some man or woman your age on the other side of the globe. It makes me think of this old Brad Pitt movie Seven Years in Tibet, where Pitt plays an Austrian Olympic climber visiting Tibet. He brags of his feats climbing mountains in hopes of seducing a local woman, but she's gobsmacked that this Western man thinks it is valiant to conquer mountains. I don't know about you, but as a Western man myself, I see a mountain and I think “You climb it”…Why? “Because it's there”. I suspect we will never hear the end of criticism and naysaying about how we take simple stories too seriously or bend over backward to find meaning in ridiculous children's stories, but I know in my bones that they are much more than that. These “toys” these “escapist” pieces of entertainment, they are telling us something. The question is, are you listening? God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.-C.S. LewisGeeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.This morning I was alone for a while in a lovely wooded area outside of my town. I was dwelling on some negative comments I'd seen recently about the stuff we make here. And I started writing in my journal. That was the first piece of what you just read. The intent is for it to be part of a book that Riley Blanton and I are working on, all about Geeky Stoics. Stay tuned. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Why do our warmest memories sort of hurt? You know the feeling. An old home video from childhood where you're opening Christmas presents in the company of siblings and cousins, or the memory box from high school full of photos and scribblings featuring your long-lost best friends. We miss these times. Though they were challenging at the time (being a teenager is hard) you can't help but look back on those years as more…simple. Today, we want to show you a short YouTube video called “A Love Letter To Star Wars” that depicts a young man lost in the nostalgia of the Star Wars prequel era (1999-2006). He seems lonely. Alienated from the Star Wars of today. The past makes him smile. We feel that. There's a wonderful book I read recently called Past Forward: How Nostalgia Can Help You Live A More Meaningful Life by Dr. Clay Routledge which makes a compelling case for the value of nostalgic feeling. Rather than treating nostalgia as a negative experience that traps people in the past and prevents growth, Routledge explains how nostalgia directs our future actions.The past isn't the true destination; it's just where we go to grab supplies for the tripNostalgia is a clue in our subconscious about what makes us feel whole. We lose those things along the way due to circumstances and the ever-changing nature of the world. But every day we have a chance to build a new life. So how are you using those nostalgic feelings to guide your decision making? Something I picked up from a biography of C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia) was that he believed God speaks to us in our childhood loves. Lewis spoke of nostalgia often but in terms of how God attempts to show us who we really are and what gifts he gave us that perhaps we've squandered. Did you love animals when you were 10 years old and dream of being a zoo keeper? Lewis believed that this might have been the real you. That doesn't mean that you have to be a zoo keeper, but it might mean you were gifted the heart of a nurturer. That could mean being a teacher, a dog kennel operator, or a parent to a big flock of children. If you loved Star Wars (deeply) like Riley and I both do, the idea is that this is not a flash-in-the-pan kind of phase you went through, but a deeper reality about something in your heart. Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.We lose touch with that deeper truth when we enter the life of career, making money, paying bills, managing debt, and other sorts of mundane adult pressures. I made peace with that deeper truth several years ago and decided not to segregate Star Wars and “geeky” stories from my adult life. I think I was meant to adore these stories and reframe them for my adult peers. I think I was meant to do something like we're doing at Geeky Stoics. I know that because of nostalgic feelings toward Star Wars, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and my childhood friendships. This might be why C.S. Lewis dedicated The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to his God-daughter, saying “I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand a word you say, but I shall still be your affectionate Godfather, C. S. Lewis.”Did you catch that? Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. Enjoy this video podcast of Geeky Stoics, and let us know what you think in the Comments. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

A journey through perspective taking with Star Wars and C.S. Lewis. The glasses we wear in life change everything. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

“What view is one likely to take of the state of a person's mind when his speech is wild and incoherent and knows no restraint?” The Roman known as Seneca asked this question sometime around the year 50 AD in a collection of letters now published as Letters From A Stoic. It's possible I like this book more than Stoicism's seminal text, Meditations. It's very practical. Seneca was a lawyer, senator, political advisor and philosopher, and his letters are chock full of very strong takes on matters such as public speaking and how to be persuasive. As a participant in political discourse, both as a commentator and as a candidate for office, Seneca's advice on communication is something I take seriously. You should too!In Letter XL, Seneca guides us on everything from the speed and volume of our speech, to the simplicity of the words we choose.“Nothing can be well-regulated if it is done in a breakneck hurry” (bad news for Ben Shapiro) “Language which devotes its attention to truth ought to be plain and unadorned.” (Here's great political slogan that comes from a much more wordy and drawn out concept) “The other extreme of thinness and poverty means less attentiveness on the part of the listener as he becomes tired of the slowness with all its interruptions.” (Bueller? Bueller?)In plain terms, Seneca is saying in this last quote to speak with peaks and valleys. Pick up speed and speak with a rhythm, and then slow down at strategic points in your message.Although I still have much to learn, I do work as a public speaking coach for hire. When I train speakers, this is lesson number one: Variation in your speed. It keeps the audience engaged. If you talk fast and then slow down, people want to know why. They assume you're making an important point. It's like verbally whipping out a yellow highlighter and emphasizing a few words in your speech. Trust me, it makes people listen if they had started to zone out.I'll wrap things up with a great moment in communication from The Lord of the Rings. The wizard Gandalf is trying to get his friend, Bilbo Baggins, to relinquish the Ring of Power to him for safe keeping. Bilbo is in the grips of the Ring's influence, and is starting to become angry and vicious. Bilbo is talking faster and more erratically. Gandalf at first tries to keep up, interrupt softly and with concern. Then he changes strategy. Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Gandalf raises his voice. Quite loudly. In Tolkien's book it's even more clear that Gandalf employs some kind of magic to enlarge his appearance and fill the air with almost static electricity. He shocks Bilbo out of his paranoid rant.The movie dialogue from the Peter Jackson movie is more straight forward than what Gandalf says in the book. “BIBLO BAGGINS!!!! DO NOT TAKE ME FOR SOME CONJURER OF CHEAP TRICKS. I AM NOT TRYING TO ROB YOU…..I'm trying to help you.”Bilbo runs into Gandalf's arms for comfort and help. The Ring has overtaken his mind, and he knows it. Gandalf does not go around yelling at people. He speaks very softly almost all of the time. So when he raises his voice, people listen. You've probably known someone, a parent or teacher or politician, who is always barking and being loud. It's fascinating. Even in their shouting, it can become like white noise, a static that you barely hear at all. Variation in speech is key for making your point and having ears attuned to what you are saying. Be in control. Speaking with great intention is a virtue to Seneca and the Stoics, and it certainly was to Gandalf the Grey. Practice it this week.After all, Seneca does conclude this letter by saying, “One needs constant daily practice for it.” ICYMI here is the new episode of the Geeky Stoics Podcast where we talk about Star Wars: The Acolyteand if you wanna go a layer deeper on Star Wars you simply must watch this video essay by Riley Blanton of Geeky Stoics This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Clive Staples Lewis (C.S. Lewis), known to friends and family as “Jacksie” (or Jack), was a stridently opinionated young man from the earliest age. He was a bookworm, an avid enjoyer of mythology and you could even say he was a bit too pleased with himself for it. During an unpleasant period of Lewis' life (age 15) studying at Malvern College, a boys' prep school, Lewis began to form an aspect of his personality he'd work a lifetime to keep in check: scorn. Malvern valued athletics above everything else. The school aimed to shape the boys through physical competition and sport, something which young “Jacksie” had no talent in or appetite for. He avoided the games whenever possible. But he went a step further and adopted an attitude of contempt for the school's jocks. I was the same way at 15, despite being good at sports. Lewis was this classic archetype. The nerd and intellectual who looks down on sports and all his peers who participate in it. Lewis wrote in a letter, “If I had never seen the horrible spectacle which these coarse, brainless English schoolboys present, I might be a danger of my sometimes becoming like that myself.” C.S. Lewis was at least self-aware and seemed to know he had an arrogance problem. A few years later, Lewis had found himself a mentor in one, Mr. Kirkpatrick, a friend of the family. On a walk one day in the English county of Surrey, Kirkpatrick began to work on Lewis' snobbery in what can only be described as a Socratic smackdown. Lewis was Irish and very much hated being in England. He found it ugly, dry, and uninspired. So naturally, he made an underhanded remark about it. Lewis said on their walk that Surrey was “wilder” than he had anticipated. Kirkpatrick began his pushback. “What do you mean by wildness?” (I dunno)“Have you been here before?” (No)“Have you studied maps of the area?” (No)“Have you read books about Surrey or seen photographs of it?” (NO!!) Lewis was caught off guard. His gentle jab at Surrey wasn't meant to provoke, it was just him making small talk, but it reflected his opinionated nature. Kirkpatrick put Lewis in his place by asking him questions that would reveal what informed his thinking. Nothing informed it. Only his contempt for England and romanticization of rural Northern Ireland. Before you continue with this stoic lesson from the life of C.S. Lewis, open up our new Geeky Stoics video analysis on the closure of the “Star Wars Hotel” at Disney World. There's another lesson here about opinions, stubborn confidence, and listening graciously to feedback. Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.C.S. Lewis had no basis for thinking ill of Surrey or that it would be tame and boring. Lewis knew then that he needed to develop his critical thinking capabilities. Being taken apart like that over such a simple matter was not something he wanted to endure again. In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius writes that:“It is in our power to have no opinion about a thing, and not to be disturbed in our soul; for things themselves have no natural power to form our judgments”Not being overly opinionated is a pillar of Stoic philosophy. The idea is that you should test every impression and feeling like a shopkeeper tests the currency they're given by a shopper. Is this counterfeit? The Roman stoic, Seneca said in his letters that, “Pain is slight if opinion has added nothing to it.” C.S. Lewis could have used this when watching his peers play football at Malvern College. You don't have to enjoy sports. You don't have to have strong opinions about it all. His opinions on the thing were causing him to suffer more than the thing itself. Our world is driven by opinion and sounding off, more than at any time in human history. It's amplified and monetized by social media. Look around and you'll see most people are not too happy about it, but they play right into the hands of the opinion industry. It's okay to not have an opinion about this or that. You are not uninformed for having no opinion. Nothing is worse and more cheap than a paper-thin opinion treated as gospel. Thanks for reading Geeky Stoics! We'll be back next week with more. I'm in Poland right now on business, but I did have a little excitement on my way here. Here's that!I did make it to Warsaw. Here's the evidence. My daughter sent me here with her stuffed cow named Epictetus. Yes, the stoic…Epictetus. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Yesterday I revisited a Robin Williams classic, the Dead Poets Society. This movie likely inspired a generation of English teachers, based on how many times this movie was shown to me in school by a teacher with a twinkle in their eye. Everyone fancies themselves the Williams character, Mr. Keating, who teaches his students about language, romanticism, and “carpe diem”.  It's a great movie and aged well. In a sense, Dead Poets is standard fare for the inspirational drama genre. Its main beats include a spunky teacher instilling nonconformity in his prep school students, overbearing parents who won't accept their children's passion for art, an authoritarian headmaster, and a bunch of messy boys searching for their identity in a school that takes no interest in the individual. The movie is pure romanticism, all the way from its high points like the O' Captain My Captain ending to the low points like the tragic suicide of a main character, taken by despair about his future. When you're young, you see yourself in the boys.Their hopelessness about meeting parental expectations hits hard. You love the teacher who sees them for who they truly are. Robin Williams captures the kind of mentor we all wanted at that age. I hope you had someone in your life that was like Keating. Dead Poets is chock full of memorable takeaways and bumper sticker wisdom."No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.”“There is a time for daring, and there is a time for caution. And a wise man understands which is called for.”“Poetry, beauty, romance, love… these are what we stay alive for.”“Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”But what about this one from Mr. Keating's lessons…..Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.One afternoon, Keating jumps up on his desk and proclaims the necessity of seeing things from a different perspective. Have an open mind. Walk in another man's shoes. Stand on the teacher's desk where you can look out at the class. The kids and their desks would seem small. It's a little goofy and not that transcendent of a lesson compared to some other observations by Keating about life and love. It even feels a bit elementary. “After an orange cloud — formed as a result of a dust storm over the Sahara and caught up by air currents — reached the Philippines and settled there with rain, I understood that we are all sailing in the same boat.” - Vladimir Kovalenok, on seeing the Earth from spaceBut now as a parent of a 13-year-old, watching Dead Poets as a family last night, I took a new interest in elements of the movie I hadn't cared about before. It's like the old saying, “You never stand in the same river twice.” Since the water is always in motion, the river is new every single day. This is the case for rereading books you love and watching old movies again. You're different today than you were yesterday or a decade ago. I was standing on the desk. Seeing the movie as an adult. Seeing the kids not as my peers, but as kids. “We must constantly look at things in a different way,” says Mr. Keating as the boys climb up on the desk to see the classroom from above. I felt the pain of the parents who lost their son to suicide. Though their overbearing expectations are what pushed the child to end his life, I actually noticed the offhand detail about the family being lower-middle class and less wealthy than everyone else at the prep school. The parents also felt pressure, and their desire to improve their economic position in society overwhelmed their son. They weren't bad people. They had developed tunnel vision, and I've been there before. There's a teacher (Mr. Nolan) early in the movie who questions Keating's unorthodox methods in the classroom. He's a bit of a totalitarian himself, and he debates Keating at the lunch table. What I never noticed when I was a kid was that Mr. Nolan does not dislike Keating, he actually quite enjoys him. They spar, but you can see in a shared smile that they are simply two teachers who love knowledge and sharing it, but in different ways. When you're young you don't like Nolan. Yesterday, I didn't feel badly about him at all. Weird!Mr. Nolan is also not a bad man. In fact, he says something true to Keating which is that the romanticism he values will open the boys up to more pain in their lives. This is true. Keating expands the boy's minds and their dreams, and when a dream gets crushed, a boy is crushed also, then buried. It's this part of the movie, climbing the desk, which is quite hard for teenagers to fully appreciate. They're particularly self-centered creatures. I know cause I was one. This is one of the great hurts Robin Williams touched on throughout his career: becoming an adult without losing the child inside. Like in his reimagined Peter Pan story, Hook, “All grown-ups are pirates.” But we don't want to be. Our priorities just change. We fall in love. We have kids. We start to need money and then fall for the lie that we always need more of it. Then we alienate those who we love and wonder how we lost our way in the first place. “I did it for them” these characters always say. Climb the desk. Revisit something you “used to love” and see what you can see. I bet it'll be different from when you were younger. Did you catch our latest video and articles on Geeky Stoics? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Once there was a Gnat who flew over the meadow with much buzzing for so small a creature and he settled on the tip of one of the horns of a Bull. After he had rested a short time, the Gnat made ready to fly away. But before he left he begged the Bull's pardon for having used his horn for a resting place."You must be very glad to have me go now," said the Gnat"It's all the same to me," replied the Bull. "I did not even know you were there."Ouch! This is one of my favorite of Aesop's Fables. Like the other stories in this fantastical collection from Ancient Greece, “The Gnat & the Bull” is a reminder to think a little less of yourself. It's nearly impossible to not think of yourself as the main character of your own story, but trying is a worthwhile exercise. There's this great scene in AMC's classic series, Mad Men, where the advertising executive and playboy Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm) has just hurt the pride of one of his employees, Michael Ginsberg. This young man is a starving artist type. He's brilliant, but a tad tortured inside. His creative work matters a lot to him. In a pitch meeting for a client, Ginsberg's idea was supposed to be front and center. Last minute, Don Draper changes things up and pitches his own idea instead. This is what happens…..it's 50 seconds and worth watching. So often we are of greater importance in our own eyes than in the eyes of our neighbor…..This fable and the scene from Mad Men are instructive in a few ways. First, as I said above, Michael Ginsberg has never considered that his hot-shot boss gives zero thought to his existence. As a great artist with a wild mind, Ginsberg is very pleased with himself and his creations for the ad firm. He is watching others very closely, studying rivals, and thinking about how other people carry themselves. He's more empathic in that way. But the problem with empaths (I am one) is that we also start to think everyone else is like this. “I'm constantly wondering what this person is up to…..I bet they're thinking about me and my struggles…” Do you see how this is both a gift and a curse? This kind of mind is hyper-aware, but one step away from being self-centered at all times. Don Draper is not a nice guy. He's got a huge ego. He's the Bull, a heavyweight in his field, and a very self-centered man.But….as a boss in a big office, Draper is 100% correct that in this dynamic….Michael Ginsberg works for him. Ginseberg's ideas are his ideas in a pitch meeting. If you have a boss, you work for their glory. Your job is to support them, help them succeed, and see them recognized. This means doing your job diligently and adopting a service mindset. Of course, this has limits. A good boss who keeps employees around knows that glory and recognition have to be shared, and underlings have to be given opportunities to rise in the company based on their performance. Don is not great with this. However, every time he says to Ginsberg, “I don't think about you at all” I want to break into applause for Don here, even though he's not a great guy. Two things are true here in the case of the Gnat and the Bull, AKA Ginsberg and Draper.One: Draper does in fact think about Ginsberg, a lot. His career is sputtering and he feels very much that his position in the company is threatened. He's lost a little of his creative edge. Ginsberg has it. He sees it. He wants it and also wants to snuff it out. Draper will not be eclipsed by a young upstart. So what is doing isn't fully sincere. Two: Don simply wants to deny him the satisfaction when Ginsberg says, “I feel sorry for you.” He shuts it down with disinterest and walks off. He won that standoff. Ginsberg is convinced, and frankly, he kind of needed it. His boss has a life and big problems, Ginsberg should think that Draper isn't thinking about him that much. There's ego going both ways here that need to be put in check.The people you are trying to keep up with, the folks whose stuff you envy….they likely aren't thinking about you at all. That Facebook or Slack post you edited 10 times to get the wording just right so you didn't offend anyone….no one saw it in the first place. When you spend twenty minutes picking the right outfit or tie to go to a party, you imagine this scenario where everyone is watching you and judging your outfit. In reality, hardly anyone will notice you. Their faces are in their phones or in conversation with people they already know. Uncenter yourself a little bit from the narrative. If someone else wants to make you the star of the show or the main character in a story, let them do it. But as much as you can, resist this impulse.“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.”― C.S. LewisThis is a great analysis of the scene for Mad Men fans. Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Nothing is worse than losing your sense of who you are. That's what Riley wrote about for Geeky Stoics just a few days ago. C.S. Lewis worried about this too. He had this sense that Satan himself would love nothing more than to alienate the individual from the person in the mirror. That horrible, empty feeling when you look at yourself and don't like what you see. The hatred of your own unique voice or reflection. That's part of what we discussed in today's Geeky Stoics Book Club!C.S. Lewis writes from the perspective of a demonic force preying on human beings…“You should always try to make the patient (human) abandon the people or food or books he really likes in favour of the “best” people, the “right” food,” the “important” books.” This letter from C.S. Lewis was about more than just liking what you like, but also dealt with liking things for the sake of gaining attention, glory, or appeasing vanity. We struggle with this at Geeky Stoics, because in essence, Lewis' idea is to NOT read great books and then share their insights for the purpose of impressing friends or sounding smart in a newsletter……(uh oh)We do a lot of reading and synthesizing here, but the goal of Riley and myself is you make it all for your benefit.C.S. Lewis wants you to know the person in the mirror and guard that person's heart and mind with prejudice. Don't lose yourself. In the video ABOVE, we and some supporters of Geeky Stoics share our simple loves….things we enjoy for the sake of enjoying them, and nothing more. We hope it brings you some joy! Leave your simple pleasures in the comments section. Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.In the video BELOW, which is premiering on YouTube right this very moment, Riley continues his series on how “focus determines reality”. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

The problems on Naboo were deeper than a droid army invasion in Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Their planet was divided. One culture and species above the water, another pushed below. The Gungans are sort of a George Lucas stand-in for an indigenous people, while the human beings of Naboo are like colonial settlers. “The Naboo” came from off-world and ran the Gungans off their land. That's hundreds of years of galactic history.By time we get to The Phantom Menace, the Gungans loathe the Naboo and the Naboo mostly just don't understand the Gungans. It was their ancestors who had conflict with the weird-looking fish people associated with Jar Jar Binks. “Why do they hate us?”Episode I gives us clues. When the Gungan Leader, Boss Nass, hears the Naboo have been conquered, he snarls. “We don't care about the Naboo. They think they're so smart. They think their brains so big.”It pains me how much I hear this kind of resentment in the real world. I participate in it often, and I have to hold myself accountable when I slip into it. You know what I'm talking about….another group of people who you hold in contempt because you assume they don't like you or look down on you.. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Life is comfortable in the ivory tower. You can look down on the rest of the world from the observatory window, seated next to your collection of books chock full of ancient wisdom and quips. The Jedi Order was trapped in this state during the years leading up to the Star Wars prequel trilogy (Episodes I, II, III). The Jedi Council literally sat around at the top of an ivory-looking tower on Coruscant, projecting outward their enlightenment and supernatural power as they looked out on Coruscant from the council chamber. How nice. Yes, there were Jedi of action. If you weren't on the Council, you were doing missions more regularly and seeing the real state of the galaxy. But if you moved up the Council, your world would be books, meditation, politics, and endless discussion. This is famously why Qui-Gon Jinn rejected an offer to join the Jedi Council when a seat opened up. During the Clone Wars period, Jedi Council members experienced more regular deployment into the field, leading many to die in battle. But again, it was not the historical norm. Why am I going on about this? Philosophy is for living and leadingI too like my books. I like my office. I like sitting in it, with my books, reading, highlighting, and writing about what I absorb. It's nice and very cozy. Over the last week though, I've been faced with a call to leave the coziness of my office and enter a different space, one I'd say is a bit more uncomfortable and perilous. I didn't want to answer that call, which I'd received from a number of people in my community, asking me to consider running for City Council in Manassas, Virginia. A lane was open and no one was stepping in to fill it. That means the city gets more of the same in terms of leadership. I thought of Geeky Stoics, my writing, and my time to be alone and think about philosophy, and I didn't like the idea at all.Then I remembered something. The Stoics were (mostly) doers. Many of the Roman Stoics at their peak were ivory tower types in that they were privileged and powerful, but they were “in the arena” as it were, and engaged in public life. Seneca, advisor to the emperor, a masterful politician, and a former senator. Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome, not by blood but by merit. He didn't want the purple robe of the emperorship, and he feared it greatly. Thomas Jefferson famously passed away with a copy of Seneca by his bedside. John Adams wrote with great knowledge and appreciation of Epictetus and Aurelius, and George Washington also kept the words of Seneca close as he rose into leadership roles in the Continental Army. To say nothing of President Teddy Roosevelt adventuring through the Amazon with Meditations in his backpack…..Rolling back the clock a bit to Greece, the Stoic known as Cleanthes was known to haul water buckets around on a pole to water the gardens of wealthy homeowners in Athens. He was mocked relentlessly for working to make a living for himself. Cleanthes was also a boxer for most of his life, before becoming the head of the Stoic school in ancient Greece. He succeeded its founder, a man known as Zeno, and was known for doing things with his hands as a means to strengthen his mind. “Be a boxer, not a gladiator, in the way you act on your principles. The gladiator takes up his sword only to put it down again, but the boxer is never without his fist and has only to clench it.” - Marcus Aurelius, MeditationsThat's why Marcus Aurelius wrote fondly of Cleanthes in Meditations, saying one should be a boxer, not a gladiator….because a boxer never lays down his weapon. He carries it with him wherever he goes. Stoic philosophy was for people “in the field” of life. Not their home office. Isolated on an island with a libraryI'm reminded of Luke Skywalker as seen in Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, where he's mostly given up on life and the fight against darkness. He is holed up on the island of Ahch-To, hoarding ancient Jedi texts in a library within a tree. It's not a perfect analogy, but at this time in his life, Luke valued the books more than he did the application of what was inside of them. He had resolved to die alone on the island, and let the way of the Jedi die with him. Yet, he was somehow still really attached to the books. When Master Yoda appears to him to give a much-needed pep talk, Yoda calls on lightning from the sky and sets the tree library ablaze. Luke is horrified. Yoda laughs. He reminds Luke that they are just old books, not page-turners. The truth (which Luke does not know) is that Rey snuck the books out of the library before leaving the island. As the tree burns, the books are safe, and Yoda knows that. But he wants Luke to feel something real: the pain of letting them go. We are called to be leaders in the world. Books and studies are for Hobbits in the Shire. The goal for each of us, “Geeky Stoics”, should be to take those books on the road and on great adventures. We'll miss the simplicity of our old life, Bilbo Baggins certainly did. But these aren't works of fiction for leisure. The books on my desk right now: The Bible, Seneca's Letters from a Stoic, and Meditations, these are field manuals. You take them out into the world. Y'all, I am terrified of what life looks like from now until November when America goes to vote in the 2024 election. I'll be on the ballot in Manassas for City Council, and until then I will be spending more time out in the city talking to my neighbors and asking people to support me in my candidacy. I have some ideas for the city I'm excited about, and I really just want to be an open ear for everyday people in my community who feel like the council doesn't listen to them.In the months ahead I anticipate being verbally attacked, maligned in mailers, gossiped about on weird Facebook Group pages run by the opposition. I know myself and I know that I like to be liked. It's gonna hurt when the slings and arrows start flying from people whom I've never met and the entrenched local politicians who take offense that anyone would dare challenge their leadership. I love this bit from comedian John Mulaney in his Netflix special where he talks about how his wife is awesome because she doesn't care one bit what people think of her. I say this often about my wife, Mel, who ran fearlessly for the city school board in 2022. She took cruel attacks from both sides of the aisle with such stoic grace. Mulaney goes “When I walk down the street I need everybody…all day long…to like me so much, it's exhausting! My wife said that walking around with me is like walking with someone running for mayor of nothing.” He goes on to describe how he got a Best Buy Rewards Card once because he didn't want the employee to be mad at him. Classic. I'm more like John. I am energized by bringing people together and finding common ground in a divisive world. That lights me up inside. But I have learned good and well that in politics (the arena) there are people who are fueled by the opposite. They love division, foolishness, and slander, and they wake up every day with a sense of paranoia and suspicion. I think power does this to people, even in more small, local elected offices. “Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness – all of them due to the offenders' ignorance of what is good or evil (right or wrong)……..” - Marcus Aurelius, part 1 of 2. Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.We are designed for cooperationI'll wrap this up. Now you know, I'm going to be running for Manassas City Council this year. Nothing changes for Geeky Stoics. I just need to work with my friend and collaborator, Riley Blanton, to stay organized so that we're writing for you on the same regular basis about the philosophy within pop culture. If you want to support me in the campaign, it goes without saying I appreciate it. It's much needed. To close, meditate on this passage from Marcus Aurelius, where he speaks about what to expect from each day. He is not being cynical or crude when he says there will be fools and ill-will found in each day. That's reality. But what he says after the passage above is so important, and often left out when Aurelius' is quoted. He reminds himself (and us, the reader he never anticipated having ) that even amidst stupidity and malice, our human duty is to work with others in a gracious spirit. We forgive the slights and attacks because as students of philosophy, we know that we are meant for cooperation with others, just as our hands, feet, and eyelids strive to work in sync. That is what nature demands of us. “….But for my part I have long perceived the nature of good and its nobility, the nature of evil and its meanness, and also the nature of the culprit himself, who is my brother (not in the physical sense, but as a fellow creature similarly endowed with reason and a share of the divine); therefore none of those things can injure me, for nobody can implicate me in what is degrading. Neither can I be angry with my brother or fall foul of him; for he and I were born to work together, like a man's two hands, feet or eyelids, or the upper and lower rows of his teeth. To obstruct each other is against Nature's law – and what is irritation or aversion but a form of obstruction.” - Marcus Aurelius, part 2 of 2 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

May the Fourth be with you!What better way to celebrate than to watch a very special, video edition of the Geeky Stoics podcast.In this episode, and get into it! It is a Star Wars philosophical battle royale (ok, maybe thoughtful discussion) on the ever-controversial concept of "balance” of the Force. Balance is a big deal in Star Wars - it's basically the main job description of the Chosen One. But leave it to a couple of philosophy nerds like us to find 7 ways to interpret exactly what that means. Stephen kicks things off by critiquing showrunner Leslye Headland's comments about her vision of balance in the context of the Acolyte series. This sparks a debate on George Lucas's original intent, Jungian psychology, the “gray Jedi,” “shadow self,” and whether darkness can truly co-exist with light. We always try to approach these discussions from multiple viewpoints while staying true to the philosophical “blender” that is Star Wars storytelling. May the Force Fourth be with you, friends.-Riley This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

“In a given year, you meet (dozens) or more people you spend enough time with to appraise their character. Think about them: How many do you think are decent, normal people who do volunteer work, help shovel after a storm, look out for family and neighbors?” This is a question asked often by Jim VandeHei of Axios when he's speaking to audiences across the country, and it's an important one. Do you think of the real human beings in your personal network as someone who'd chip in when there's a need? I do. Most certainly. How can it be then, that when I think of online personalities and digital acquaintances, I am less certain? Perhaps, it's because I don't know them. Perhaps, all I have to operate on is my impressions of those people. What they look like, how they dress, the way they speak. Is it possible that our media ecosystem is designed to obscure reality? It's not a novel suggestion. In fact, most people understand this. We call this the “echo chamber”, and everyone more or less chooses which one they want to be in. In the echo chambers, America is a deeply divided place with a civic culture broken to pieces by radicalism and distrust. Before you continue….Paid Subscribers to Geeky Stoics should scroll to the very bottom of the post for login information to our monthly First Friday video hangout. This happens tomorrow at 12:30 PM EST, May 3rd. Geeky Stoics' next book club is on C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. Sign up below by clicking the button if you're interested. We'll meet on Sunday evenings in May and discuss this iconic book about good & evil and also be joined by some special guest experts on Lewis and Tolkien. About that division….What if it's not true? What if this thing we feel and experience in our online lives is an illusion? Check out this survey by AP-NORC, which shows the opposite of what so many expect when it comes to public opinion on heated issues of the day. Remember, test your impressions. Your focus determines your reality. If you want to live in a world of distrust, radicalism, and division, then you keep doing what you're doing online and in your news consumption habits. If you don't want that, maybe…as they say…touch grass.“From the very beginning, make it your practice to say to every harsh impression, ‘You are an impression and not at all what you appear to be.' Next, examine and test it by the rules you possess, the first and greatest of which is this—whether it belongs to the things in our control or not in our control, and if the latter, be prepared to respond, ‘It is nothing to me.'”—Epictetus, Enchiridion, 1.5More on Alex Garland's Civil War + video hangout links for Paid Subscribers can be found below. Have a great weekend my friends. I couldn't get this out of my mind while I was sitting in the movie theater for Alex Garland's, Civil War, starring Kirsten Dunst: The disconnect between public perception about the movie and the movie itself. It's a brilliant and beautiful movie that I can't recommend enough. The movie got a rough reaction when the trailers first dropped. Commentators and Twitter-dwellers were suspicious of the political intentions of the movie, which is par for the course for a film premised on America's political divisions devolving into total war. Yes, the movie is about a second American Civil War. No, it has nothing to do with the political headlines of the day. Remarkably, the movie never even addresses the reason for the war. Audiences are just dropped into the final weeks of the conflict, at a time when people don't even remember what is was all for in the first place. First impressions were all about journalists being the main characters. Must be a puff-piece film for pious journos. Must be an anti-Trump January 6th propaganda movie.Texas and California allied in a fictional civil war? Impossible. How can people live like this? Just making baseless assumptions about the message or practicality of a movie on 2-minute trailers? In the end, A24's Civil War was nothing like what the Twitter Class said it would be. I almost let them fool me and set my impression of the movie without seeing it. It's funny. Civil War is about photojournalism in the heat of war. You have characters working film cameras and snapping a hundred shots in any given situation, collecting all sorts of information in incredibly stressful situations and under duress. Then there are quiet moments where they look through the film, knowing that out of every 100 images, only one will maybe be worth publishing. What is that if not the perfect analogy for all the impressions we receive about the world on any given day? We sort through mountains of s**t “photographs” every day, looking hard and with discernment for the one that is true. The one impression or image that is representative of objective reality.Geeky Stoics video hangout for First FridaySave this to your calendar!First Friday Hangout - GSFriday, May 3 · 12:30 – 1:15pm ESTTime zone: America/New_York ESTGoogle Meet joining infoVideo call link: https://meet.google.com/vmq-yesu-soc This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

How closely do you guard the start of your day? That alarm clock sits by the bedside or maybe a few feet from the door (if you're clever) and it calls you to a commitment you made the night before. When the sleep is good, or even more so when the sleep was bad until about 3 AM, this otherwise small battle feels like a D-Day level effort. This can be the first victory of the day or the first defeat. You know how these things cascade. You hit snooze one too many times, miss the chance to shower, then scramble to the closet and throw on mismatched socks, and then you've missed a chance to have a decent breakfast. Money in the bank account is low, but your credit card can handle a quick Dunkin Donuts combo, right? So you break that promise to yourself too. It's funny how much like the Hero's Journey our daily lives can be. The iconic arc of hero characters begins with The Ordinary—> The Call To Adventure—> Refusal Of The Call. What is the morning routine if not this first sequence of narrative storytelling? These crossroads moments come to define our lives faster than I'm comfortable admitting. If what Albert Camus said is true, that “Our lives are the sum of our choices,” then putting off that First Defeat seems wise. I'll share what I try to guard daily: 6 AM wake up at the latest, one mile walk with the dog, then coffee, then I write something. I try to do all of this before checking email or any social media. I fail a lot, but the days I win….boy do I love it. Those days rock!“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I'm going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”-Marcus Aurelius, MeditationsBTW! A new video out now from Geeky Stoics. Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

How many social media posts have you made this week? Think about it for a few seconds. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or even Reddit. What were you hoping to communicate to the world in those posts? Were there other posts you drafted and then deleted after coming to your senses about the perils of hitting Post? I can think of a few deleted Tweets from the past week, and quite a few more that stayed up even though I felt immediate regret. Why did I need to say that? Why do these 10 Likes and 3 Comments motivate me like a demonic possession to proclaim every half-baked thought or observation I have about the world? It doesn't have to be this way. In a little over a week, I'm going to see Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace in theaters! It's being given a theatrical re-release for May 4th. I can't wait. We talk a lot about Episode I on Geeky Stoics, primarily because….Qui-Gon Jinn. As a Jedi, he is a man of few words. He speaks plenty throughout the film, but unlike the younger Obi-Wan Kenobi or the foolish Jar Jar Binks, he just comes across as highly intentional about every word. His words cut like a knife. When Qui-Gon speaks, you get the sense it must be important. “The ability to speak does not make you intelligent”When the Jedi first meet Jar Jar Binks in the swamps of Naboo, Jar Jar is basically standing in the way of traffic, about to get run over by incoming military vehicles. Qui-Gon and Jar Jar collide and the Jedi pins the blathering Gungan to the ground until the danger has passed.Qui-Gon is not pleased. “What are you, brainless?” he asks, rather harshly. Jar Jar answers, “I speak”, as if this answers the Jedi's question.“The ability to speak does not make you intelligent-” Qui-Gon says. Indeed. It's fitting then that later in the movie, Jar Jar gets his tongue grabbed by Qui-Gon Jinn at the dinner table. Every day we should ask ourselves if what we're saying to others is truly worth saying. Are we speaking in order to add value for the recipient, or are we speaking to assuage the voice of ego deep inside that is convinced our every word is wise and interesting? “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” - James 1:19I remember an old boss of mine got angry with the staff at a morning meeting because the brainstorming sessions were too quiet. No one was speaking up. He reminded us all that we're paid to speak up and share our thoughts. So people started speaking. The problem, of course, is that the most obtuse individuals were doing almost all of the talking. The egomaniacs and brown nosers knew the incentive structure was to make sounds with their faces, even if it was corporate drivel and buzzword salad. This balancing act is delicate. You need to reject fear and speak up at meetings, but you don't want to slip into speaking for its own sake. The ability to speak does not make you intelligent. Say this to yourself every now and then. Maybe it'll help you discern which words on the tip of your tongue are worth pushing out.Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.The Talking PeopleThe need for me to do this in my own life is pretty pressing. I do TV news from time to time, to talk about politics and current events. And if I had a dollar for every time I spoke for longer than was necessary or said something regrettable…..well, you know, I'd have a lot of dollars. But the incentive structure on TV news is to speak and speak often. They don't book wallflowers for political segments. So you come up with something to say, even if it doesn't need saying. It's rather toxic. After doing lots of TV for about 5 years, I found myself being more loose with what I'd say in casual conversation with friends and family. The TV people want me to speak, why doesn't everyone else?When my daughter was little, she called TV news “the talking people”. If was going on TV, she'd say “Have fun with the talking people, Daddddddy.”I did have fun with them. Always have. But there's a cost…..which is, lots of things spoken on the record I might later wish were not. You don't even get paid to be a guest on the news. So even in raw financial terms, it's often not worth it. But I do it, still, it's part of my job. My only aim now is to try and be better, more precise, and more like Qui-Gon. I want to have a tongue that, when deployed for political discourse, actually cuts. It's a work in progress. Our political system elevates talkers. Have you noticed? Perhaps, we could try and remember politicians like Cato the Younger, who in the late Roman Republic had developed a reputation for both fiery speech and deadly silence. When he spoke, people listened. When he was quiet, people wanted to know why.“Cato practiced the kind of public speech capable of moving the masses, believing proper political philosophy takes care like any great city to maintain the warlike element. But he was never seen practicing in front of others, and no one ever heard him rehearse a speech. When he was told that people blamed him for his silence, he replied, ‘Better they not blame my life. I begin to speak only when I'm certain what I'll say isn't better left unsaid.'”—Plutarch on Cato the YoungerHave a great week my friends. Remember, the ability to speak does not make you intelligent. Consider deleting that Tweet, or saving that post as a Draft and walking away for a few hours. You might be surprised at how much people listen when you're known to be careful with your tongue. Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Author Eric Clayton thinks BIG about Star Wars. Like us at Geeky Stoics, he's been a lifelong fan of the galaxy far, far away and Star Wars has folded into Eric's views about God and human spirituality. My interview with Eric covers a few chapters of his book, My Life With The Jedi and we focus on turning perceived weaknesses into strengths, letting go of the desire for control, and the principle of indifference as an Ignatian practice. This is something that students of Stoicism should recognize in their own philosophy.Both Marcus Aurelius and Seneca wrote about the importance of practicing indifference, regarding physical comfort and the events of nature. “Nothing that is according to nature can be evil,” said Aurelius. Seneca was known to practice living in poverty every month so that he could be reminded that life beyond the Roman halls of power was nothing to be feared. Aurelius and Seneca each wanted to be indifferent to situations both desirable and undesirable. If you can do that, you have a better shot at behaving virtuously in good times and bad times. Seems like a worthy goal, no? Turns out, Star Wars has a lot to say about indifference. In this conversation, you'll learn about that and much more. Be sure to go check out My Life With The Jedi by .Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Happy Friday, Geeky Stoics! I hope you all had a positive week. Today I've got a short reflection on Stoicism and emotion, and whether or not the two can co-exist. A popular criticism of the philosophy is that it's “cold” and “harsh”. I strongly disagree and will use Ahsoka from Star Wars as a case study in ‘stoic' as a character trait. First, two questions for you all. * Do you enjoy or make use of the Audio versions of our articles? Or do you listen to the Geeky Stoics podcast? It takes quite a bit of additional effort to produce and is time-consuming. Audio is one of my favorite parts of doing Geeky Stoics, but do you make use of it? * We have a new video up on YouTube that is in many ways the thesis statement of what Geeky Stoics is all about. Have you watched it yet? We'd love to see more readers Subscribe to the YouTube channel and leave comments, reactions, and feedback on the videos. Discussion is a goal of our community, and we'd love to hear from you and get more well-acquainted. Ahsoka the Stoic, Ahsoka the RockAhsoka has to be my favorite of all the recent Star Wars movies and shows. Having been an adolescent when the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series was playing on TV, I've grown up with Ahsoka Tano, the wartime padawan of Anakin Skywalker. I'm not surprised by the mixed response to the live-action show, where actress Rosario Dawson plays a grown-up Ahsoka, but I am a bit surprised by some of the complaints fans have expressed. Here are a few that stuck out: “Ahsoka is too stoic”, “Ahsoka is soulless” and “Ahsoka has no emotion”. In other words, “Ashoka should smile more” or something.'To be like the rock that the waves keep crashing over. It stands unmoved and the raging of the sea falls still around it.' -Marcus AureliusStar Wars fans have seen the other side of Ahsoka Tano when she was a Jedi pupil. Tano was an impulsive, bratty, brash, annoying, overly sensitive, and disrespectful young Jedi. She and Anakin were a perfect fit. Fast forward to the Ahsoka series and she is around 47 years old. Ahsoka has grappled with her choice to leave the Jedi Order, her guilt over its destruction, and the fall of Anakin Skywalker to evil. She watched the Empire rise and fall and Ahsoka even attempted to train Jedi padawans herself, such as Sabine Wren, with little success. Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Ahsoka has a heaviness about her that is visible to anyone watching the show. At times you wonder, why isn't she blowing her lid right now or reacting in anger to this situation or that? When critics malign Ahsoka's temperament or the acting of Rosario Dawson as being devoid of emotion, what is really being criticized is the character's unwillingness to display what we all know she feels inside. Ahsoka doesn't emote like she used to as a child. Reflection is not repressionStoicism is most commonly criticized for being a cold and callous school of philosophy that encourages the repression of emotion. But it's not true. As writer and contemporary stoic Ryan Holiday put it on The Daily Show with Jordan Klepper, “There's a difference between being angry, and doing something out of anger.” There is an ocean between feeling anger and indignation over the foolishness of another person, and then “hitting Send on the email dressing them down for it.” Ahsoka has learned not to hit Send. I'm reminded of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace when he must negotiate with the junk dealer and slave owner, Watto, in order to get their starship repaired so Queen Amidala can be delivered to Naboo. Their mission is of massive consequence to the galaxy, and failure could mean political chaos in the Republic. Watto, not knowing this (and he wouldn't care either way), has the gall to resist Qui-Gon's “Jedi Mind Trick” and reject Republic currency for the spare parts they need. You know Qui-Gonn is furious. But he does not speak, he just observes Watto and forces out a visibly angry “smile” before walking away from the situation. Jinn could easily kill or subdue Watto and take what is needed. Jedi are not without emotion. Neither are the Stoics of our world, past and present.Stoics were awash in emotion. They had romantic relationships, they had children, and they were politicians confronting fear, suspicion, and doubt in their midst. The most enduring of the Stoics, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, buried nine children in his lifetime. He buried his wife, Faustina. When his beloved tutor died, it is said that Aurelius sobbed uncontrollably. His stepfather, Antoninus, told the younger Marcus, “Neither philosophy nor empire takes away natural feeling.”Feelings are facts of life. It is a rare and dangerous few who walk this earth without them. Stoics fight not against their emotions, but for an understanding of where their emotions are coming from. They sit with their feelings. They search them for meaning. Ahsoka has learned how to do this, and for people accustomed to reactive behavior and emotive expression, it can be very offputting. If you think something is funny, why aren't you LOLing?! If you think something is sad, why aren't you crying or TELLING the world you're crying on social media? That's how those people think. If you live your life trying to meet their standard of emotive expression, you'll be constantly performing emotion in order to make them feel at ease. Don't do this. The Stoic treats emotion like a cloaked visitor who has knocked on their door. They open the door, greet the visitor, and ask them to reveal their identity before coming inside. Anger is often actually Fear, Disgust can stem from Confusion, and Joy sometimes becomes a lingering Sadness. We call that nostalgia or homesickness. When you learn to answer the door in this way, you're doing what the best Jedi do with their emotions. They are not suppressed, they are examined. When you take the time to examine your feelings, you'll be more like what everyday people call ‘stoic' in your character. Steady. Reliable. Patient. Sturdy. May the Force be with you. Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Stephen Kent of Geeky Stoics lists off similarities between Stoic Philosophy and Star Wars. Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

In Dune, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) does not want to be the ruler of his people. His father, Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) of the House Atreides, aims to help him down that path as gently as possible. Like many young characters at the start of their Hero's Journey, Paul does not want the responsibility of power. He doesn't crave its weight. Leto would have preferred to be a pilot himself, but here he is, a monarchal ruler instead. It's a classic motif. Young princes don't know how to be kings. Princesses don't know how to be queens. Girls aren't born knowing how to be wives and boys don't know how to be good husbands. Lord knows none of us “know” how to parents and raise successful, happy children. We just make it up as we go. Of course, we hopefully had role models to learn from and base our understanding on. A young man's best hope for knowing how to be a decent husband is by having a father in his life who loves and honors the mother. If you don't have that, social networks and stories can fill the void to a certain extent. Human beings love stories. And we are discretely taking notes from them throughout our lives. You might come from a family where literally no one has courage of any kind, and so you develop all of your understanding of courage from Peter in C.S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe…or from Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games.Speaking of C.S. Lewis, he has a remarkable observation about this very problem when it comes to the Christian life, which he outlines in the final chapters of his classic, Mere Christianity. In it, Lewis endorses what you might call roleplaying (cosplaying) the Christian in order to become the Christian. We're all like “little Christs” or “toy soldiers” trying to be as close to the real thing as possible. And the truth is, we'll never feel like we've reached the end destination. I doubt Duke Leto Atredies feels as though he is truly a king deep down. He wears the mask of one. Have you joined as a Subscriber? Don't put it off any longer. We'd love to have you be part of our community. He knows how to move like one and dress like one. The moment a person such as Leto thinks of himself as a monarch with immense power, that's when power begins to corrupt its wielder. Much better to think of one's self as a father, patriot, son or husband who happens to be a king than to look in the mirror and see only royalty. I think we've lost sight of what “role model” is supposed to mean in our language. It's not a blanket term meant to describe anyone in a position of power or influence. It's a person who is modeling how to perform a certain role you may also have to play in this life. The boss. The spouse. The parent. The friend. The teacher. These are common roles. Yet we most often hear ‘role model' deployed when talking about or criticizing the behavior of celebrities. I don't think it's correct to say “Taylor Swift is a good role model” or “Taylor Swift is a bad role model” because it's unclear to me what role she would even be modeling for your typical young girl. “International pop star” is not a role that you are likely to play compared to citizen, neighbor, sibling, or mentor. Maybe the celebrity is modeling either humility or gluttony when it comes to their fame. Perhaps what they model for us is how to handle overwhelming success and public attention. Maybe the celebrity is modeling the role of “the blessed”. I never intend to be dismissive, especially not of our Great American Monarch, Queen Taylor Swift. The beauty of the scene in Dune which we began with today is how Duke Leto responds to Paul's uncertainty and doubt. After Leto's encouragement, Paul asks, “Dad, what if I'm not…..the future of House Atreides.” Leto answers gently, “A great man doesn't seek to lead; he is called to it. But if your answer is no, you'd still be the only thing I ever needed you to be: my son.” I've been thinking on and off about this for weeks now. I confided in a friend at church that I was struggling with how to be the kind of Dad my daughter needs me to be. And he prayed with me, and in his wisdom, knowing I love tying everything back to movies…spoke about this scene in Dune. He did that because this moment between Father and Son is a scene about roles, responsibility, duty, and fear….but it's also about love. The Father loves his son. He loves Paul because he is his son, not because Paul does or does not want to step up and be a ruler. My friend reminded me that I'm covered. That God is with me in this walk, and that I'm already everything He and my child need me to be. Sometimes, just being present and existing in your kid's life is all that is required. Seriously, that may be the truth of it. You don't have to be a fount of wisdom and clever anecdotes, and you don't have to have an answer for every question. You just have to be there. Showing up to play the role is all you ever had to do. After all, your story isn't a scripted stage play with lines to remember. It's improv.Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Thanks for reading Geeky Stoics. This is a newsletter, podcast and YouTube channel all about finding the wisdom worth living by in your favorite movies, books, and shows. I'm and I do this with my friend and collaborator, . Hey fun fact, I'm contributing a little bit to a new Substack called . They have great articles going up about being a Dad. Highly recommend. A year ago I appeared on their YouTube show for a feature-length interview about Star Wars and parenting. If you missed that, it's a fun conversation! 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In the new live-action adaptation of Airbender, Uncle Iroh is reflecting on the suffering of his nephew, Prince Zuko, who has been banished from home for not being as cutthroat and ruthless as his father would like him to be. Zuko tries very hard to impress his father, but Zuko has a big heart, and it makes the task impossible.Zuko lives his life day to day not being his true self, not letting that heart show. The reason is simple. Showing his heart got him hurt very badly when his father laid fire to half of his face as a punishment for it.It breaks Iroh's heart. Zuko should not have to wear the mask of a brute to make his father proud. That is a burden no child should have to carry.So Iroh begins to speak about the power of Masks. Here is what he says:It's amazing how far we'll go to hide our true selves from the world.Perhaps it's because we don't want people to know how much they really mean to us. Which is funny.Because the truth is, we would do anything for them.We'd travel incredible distances, risk our lives, even fight monsters.But I suppose it can be scary to admit you need people.Some might see that as a weakness, a liability.After all, what greater pain is there than losing someone you love?Or worse, finding out someone you love has left you behind.I guess that's why we feel the need to hide away and protect ourselves.So we put on a mask.It's not hard to understand why.What's hard is knowing that sometimes, the mask is who we really are.What masks do you wear? I wear a few.Not all are bad. Some are good.When I do TV or public speaking I put on the mask of a confident person. It's necessary because I am terrified. The mask gives me some needed strength.When I am with my daughter I wear the “Dad Mask”. As Dad, I don't overburden her with my problems, I don't share what's not in the bank account, I don't overplay the fact that 75% of the time I don't know what to do about anything……because she needs the feeling of security. It takes courage to wear that mask as a parent. There will be times when that mask needs to come off, and that will require bravery as well.We play certain roles to stay alive or make it in this world.My hope is that by reading this email today, you'll begin to think about what masks play a role in your life, and be able to at least name them. When you are conscious of what they are, and when you put them on, you'll have better control over their role in your life. But that does take reflection. Take that time today.Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Insights from C.S. Lewis and George Washington on being better than we actually are. Turns out “fake it to make it” might actually be a decent mantra for self-improvement. This is Geeky Stoics. A Podcast and Newsletter about the wisdom to be found in popular culture.TRANSCRIPTI've been thinking a lot lately about imposter syndrome and when exactly I'm going to feel like the person I one day wish to be.There's a future me out there who I believe is more disciplined and entrepreneurial, creative, brave, and patient.When is he going to arrive?There's a lot that I want to say on this subject.It's one that I refer to as self-actualization, and I'm going to share two insights with you on that, one from C.S.Lewis and another from George Washington biographer Richard Brookhiser.In Mere Christianity, a book by C.S.Lewis, he lays out the practical path to being a Christian.Contrary to what many in the world teach, particularly in the church, Lewis offers a poetic case for what you might recognize as fake it to make it.At some point, we have to decide, I am an artist.I am an author.I am a Christian.I am a soldier.Declaring it so might actually be your best hope of realizing it in the real world.This is CS Lewis.When you are not feeling particularly friendly but know you ought to be, the best thing you can do very often is to put on a friendly manner and behave as if you were a nicer person than you actually are.And in a few minutes, as we have all noticed, you will be really feeling friendlier than you were.Just by pretending.Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it all along.Pretending.C.S.Lewis, ever the fan of imaginative play and make-believe, suggests here that to be more Christ-like, a believer's best hope is to role-play.Your heart may never be fully transformed in this life, but you're better served by pretending that it is.Do this every single day in every walk of your life that you see as important.Fatherhood, motherhood, marriage, career, creativity, spirituality.Now, in George Washington on Leadership, a book by Richard Brookhiser, he tells of how Washington would inspire his troops throughout his military career.Washington's letters and accounts of WashingtonAt war, show that the famed General and Father of America often referred to his colleagues as, quote, my brave fellows when addressing them.My brave fellows, I ask you to reenlist.My brave fellows, fight.Richard Brookhiser says, maybe they would go home or run away and not be brave at all, but Washington would get them to be brave by telling them that they are.Now imagine if you went through life like the Cowardly Lion and the Wizard of Oz, both being told that you're a coward and telling it to yourself every single day.And then someone comes along and tells you that you could be brave and even that perhaps you already are brave.Anybody who's raised kids knows that this kind of rhetorical nudge matters a heck of a lot in helping kids realize their potential.Start being the person you want to be today.Tell yourself you are that person.You might find that by saying it, you hold yourself closer to the standards of that future you that you want to one day arrive.This is a complex subject.You know, you don't want to fake.You don't want to be disingenuous.You don't want to be unreal.You also don't want to, you know, carry a sort of hubris like you're better than you are.This is, of course, the nature of balance.You want to try to get these things in balance with one another.But you do have to aspire to be that future version of yourself.And that might just mean that you have to role play it and act it out every single day.I hope you can find that balance.I'm Stephen Kent and you're listening to the Geeky Stoics Podcast.You can find out more about what we do, finding wisdom in pop culture, books, TV, and movies over at geekystoics.com.Sign up for a free subscription and do leave a kind review on this podcast.It'll help you get your day off to a good start.That's what we aim for here and hope that you have a wonderful end of the week and a great weekend.Be well and we'll see you soon. Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

I am constantly anxious about the future. What about you? This is a state of being that is entirely natural and is a gift human beings have been given to contemplate what's coming tomorrow and plan accordingly. It's also torture. Never is our mind 100 percent in the moment, focused on where we are and what we are doing. This was Luke Skywalker's problem in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as he trained to be a Jedi with Yoda. And it had always been his problem, even when he was back home on Tatooine. His mind wanders anxiously, a stew of anxiety, worry, hope, and dreams for his life. In a new book by titled My Life With The Jedi, Clayton tells his story of walking through life with Star Wars and Ignatian spirituality. I'm only a few chapters deep but wanted to share it with you as soon as possible since the book just released this week. Anxiety is a terrible thing to waste, actually. [More on this after a quick sidenote]IT'S SUNDAY SO IT'S VIDEO PREMIERE TIMESpeaking of new things, something else new that is releasing right this very moment is our latest Geeky Stoics video chronicling our recent trip to Atlanta Comic Con. In Atlanta we tabled, promoted Geeky Stoics and led programs on Star Wars, Empathy, and Stoicism. In the video, I outline where Star Wars & Stoicism intersect, and thanks to the wizard video editing of you'll also see some of the highlights from our trip. Subscribers to Geeky Stoics make this kind of content possible. Thank you for your support! As I was saying….Anxiety is a terrible thing to waste, actually. It signals certain truths to us that we shouldn't ignore about our purpose and what is important to us. The calling of a Jedi is to be mindful and to be able to assess their feelings. They should be patient and recognize the validity of their feelings. Direct them toward something useful, but be patient, for one tried and true law of all progress is that these things take time.Accept the anxiety of feeling yourselfin suspense and incomplete.In My Life With The Jedi, Clayton shares a prayer from French Jesuit, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin that I wanted to pass along to you. Acceptance is its foundation. Read when you have a quiet moment alone, and I hope it speaks to you as you prepare for the week ahead. PATIENT TRUSTAbove all, trust in the slow work of God.We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.We should like to skip the intermediate stages.We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.And yet it is the law of all progressthat it is made by passing through some stages of instability—and that it may take a very long time.And so I think it is with you;your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,let them shape themselves, without undue haste.Don't try to force them on,as though you could be today what time(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will)will make of you tomorrow.Only God could say what this new spiritgradually forming within you will be.Give Our Lord the benefit of believingthat his hand is leading you,and accept the anxiety of feeling yourselfin suspense and incomplete.-Pierre Teilhard de ChardinGeeky Stoics relies on the support of Paid Subscribers. Would you consider Upgrading and helping make what we do here possible? Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

If someone can prove me wrong and show me my mistake in any thought or action, I shall gladly change. I seek the truth, which never harmed anyone: the harm is to persist in one's own self-deception and ignorance.Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Thank you to all our subscribers for the positive feedback on our most recent newsletter about the stoicism of Zorro, the 1998 film starring Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins. It was fun to branch out beyond our usual focus on sci-fi and fantasy and riff about this awesome folk tale of revenge and justice. This email is the podcast version of Sunday's newsletter and just a quick plug of our most recent videos on Geeky Stoics' YouTube Channel + an appearance of your favorite Geeky Stoic on Breaking Bread with Adam Coleman. Mr. Coleman is a commentary writer and for this video series, he travels to meet other writers in their home, have a meal, and talk about politics and life. If you like that kind of thing, you'll enjoy it! Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

This week on the Geeky Stoics MEGACAST, Riley and Stephen recap their experience promoting Star Wars & Stoicism at Atlanta Comic Con.Stephen provides a brief Stoicism 101 for geeks, explaining the four virtues of courage, wisdom, justice, and temperance and how they shine throughout Star Wars. We also discuss the cultural significance of Star Wars and nostalgia. Riley reflects on how the franchise influenced his identity and friendships.Listen in for behind-the-scenes banter about how we tackled our first Con as the Geeky Stoics and our plans for the future.Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

In Star Wars, Padme had enjoyed many years of a thriving political career. She had been free of the sort of distraction and messiness that a forbidden romance might bring into her life. Throughout the movie, as she resists her desire for Anakin Skywalker, at times quite awkwardly for both of them, she is almost in a kind of grieving stage for her more tidy and simple life.By the time Padme and Anakin are captured on a mission and sentenced to death, she sort of feels like the “old her” is dead already.We transform throughout our lives. We let certain versions of ourselves die so that new ones can live. They can't always coexist. Never changing would be horrible.Let it happen. There are worse things than dying.Read more at GeekyStoics.com Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Uncle Iroh says many wise things to Zuko over the course of his time running the tea business, a short period of bliss during Airbender's second season. Here's what stuck out to me today. It's simple.“Follow your passion and life will reward you”In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zuko is frustrated with Uncle Iroh and his simple passion for running this tea shop. Zuko has a claim to the throne of the Fire Nation and is on a mission to reclaim his “honor” from a father who exiled him from the kingdom. Zuko is obsessed with retaking his place. Uncle Iroh implores Zuko to search himself, look inward, and determine once and for all if his passion is truly his own, or if it flows from the expectations of his cruel father.Perhaps you can relate.MUSIC: All copyright belongs to their respective owners. Avatar The Last Airbender Themes by Jeremy Zuckerman Arranged and Orchestrated by Samuel Kim. Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Star Wars is a saga about one thing: Letting go. All of its main characters must learn to confront the fear of failure and loss, things beyond their control. It's a message we all need to hear more of, and it's what Geeky Stoics is all about. Thank you for listening to Geeky Stoics.More on this at geekystoics.comAnd find the videos on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@GeekyStoics/videos Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Live or die. This is the message from the ghost of Anakin Skywalker to his grown-up apprentice, Ahsoka Tano. Not many of us want to die. Ahsoka doesn't either. But she was living as if she were dead. That is the message. Are you living your life, moving forward and for tomorrow? Or are you stuck in the past, reliving past successes and stewing on yesterdays failures?Thank you for listening to Geeky Stoics.More on this at geekystoics.comAnd find the videos on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@GeekyStoics/videos Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Life will be a lot cheaper when you're dead.Pay the taxes. Anticipate and accept the hidden costs. Understand that you truly own very little. Most of what you have is borrowed, so don't overly invest yourself in hoarding it. Once you've sincerely thought over the hidden costs, decide if you truly need this thing, person, or job to be happy.Above all else, be thankful for the things and the people who pass in and out of your life. Gratitude has the power to reframe everything.www.geekystoics.com Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Star Wars is chock full of real-world wisdom and insights on life, death, control, love, and change. In this podcast, Riley Blanton of Geeky Stoics breaks down the 5 essential quotes from Star Wars that you can live by. Thank you for listening to Geeky Stoics.More on this at geekystoics.comAnd find the videos on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@GeekyStoics/videos Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

This podcast is about The Lord of the Rings, complaining, and Stoic insights on doing your duty without whining. Enjoy!As an enjoyer of the The Lord of the Rings films, I've never much liked Frodo Baggins. Frodo is the chief protagonist of the series, the Ringer Bearer, the “Chosen One” of sorts, and he can be pretty fussy. Frodo is always going on about the heaviness of the Ring, and complaining about the burden of his quest. Sometimes he creepily fondles it and makes repeated attempts to go it alone all the way to Mordor. It can get a bit annoying. Such is the case in the Tolkien books as well. In our brand new Geeky Stoics book club we are reading The Fellowship of the Ring together with members of this community. In the book, Frodo is more or less the same. Frodo hatred is a pretty common thing. Few are impressed by the reluctant hero at the beginning of his journey, something I hear often about other iconic leads such as Luke Skywalker, in Star Wars: A New Hope.We don't like complainers. I certainly don't. Especially when there is something vitally important that must be done.Well, that's easy to say, until you're the Ring Bearer…….Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

How do you give people moral advice they'll listen to? A recent controversy involving director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy offers a worthwhile opportunity to consider how you tell moral stories and aim to improve your audience. Enjoy the podcast and join us at geekystoics.com for more. Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Geeky Stoics Mega-Cast, Riley and Stephen delve into a recent controversy in the Star Wars community. We analyze an interview given by a certain upcoming Star Wars director and explore the fan reactions it sparked. Stephen provides insightful background on the director and quotes that particularly stuck with the fans, stirring up debate.Key Discussion Points:* Director's Controversial Interview: An exploration of the recent interview with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy that has caused a stir among fans. Stephen provides context and examines the quotes that ignited fan discussions.* Storytelling Philosophies: Riley and Stephen engage in a deep discussion on different storytelling philosophies. They reference C.S. Lewis, focusing on the idea that the most impactful writing stems from addressing one's personal struggles rather than attempting to 'fix' others. This concept is then applied to the situation surrounding Obaid-Chinoy.* Geeky Stoics' Creative Journey: We also share insights into the creative process behind Geeky Stoics. We discuss the challenges we face with perfectionism and the difficulties in deciding when to release content. Stephen shares an anecdote about setting boundaries in collaborative projects.* Inspirations and Current Reads: A look into how Riley and Stephen draw inspiration from their current readings and how they incorporate these ideas into Geeky Stoics' content.Upcoming Content Teasers:* Videos and Articles: Sneak peeks into upcoming Geeky Stoics videos and articles, touching on themes such as moral relativism and in-depth analyses of Star Wars quotes.* Book Club: Anticipation builds for the Geeky Stoics book club discussion on "Fellowship of the Ring."MTFBWY! Get full access to Geeky Stoics at www.geekystoics.com/subscribe