Podcasts about stoics

A chaotic few days on the road gave Ryan plenty of opportunities to practice what the Stoics taught. Between disrupted travel plans and visits to museums honoring Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, and Rosa Parks, he reflects on integrity, courage, and how to handle whatever happens.

Paul lands in Athens alone, walking a city drowning in idols, and what rises in him is a settled burning, the same grief God has over a place that has everything except him. In Acts 17 that burden turns into conversation. He doesn't open with Genesis. He finds an altar the Athenians built out of an old fear, quotes their own poets back to them, and tells the Epicureans and the Stoics where each of them is right before he shows them where they're wrong.We spend time on what that asks of us. Everyone has an Athens: an office, a campus, a group chat, a street. And every Athens has an altar, whether that's the pursuit of self, the pursuit of wealth, the phone we can't put down, or the wounds we've quietly built our lives around. We also look at the line between contextualizing the gospel and compromising it, because a Jesus who affirms everything and asks nothing of us is a Jesus who never called anyone to repent.Acts 17:16-34

Before you trust your first reaction, assumption, or opinion, the Stoics would tell you to do a few things first. In this bonus episode, Ryan breaks down five rules for thinking more clearly.

To enter into another person's mind, even for a moment, we first need to get out of our own head.

Meghan Farner introduces Rob Nielsen, an educator and writer whose book, Jesus the Stoic Sage, explores the overlap between Stoic philosophy and the teachings of Jesus. This episode asks a practical question: how do we tell the difference between inherited assumptions and actual truth, and how can that clarity help us grow spiritually without collapsing our sense of faith or self?We discuss philosophy as a wisdom tradition, the Stoic view of virtue, conscience, desire, and the body, and how Jesus' teachings often emphasize inner transformation over outward performance. The conversation keeps returning to one central idea: embodied wisdom is not just something you believe, but something you practice.Key topics:In this episode, Rob Nielsen shares why he began studying Koine Greek and Latin to get closer to original texts and strip away translation baggage.Philosophy as love of wisdom - not abstract arguing, but a tradition aimed at helping people live well and build better communities.Stoicism and religion - the overlap is less about labels and more about what is ultimately good, true, and worthy of trust.Symbols and teaching tools - both philosophy and scripture use images, stories, and metaphors to teach truths people may not yet be ready to receive directly.The soul, psyche, and will - the conversation reframes the inner life as the part of us that perceives, chooses, and develops beyond the body.Stoic emotional intelligence - Stoicism is not about suppressing feelings, but about understanding impressions, desires, aversions, and responses.Repentance as metanoia - repentance is presented as a change in thinking, not just a behavior adjustment.The importance of virtue - the Stoic virtues of wisdom, justice, courage, and self-control are contrasted with living as a slave to impulses or external approval.Authority versus truth - Rob and Meghan unpack the limits of appealing to authority alone, including the Euthyphro dilemma.Jesus as teacher of transformation - the focus is on actions, motives, and embodiment, not just belief or religious affiliation.The body as ethically indifferent - the body is valuable as an instrument, but not inherently good or bad in Stoic terms.Pure motives and embodied alignment - the widow's mite, the fig tree, and other examples are used to show that what matters is not appearance, but fruit.Timestamps:(00:00) Hidden Wisdom's mission and today's focus on faith renovation(00:58) Introducing Rob Nielsen and his book, Jesus the Stoic Sage(02:14) How Koine Greek, Latin, and curiosity led Rob to comparative philosophy(04:04) What philosophy really means as a love of wisdom(06:53) Philosophy, religion, and the search for ultimate concerns(09:36) Symbols, myth, and universal teaching patterns(13:41) Why this conversation matters for spiritual seekers(14:38) Psyche, soul, will, and the inner self(17:23) What the Stoics actually meant by “stoic”(20:13) Thoughts, feelings, impressions, and emotional response(23:04) Repentance, healing, and subconscious triggers(25:27) Metanoia as a change in the way you think(28:00) Reason, conscience, and the “two or three witnesses” idea(30:24) Desire, aversion, and what blocks perception of truth(33:10) Virtue, excellence, and why the highest good matters(35:06) Socrates, Euthyphro, and the limits of authority(39:06) Why poking assumptions makes people uncomfortable(41:01) The journey inward and the temple as the self(43:09) The Stoic view of the body as ethically indifferent(47:00) Hypocrisy, masks, and the importance of matching words with action(48:54) Fruit, alignment, and what reveals what is truly good(50:10) “Actions outshine words” and the sacramental pattern of embodiment(52:23) Questioning inherited images of God through the lens of fruit(54:16) Whether Jesus may have known Stoic ideas(56:37) Tradition as inherited material that must be tested(58:33) Why Jesus was not teaching passive obedience(61:09) Trial, error, and experimenting upon truth(62:28) The Stoic discipline of assent(64:22) Desire, organization, and misplacing what is actually good(65:17) The widow's mite and pure motives(66:45) What Rob gained from reading Jesus through Stoicism(69:13) Meghan's closing reflection on the book as an initiation to practice(70:48) Closing invitation to the Hidden Wisdom app and community support Continue Your JourneyIf this episode resonated with you, there are several ways to go deeper:

Which of these do you struggle with the most?

We are prickly about our freedom…as we willingly submit to all sorts of addictions.

This time around, Dr Bill and I discuss ancient wisdom that is as relevant and powerful today as it was millennia ago. We talk about some of the core ideas, messages, stories and lessons taught by the Stoics before the apostles were playing beach volleyball and how they (the Stoics) were the psychologists, sociologists and human behaviour experts, of the day. It appears the world has changed a lot, but we have not. Many of the same issues, challenges and problems remain. That is, all the human stuff. Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few poets have had the courage (or inclination) to rhyme ‘Plato' with ‘potato', ‘intellectual' with ‘hen-peck'd you all' or ‘Acropolis' with ‘Constantinople is'. Byron does all of these in Don Juan, his 16,000-line unfinished mock epic that presents itself as a grand satire on human vanity in the tradition of Cervantes, Swift and the Stoics, and refuses to take anything seriously for longer than a stanza. But is there more to Don Juan than an attention-seeking poet sustaining a deliberately difficult verse form for longer than Paradise Lost in order ‘to laugh at all things'? In this episode Clare and Colin argue that there is, in this free episode from their Close Readings series ‘On Satire'. They see in Don Juan a satire whose radical openness challenges the plague of ‘cant' in Regency society but drags itself into its own line of fire in the process, leaving the poet caught in a struggle against the sinfulness of his own poetic power, haunted by its own wrongness. Introduced by Clare and Colin with Thomas Jones. Listen to the full series of On Satire, and all our other Close Readings series, with a Close Readings subscription. Get 50% off a 12-month subscription to Close Readings with the code SUMMER50 at checkout when you sign up here: https://lrb.me/crtravelsatire Find our full Close Readings travel playlist here: https://lrb.me/crtravelsatireweb Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us Fan MailThe One Virtue That Makes All the Others WorkDid you catch The Odyssey in theaters? I went with my daughter and my honey a couple weeks ago, and Christopher Nolan's version got me thinking about one scene in particular — Odysseus, tied to the mast of his own ship, choosing to hear the Sirens' song without letting it destroy him. That single choice is one of the oldest stories we have about self-control, and it's where I want to take you this week: temperance. Not the Prohibition-era, no-fun version — the real one, one of the four cardinal virtues, sitting right alongside courage, justice, and wisdom.This episode is the Siren Song of Your Cravings (And How to Outsmart It)In this episode I speak to where temperance actually comes from (hint: it's Latin for "the right amount, not too much, not too little"), why discretion and discipline live inside it, and how building my own "mast" — the pantry I don't stock, the friend I text before the hard moment, the lunch I pack before I even leave the house — beats white-knuckle willpower every time. I bring the Maesters, in Homer, the Stoics, Ryan Holiday, and Jud Brewer to make my case. In this episode of Sirens, Cravings, and the Art of Saying No Quote of the Week"Temperance puts wood on the fire, meal in the barrel, flour in the tub, money in the purse, credit in the country, contentment in the house, clothes on the back, and vigor in the body." — Benjamin FranklinCitations·       Homer, The Odyssey (epic poem, source for the Sirens/mast story I talk about)·       The Odyssey (2026 film), directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Tom Holland·       Cicero, on translating the Greek sōphrosynē into Latin temperantia·       C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Book III, Ch. 2, "The Cardinal Virtues")·       Marcus Aurelius, Meditations·       Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control·       Dr. Judson Brewer, research on craving loops (trigger–behavior–reward)·       Dwight D. Eisenhower, on freedom and self-discipline·       Benjamin Franklin, writings on the 13 virtuesLet's go, let's get it done.Get more information at: http://projectweightloss.org

Mariano Rivera — the greatest closer in baseball history — was willing to teach his rivals exactly how to throw his most devastating pitch. He knew that, regardless of their strength or skill, unblessed they were blessed by God to throw they wouldn't be able to. The Stoics understood it. They called it "amor fati" — love of fate. There are things within our control and things outside our control. The wise person focuses entirely on what's within their control and releases entirely what's outside. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how doing one's best and then accepting one's fate is favorable for Bhakti, alongside the Bhagavad-gīta's five factors of action and the Mahabharata's story of Drona, who taught the military arts to the student who he knew was fated to kill him. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.36.9-40 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Stoicism says nobody does wrong on purpose: every bad act begins in a mistaken judgement about what is good. But does that survive contact with clear-eyed cruelty, compulsive habit and modern moral psychology?I test the claim against Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Medea, research on psychopathy and the Stoics' own internal disagreement. Then I keep the practical part that still works: catching one assent before it hardens into action.Sources and further reading:- Epictetus, Discourses 1.28 and 2.17- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.1, 7.26 and 11.18- Cicero, On Fate 42-43- Aharoni, Sinnott-Armstrong and Kiehl, “Can Psychopathic Offenders Discern Moral Wrongs?” (2012)- Aharoni, Sinnott-Armstrong and Kiehl, “What's Wrong? Moral Understanding in Psychopathic Offenders” (2014)- Kühn and Gallinat, “Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity Associated With Pornography Consumption” (2014)- Grubbs et al., “Pornography Problems Due to Moral Incongruence” (2019) Free 7-Day Stoic Challenge: stoicchallenge.coThe Stoic Vault: stoicvault.com

Mariano Rivera — the greatest closer in baseball history — was willing to teach his rivals exactly how to throw his most devastating pitch. He knew that, regardless of their strength or skill, unblessed they were blessed by God to throw they wouldn't be able to. The Stoics understood it. They called it "amor fati" — love of fate. There are things within our control and things outside our control. The wise person focuses entirely on what's within their control and releases entirely what's outside. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how doing one's best and then accepting one's fate is favorable for Bhakti, alongside the Bhagavad-gīta's five factors of action and the Mahabharata's story of Drona, who taught the military arts to the student who he knew was fated to kill him. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.36.9-40 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Around AD 50 a Jewish tentmaker is stranded in Athens with time on his hands, and ends up making what may be the most consequential philosophical speech ever delivered — in the same city, on the same charge, before the same court that tried Socrates. St. Paul reveals the unknown God to the philosophers of Athens. But they are all Stoics and Epicureans. Where are the Platonists, the followers of Socrates? What are these altars to the unknown god? How does St. Paul both ratify and correct the theistic contributions of the philosophers?

Family, friends, colleagues, and strangers on a screen all try to sway how you think and act. In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast we look honestly at how influencable we really are, and what it takes to trust your own judgment instead.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. If the previous episode was about what we put out into the world, this one is about what we let in, and how easily that shapes the direction of our lives.Influence is not new, and it is not only found online. Family, teachers, partners, and friends have always had ways of nudging us toward what they believe is right, often with the best intentions and sometimes without either of us noticing. The moments that carry the most risk are rarely the ones that upset us. They are the ones that inspire and motivate us so strongly that we stop questioning them altogether. The Stoics called our capacity to choose our own judgments prohairesis, the one thing that always remains ours, no matter how loud or convincing the voices around us become.This episode explores what it actually looks like to receive information without surrendering your direction to it, and why the pause before you are swept along matters more than the source of the pull itself.Support the showviastoica.comYouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and biographer Plutarch's short work On Moral Virtue This episode focuses specifically on his criticisms of the Stoic understanding of what the emotions are, how they work, how they arise, and how they influence us human beings in our choices and actions You can find the copy of the text I am using for this sequence on Plutarch's On Moral Virtue here - amzn.to/3gpyrS3 To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 4000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler (Amazon links are associate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and biographer Plutarch's short work On Moral Virtue This episode focuses specifically on his discussion of the Stoic doctrine of the "good emotional states" (eupatheiai), which are rational desire (boulēsis), caution (eulabeia), and joy (kharis). Some of the points Plutarch makes seem a bit off-target in this section, as far as the Stoic doctrine goes, but we do learn something about Plutarch's own views on the matter. He also provides us with some interesting information about Chyrsippus' views on two of the virtues Stoics consider subordinate, namely endurance (karteria) and self-control (enkrateia). You can find the copy of the text I am using for this sequence on Plutarch's On Moral Virtue here - amzn.to/3gpyrS3 To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 4000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler (Amazon links are associate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and biographer Plutarch's short work On Moral Virtue This episode focuses specifically on his critical examination of what the Stoics call the hegemonikon, translated as "the ruling part" of the human soul. As opposed to a Platonist or Aristotelean moral psychology, in which there is a higher rational part of the human soul, and a lower irrational part of the soul, the Stoics claim that reasoning, impulses, and emotions all take place in the same part of the soul. Plutarch provides several arguments for why that doctrine involves significant problems. You can find the copy of the text I am using for this sequence on Plutarch's On Moral Virtue here - amzn.to/3gpyrS3 To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 4000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler (Amazon links are associate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)

Do you really need to share that opinion? In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast we look at what drives the impulse to comment, react, and weigh in online, and what Stoic philosophy says about examining that impulse before we act on it.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. This episode is not about whether you are allowed to have opinions. It is about what you do with them and why you feel the need to share them at all.Social media rewards reaction. Every post, every event, every scroll seems to demand a response, and the algorithm feeds on the comments and replies that follow. Underneath that pressure sits something older than any platform, the quiet pull to be relevant, to be heard, to matter in the moment. The Stoics called the practice of pausing before adding judgment to an impression the discipline of assent, and it applies just as much to a reply typed in anger as it does to any other reaction. Most opinions shared online skip that step entirely.This episode also looks at what changes when you start asking a harder question before you speak: what does this opinion actually reveal about you, your values, and what you are really seeking in that moment?Support the showviastoica.comYouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com

Corruption is everywhere, from politics and business to sports and universities. But as modern as it all feels, the Stoics saw the same thing happening thousands of years ago. So how did they resist it without becoming part of it themselves?

James and Jimmy sit down with Vance Taylor of Stoic Cigars. We catch up with Vance and find out how his first two yeas in the cigar industry have gone and what lessons he's learned in that time. We then turn our attention to the "dark side" of Stoicism. What does Stoicism and Nihilism have in common? Can James not road rage? How do Stoics look at tragedy. It is a high level conversation over different philosophies and how to approach life and business.

https://eggshelltherapy.com/podcast-blog/2026/07/30/frank/If you have searched for help with anxiety or overthinking, YouTube has probably offered you ten Stoic principles that will change your life, or Taoism explained as going with the flow, sometimes in an approximation of Alan Watts's voice.My guest is Frank P. Saunders Jr., a philosopher who works on Chinese thought and who has spent the past couple of years making videos about philosophy and public philosophy. We began with McStoicism, the version of Stoicism made to go down easily and keep you coming back. Of the distortions he identifies, the one he thinks does the most damage is the promise that this is not difficult. When the ten tips do not work, people conclude that Stoicism does not work for them, or that they are the kind of person for whom nothing works. His formulation is that the results were overstated and the effort was understated.The second thing that gets removed is God. Surrendering to a world that is indifferent to you is a different act from aligning yourself with a world that is going somewhere.On emotions, the Stoics did say you should let go of certain feelings, but only because they thought doing so would make you a genuinely better person, someone who could not be shaken by loss or circumstance. The popular version keeps the letting go and loses the point of it. Stoicism was about becoming brave, honest, fair, and useful to the people around you. Marcus Aurelius keeps saying you do this for your community, not for your own calm. However, these are rarely mentioned online in the fast food versions of Stoicism, which ask nothing of you, though they may also give little back. The second half of our chat turns to the problems with AI-generated Alan Watts video and perennialism. Watts would tell a Taoist story, then a Zen story, then something about a Christian choir, and make them all point the same way. Frank's objection is that the traditions are not saying the same thing.On wu wei: Frank argues that nothing done at an expert level is effortless. What changes with mastery is where the effort goes, because the expert knows what to attend to.  Eggshell Therapy and Coaching: eggshelltherapy.com/Imi Lo:  imiloimilo.comSister Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Zcl8ZUsu4AePugDoWtXcgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/eggshelltransformationsNewsletters: https://eepurl.com/bykHRzDisclaimers: https://www.eggshelltherapy.com/disclaimers  Trigger Warning: This episode may cover sensitive topics including but not limited to suicide, abuse, violence, severe mental illnesses, relationship challenges, sex, drugs, alcohol addiction, psychedelics, and the use of plant medicines. You are advised to refrain from watching or listening to the YouTube Channel or Podcast if you are likely to be offended or adversely impacted by any of these topics.Disclaimer: The content provided is for informational purposes only. Please do not consider any of the content to be clinical or professional advice. None of the content can substitute professional consultation, psychotherapy, diagnosis, or any mental health intervention.  Opinions and views expressed by the host and the guests are personal views, and they reserve the right to change their opinions. The opinions of the guest do not reflect the position of this channel or Imi. We also cannot guarantee that everything mentioned is factual and completely accurate. Any action you take based on the information in this episode is taken strictly at your own risk.  For a full disclaimer, please refer to: https://www.eggshelltherapy.c...

Hey friends, Chase here. Every summer, I revisit conversations from the archive that have stood the test of time. Not because I'm nostalgic, but because the best ideas don't expire. They deepen. This is another installment of Summer School—the set of episodes I personally return to the most when I'm stuck and need something true to lean on. This one with Ryan Holiday is high on that list. I've gone back to it multiple times this year alone. Ryan is a legend—author, media strategist, New York Times bestselling writer, and the person who brought Stoic philosophy into popular culture for a generation of creatives and entrepreneurs. This conversation is from 2017, before he'd fully hit the stride we know him for now. He'd already published something like six books in five years. He was already a force. And yet you can hear, in this episode, exactly where his work was headed. What stands out isn't just marketing tactics. It's framing. Good marketing isn't only writing good copy or taking a nice product photo. It's making work that starts a discussion. It's asking better questions before you begin. And it's using your own mindset—perception, action, will—to keep going when the creative path gets hard. Those tools were spot on then. They're truer now. Nobody cares what you're thinking about doing. Talk about your ideas after you've started them and then show people what you've done. Summer School: Ryan Holiday on Stoicism, Marketing, and Creating Work That Lasts Ryan dropped out of college at 19 to work with Robert Greene, became director of marketing at American Apparel, and later built Brass Check, advising clients like Google, Tim Ferriss, and Tony Robbins. Then he did something that looked, on paper, like career suicide: he wrote Trust Me, I'm Lying—a book about how marketers, companies, and politicians manufacture and manipulate attention online. Instead of burning his marketing career down, it opened writing as a profession. He began identifying as a writer first—keeping a hand in marketing so he wouldn't only comment from the sidelines. That tension runs through the whole episode: how information spreads, what it means to compete for attention, and how to build work that doesn't disappear after the launch week. At the center is Perennial Seller—the art of making and marketing work that lasts. Not the fidget-spinner hit. Not the trend piece. The Original Pantry Cafe that never closes. The book that sells more copies year after year because it solves a real problem. The boot that gets better the longer you wear it. If you're a creator, entrepreneur, or leader trying to make something that matters—and survive the noise long enough for it to land—this episode is still one of the sharpest in the archive. What You'll Hear in This Episode Why Ryan left New York for a cattle ranch outside Austin—and how distance, physical work, and humility made him better at the cerebral work How Trust Me, I'm Lying mapped the attention economy years before "fake news" became a daily phrase Why modern marketing is less about perfect product shots and more about starting conversations A practical crash course in Stoicism: perception, action, and will Ego vs. confidence—and how to market without marketing to yourself Austin Kleon's line: you can't be the noun without doing the verb What makes a perennial seller—and why industries obsess over "new" while most of their money comes from what lasts The "other 50%": craft gets you in the door; packaging, positioning, relationships, and community finish the race Two questions before every project: Who is this for? What does this do for them? Three Stoic Disciplines for Creatives Ryan's version of Stoicism is deliberately practical. Not academic debate—the art of living. Philosophy for the role you're already in: photographer, founder, writer, leader. He walks through three disciplines: 1. Perception How do you look at the situation? Someone is rude. Your company is in trouble. Your work isn't getting seen. Do you decide it's unfair, impossible, purely negative—or do you look for what you can actually use? The Stoics' move: there's no inherent good or bad—there's how we look at things. We don't control most of what happens to us. We do control the last crucial part: what we tell ourselves it means. Marcus Aurelius did that work through writing—Meditations as a private practice of catching your own mind in the act. 2. Action Seeing differently isn't enough. What do you do with the information? Ryan's favorite cut: Casey Neistat telling someone pitching a business idea, essentially—don't tell me the idea. Tell me when you've started it, then show me what you've made. Thinking about running a marathon doesn't count. Starting does. This is the discipline that kills the fantasy. Ideas are cheap. Execution is the only proof. 3. Will How do you handle the moments when life kicks your ass and you can't reverse them? Ryan tells the Edison story: factory on fire, son shell-shocked, Edison telling him to get his mother—she'll never see a fire like this again. Even what you can't control can still transform you. Hardship is often the filter that keeps everyone who doesn't want it as badly as you do from finishing. If it were easy, there'd be more amateurs—and less value. Perennial Seller (and the Other 50%) The face-palm insight behind Perennial Seller: the New York Times bestseller list doesn't track perennial sellers—yet a huge share of publishing income comes from books that came out years or decades ago. Industry attention chases "new." Durable value often lives elsewhere. Ryan's frame for durable work is almost annoyingly clear: This is a blank that does blank for blank. Who is it for—really? Not "everyone" or "smart people." Actual humans. Where they live. What they do. What does it do for them? His editor's line: it's not what a book is—it's what a book does. Then comes Chase's "other 50%," which Ryan amplifies: making the thing is a marathon. Finishing it doesn't mean you've won. There's a second marathon waiting—marketing, packaging, relationships, platform, the bridge from your desk into someone else's life. "If you build it, they will come" has killed a lot of great work. You're not just competing with peers who launched this week. You're competing with time-tested work that already lives on Netflix, in bookstores, in cultural memory. Title, cover, logo, copy, collaborators—these aren't afterthoughts. They're part of the creative expression. Books have covers because people judge them. Your work does too. And if you're already hunting for shortcuts before you've started? That's a signal. Principles over formulas. The shortcuts get exploited the moment they work for everyone. Timecodes So You Can Jump Around 00:00 – Welcome and why this episode is part of Summer School 04:52 – Ryan Holiday joins; life on a ranch outside Austin 09:14 – From renegade marketer to writer: Trust Me, I'm Lying and how attention spreads 15:05 – Why marketing today means starting a discussion 16:58 – Stoicism as a practical art of living 21:54 – Discipline one: perception 25:34 – Discipline two: action (start it, then show it) 28:47 – Discipline three: will (Edison's fire and transforming hardship) 31:36 – Ego vs. confidence; marketing without marketing to yourself 37:01 – Fall in love with the verb, not the noun 40:14 – Perennial Seller: the art of making work that lasts 47:08 – "This is a blank that does blank for blank" 51:07 – Habits of people who make great work (editors, collaborators, objectivity) 54:47 – The other 50%: craft plus packaging, relationships, and community 01:04:35 – Frameworks: Who is this for? What does this do? 01:19:05 – Daily Stoic, memento mori, and closing thoughts Why This Conversation Still Matters In 2017, Ryan was already describing an attention landscape where your best work competes with cats, outrage, porn, fake news, and infinite other options in the feed. That landscape didn't calm down. It accelerated. What still cuts through is the opposite of trend-chasing: work built on timeless problems, principles that survive platform changes, and the humility to keep doing the verb while everyone else celebrates the noun. When I'm stuck—when the world feels noisy and my own next project feels either too precious or too thin—I come back to this episode for the same reminders: Control how you see it. Take action. Let the hard parts transform you. Ask who it's for and what it does. Don't confuse finishing the making with finishing the work. Fall in love with the craft more than the identity. And don't wait until you feel safe to do the honest version of the thing. That's why it's Summer School material. The platforms changed. The books multiplied. The stakes got louder. The questions held. Keep Going Deeper If this conversation resonates: Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work That Lasts The Obstacle Is the Way Ego Is the Enemy Trust Me, I'm Lying Daily Stoic: dailystoic.com Ryan online: ryanholiday.net Follow Ryan: Website | X/Twitter | Facebook Questions to Reflect On Am I still stuck in "thinking about" the project—or have I started something I can show? Where am I treating a hard situation as a verdict, instead of as information I can act on? Am I marketing to an audience—or marketing to myself? Have I fallen in love with the noun (author, founder, photographer) more than the verb? If I had to fill in "This is a ___ that does ___ for ___," could I do it clearly—today? Where have I finished the making and abandoned the second marathon: positioning, packaging, relationships, community? Am I building on timeless problems—or on platforms and tactics that may not survive the next cycle? The Core Idea Work that lasts isn't the work that wins the news cycle. It's the work that keeps solving something real for someone specific—long after the launch adrenaline fades. Ryan's invitation in this conversation is both simple and demanding: sharpen your perception, take action before you announce, let difficulty refine you, kill the ego that wants applause without evidence, and build for durability instead of novelty. If there's one lesson worth carrying forward from this Summer School session, it's this: Make something that starts a conversation—and lasts long enough to deserve one.

Money isn't evil. It can do real good. But it is a tool, not a measure of life. It can tell you what something costs, but not what it is worth.

Anger protects us. It motivates us. It gets things done. These are the arguments people make for keeping it, and in this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast we take an honest look at why Seneca called anger momentary madness and what that means for how we live.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. This episode examines one of the most defended emotions in modern life and what Stoic philosophy actually says about it: not that we should suppress it, but that we should understand it well enough to choose differently.The Stoics made a clear distinction between the involuntary first flash of irritation and the full emotional response that follows. That gap is where your agency lives. When we add the judgment that an injustice has occurred and that we are right to be furious, we step through a door from reason into what Seneca called momentary madness. And unlike most emotions, anger is contagious. One angry person in a room changes the room. The Stoics were deeply pro-social and cultivating anger is a direct betrayal of that responsibility toward others.This episode also looks at what replaces anger when we choose not to walk through that door. Not emptiness or passivity, but the Stoic positive emotions: joy from doing the right thing, calm from acting in line with who you are, and the kind of presence that actually changes situations rather than inflaming them.Anger will come. What you do with it is entirely yours.Support the showviastoica.comYouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher and biographer Plutarch's short work On Moral Virtue This episode focuses specifically on his discussion, early on in the work, of the composite nature of the human soul, which includes a rational part and an irrational part, the latter of which is further divided into a spirited (thumoeides) part and an appetitive part (epithumia). This will be relatively familiar to many as the Platonic tripartite conception of the soul, found in Plato's Republic. He also discusses Aristotle's position and that of the Stoics. You can find the copy of the text I am using for this sequence on Plutarch's On Moral Virtue here - https://amzn.to/3gpyrS3 To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 4000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler (Amazon links are associate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)

According to the Stoics, we humans have a higher obligation—not to the gods but to each other.

A master does not actually master anything. The Stoics understood this.

The Stoics understood that the wealthiest person can still be a pauper—poor in peace, poor in contentment, poor in perspective.

The term was so fitting that it instantly caught on: The Anxious Generation. Anxiety has always been a part of our lives, but it seems to have skyrocketed in recent years. Where does anxiety come from, and what can we do about it? This third quality of Peace is not a mythical attribute reserved for Stoics and Cynics. The full life God wants to give you is a life of peace—the kind you don't have to control or create.   First time listening to our podcast? We'd like to get to know you! Do you have any prayer request? Send us a message.  Connect with Us:

You don't need to be an egotistical asshole to be successful. History is filled with powerful people whose pride ultimately destroyed them, from Caligula and Nero to Xerxes and Mussolini. The Stoics believed the antidote to ego was humility, self-awareness, reflection, and honest introspection. In this episode, Ryan explores the dangers of ego and the timeless practices that can help you keep it in check, stay grounded, and remain a good person as you become more successful.

On today's Fake the Nation, host and comedian Negin Farsad is joined by author and podcaster Manoush Zamarodi and podcaster Mila Atmos. Together they discuss some (good?) news about data centers and the complicated legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham. Plus, the cultural phenomenon that is the World Cup and the sociological phenomenon that is the sandwich generation. Warning: There's a lot of bread talk in this episode.Follow everyone!Manoush Zomorodi: @manoushz on IG/Substack & 'Manoush Minutes. LinkedIn. AND get her book: Body ElectricMila Atmos: @milaatmos & @futurehindsightpod on IG, @milaatmos on X & Substack. Check out the Future Hindsight YouTube channel and her new show OccupyNegin Farsad: Check out her piece in Progressive Mag on The Evolution of the Sandwich GenerationRob Heath - Our producer! Check out the new album from his band Automatic CandyRate Fake The Nation 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave us a review!Follow Negin Farsad on TwitterEmail Negin fakethenationpodcast@gmail.comHost - Negin FarsadProducer - Rob HeathTheme Music - Gaby AlterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“First, say to yourself what you would be,” Epictetus says, “and then do what you have to do.”

"Life is too short." It is one of the most common things people say and, according to Seneca, one of the most misguided. In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast we examine what the Stoics actually thought about time and why the problem is never how much of it we have.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. This episode draws on Seneca's On the Shortness of Life to make an argument that is uncomfortable and liberating in equal measure: life is not short. We spend most of it somewhere else.Seneca observed that people guard their money and possessions carefully but give their time to anyone who asks. Every second lost is gone for good and we do not know when the last one will come. The people who complain loudest about life being short are often the busiest, but busy with the wrong things.This episode also explores what it looks like to design your life around what actually matters. Not as a distant goal to arrive at, but as a direction you can begin moving in today. When your values and priorities are clear, every small decision becomes deliberate and the feeling that life is passing you by begins to fade.As Seneca wrote, "Life is long, if only you knew how to use it."Read the full article: https://viastoica.com/how-to-design-your-life/Support the showviastoica.comYouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com

Vulcan is back, and the smoke is officially clearing.

The Meditations of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius are perhaps the best-selling self-help book of all time. Rooted in the rational philosophy of the Stoics, the 12 books offer a stream of personal musings on everything from cultivating self-discipline to being a successful leader. Following their episode on Resilience, Nadia, Keir and Jem offer a weird-left perspective on the Meditations, looking at their influence on western thought and current popularity among tech bros and the alt-right. Sign up to the ACFM newsletter: https://novaramedia.com/newsletters Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support

The Meditations of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius are perhaps the best-selling self-help book of all time. Rooted in the rational philosophy of the Stoics, the 12 books offer a stream of personal musings on everything from cultivating self-discipline to being a successful leader. Following their episode on Resilience, Nadia, Keir and Jem offer a weird-left perspective on the Meditations, looking at their influence on western thought and current popularity among tech bros and the alt-right. Sign up to the ACFM newsletter: https://novaramedia.com/newsletters Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support

Donald Robertson is a cognitive behavioral psychotherapist, author of over nine books, and one of the founding voices in the modern Stoicism movement. He has spent over 30 years studying how ancient Greek and Roman philosophy intersects with contemporary psychology, and in this conversation we start where it all begins: the maxim carved into the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Know thyself. We explore what it actually meant, who said it, and why it still matters more than most self-help advice written in the last century.What We Dive Into:1. The Stoics drew a sharp line between what actually happens and the value judgments we add on top of it. To say something "is awful" treats our emotional reaction as a fact about the world.2. Of all the emotions that derail a life, anger gets the least attention in therapy, self-help, and honest self-reflection.3. In the ancient world, wisdom was not something you consumed or memorized. It was something you practiced daily. Collecting insights without changing your behavior is closer to what the Sophists sold than to what Socrates taught.Know Thyself, but not by yourself. A guided space to return home to yourself.https://www.knowthyselfcollective.com✨THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:https://drinkLMNT.com/KnowThyselfTry LMNT & get a free sample pack https://www.timeline.com/KNOWTHYSELF Save 20% off your Mitopure® Gummies___________00:00 Intro01:53 Know Thyself: The Three Sayings at Delphi07:44 What Philosophy Actually Means11:17 Socrates vs. the Sophists: Wisdom vs. Appearance18:05 The Stoic U-Turn: Reorienting What We Value23:59 Self-Knowledge as a Mirror for the Soul26:59 Values Clarification and the Eulogy Exercise35:02 Ad: LMNT36:03 Eudaimonia: Flourishing, Not Just Happiness39:40 Hardship as Opportunity for Character45:31 A Brief History of Stoicism53:22 Ad: Timeline Mitopure54:33 The Stoics Were Way Ahead of Their Time59:30 Stoicism, India, and Alexander the Great1:06:31 Early Christianity and Greek Philosophy1:14:03 Marcus Aurelius: The Man Behind the Meditations1:19:17 Philosophy Born from Injury: Marcus and Donald1:32:52 Uppercase vs. Lowercase Stoicism1:38:28 The Two Phases of Emotion1:45:47 Prosoché: The Practice of Paying Attention1:50:40 Appearance vs. Reality: The Stoic Core1:56:34 Turning the Chinese Proverb into a Practice2:02:44 The View from Above and the Acropolis2:11:28 Premeditatio Malorum: Rehearsing Adversity2:17:27 Anger as Temporary Madness2:23:26 De-Romanticizing Desire2:36:58 Sophists, Rhetoric, and Modern Influencers2:44:47 Why Self-Help Isn't More Helpful2:56:17 The Socratic Method as Cure for Conceit3:13:19 The King Who Rules Himself3:17:50 The Oracle of Delphi and Socrates' Mission3:33:44 Injustice Harms the Perpetrator More3:36:51 Donald's Own Life: Philosophy as a Path3:38:46 The Eleusinian Mysteries and Marcus's Initiation3:48:21 Learning to Die as Liberation3:55:29 Marcus's Naked Soul: Transparency as Practice3:58:07 What the Stoics Taught About Love4:02:05 Rapid Fire: The Great Philosophers4:16:00 Closing Message: You Underestimate Your Resilience___________✨MORE FROM DONALD ROBERTSON↳Substack: https://donaldrobertson.substack.com/↳Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1732050.Donald_J_Robertson↳Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donaldjrobertson/↳YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DonaldJRobertsonAuthor/featured↳https://donaldrobertson.name

Auto-generated transcript: Bismillāh ar-Raḥmān ar-Raḥīm. Alhamdulillāhi Rabbil-‘Alameen. Wa salātu wa salāmum ‘alā ashrafil anbiyā’ wal mursalin. Muḥammadur Rasūlullāh ṣallallahu ‘alayhi wa ‘ala alihi wa sahbihis-salam. Tasliman kathīran kathīran. My brothers and sisters, today one of the most dominant phenomena in the world is social media. And if you think about it, the simplest description of… Continue reading Advice from the Stoics

Send us Fan MailWhat if the  to peace isn't about controlling your life, but changing your relationship with reality?In this episode, we explore one of the most challenging ideas in Stoicism through a single line from Epictetus:"Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well."At first glance, it sounds like surrender. Lower your expectations. Stop caring. Accept mediocrity.But that's not what the Stoics meant.We'll explore the difference between giving up and giving your full effort without demanding a particular outcome. Along the way, we'll examine the psychology of control, the Stoic idea of "co-fated" events, and why your actions still matter—even if the future is ultimately outside your control.We'll also discuss:Why suffering often comes from resisting reality.The difference between acceptance and passivity.Locus of control, the illusion of control, and self-fulfilling prophecies.Marcus Aurelius on why labeling outcomes as "good" or "bad" leads to resentment.Practical examples from sports, everyday life, and my own experiences.The central idea is simple:Act as though everything depends on your effort. Accept that the outcome never did.When you stop demanding reality be different, you don't become passive—you become free.

Here's a question that might sting a little — who has power over you right now? Because if you're honest... it's anyone whose approval you need. Research shows that the human brain is wired to treat social rejection the same way it treats a physical threat. Your nervous system literally cannot tell the difference. But what if the most radical act of personal power wasn't fighting harder — it was wanting less? Today we're talking about strategic indifference: the IRS Process principle that the ancient Stoics figured out thousands of years ago — and that most people will never use. Stay with me     Follow Dr. JC Doornick and the Makes Sense Academy:► Makes Sense Substack - https://drjcdoornick.substack.com ► Instagram: / drjcdoornick ► Substack: / drjcdoornick ►Facebook:  / makessensepodcast ►YouTube:  / drjcdoornick     MAKES SENSE PODCAST Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast. This podcast explores topics that expand human consciousness and enhance performance. On the Makes Sense Podcast, we acknowledge that it's who you are that determines how well what you do works, and that perception is subjective and an acquired taste. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at begin to change. Welcome to the uprising of the sleepwalking masses. Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast. SUBSCRIBE/RATE/REVIEW & SHARE our new podcast. FOLLOW Podcast: You will find a "Follow" button in the top right. This will enable the podcast software to alert you when a new episode launches each week. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/makes-sense-with-dr-jc-doornick/id1730954168 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1WHfKWDDReMtrGFz4kkZs9?si=003780ca147c4aec Podcast Affiliates: Kwik Learning: Many people ask me where I get all these topics, which I've been covering for almost 15 years. I have learned to read nearly four times faster and retain information 10 times better with Kwik Learning. Learn how to learn and earn with Jim Kwik. Get his program at a special discount here: https://jimkwik.com/dragon OUR SPONSORS: Operly - Take Back Control of your Work Day and Get Rid of All Your AI Apps - Welcome to the new world of Time Freedom and Unlimited Scaling and Success with Operly -  https://go.getoperly.ai/video?ref=jean-claude-claude-d-2a95 Blue Blinds Bakery - Hand Crafted with all-natural ingredients - www.blueblindsbakery.com     0:00 - Teaser 0:20 - Intro 1:39 - Great Morning 4:23 - Who Owns You? 5:41 - Alexander the Great and Diogenes 9:47 - Indifference 10:39 - Carrency 14:09 - Who is standing in the way of your sun 16:39 - The Unveiling of True Friends 20:54 - Unfuckwithable 23:27 - 5 Habits of the Unfuckwithable 30:55 - Wanting vs Needing 32:45 - Who is your Alexander 33:29 - The World Will Always Try TO Negotiate for Your Attention 35:23 - What are you asking for that you already have Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Get Weekly Leadership Blueprints in your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter The story of America is the story of getting punched in the face and choosing to come back stronger. That is not just history. That is leadership. As the country turns 250, BJ sits down with Army Colonel Steve Messenger to unpack what that actually demands of you. Steve teaches a class called Failing with the Stoics and has spent his career building leaders inside the military's deliberate, hierarchical, brutal development system.In this episode, Steve and BJ get into the BRAG framework for servant leadership, why solid citizens and learners need totally different things from you, the three ropes every leader has to bounce off of, the moment a major stepped into a combatives ring and got slammed in the face, and the identity lie most leaders quietly believe. The line that stuck with BJ: chase people, not badges.Topics discussed:00:00 - Reagan, freedom, and the 250th birthday setup01:13 - Why America's story is the story of getting back up07:25 - Doing your best when life has split priorities10:07 - The Failing with the Stoics class11:04 - Solid citizens vs learners and what each one needs14:01 - The BRAG framework for servant leadership19:00 - The major who stepped into the combatives ring24:29 - Jack Hughes and the gold medal goal that says it all27:11 - The three ropes every leader needs to bounce off of35:02 - The identity lie most leaders quietly believeConnect with Stephen Messenger:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-messenger-866136a5/Website: https://themaximumstandard.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephenmessenger19/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069227347214&locale=es_LAConnect with BJ Kraemer:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-kraemer-9a0855b/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bj_kraemer/Website: https://mcfaglobal.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4bcvcAw0rigwymZCwZgfgN?si=45fc1e07c82742eeApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-blueprints/id1561090224Books mentioned:Why Not the Best by Jimmy CarterMeditations by Marcus AureliusNo Rules Rules by Reed HastingsAntifragile by Nassim TalebThis episode was produced by Podcast Boutique: https://www.podcastboutique.com

The Stoics studied powerful people not to worship them, but to learn from them. In this episode, Ryan looks at Elon Musk through the lens of courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom, and what his life reveals about the difference between success and virtue.

Happiness is a complex emotion and mental state that can be achieved through virtue or pleasure. But should it be for the good of the individual or society? Those in favor of virtue point to the Stoics and the Founding Fathers, saying you should strive for a life of moral virtue and rationality. Those in favor of pleasure say everyone should be able to experience it and define their sources of happiness. Now we debate: The Pursuit of Happiness: Virtue or Pleasure?  Arguing Virtue: Jeffrey Rosen, CEO & President of the National Constitution Center; Author of “The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America”  Arguing Pleasure: Roger Crisp, Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford; Uehiro Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at St. Anne's College, Oxford  Nayeema Raza, Journalist at New York Magazine and Vox, is the guest moderator.  Join the conversation on Substack—share your perspective on this episode and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for curated insights from our debaters, moderators, and staff.  Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and TikTok to stay connected with our mission and ongoing debates.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last year, the President celebrated his birthday with a military parade. This year, he hosted a UFC cage match on the South Lawn of the White House. It's easy to compare it to the gladiator games honoring the Roman emperor, but Phil asks whether it's a sign that America would rather emulate pre-Christian Roman values than biblical ones. Americans can no longer agree on how to teach American history, so we're not teaching it much at all. Is it possible to recover a shared national story? Nijay Gupta is back to discuss his latest book, "Paul for the World," and why the Apostle would not recognize a modern Christianity that's focused on heaven rather than earth. Also this week—the science behind dad jokes. Holy Post Plus: Ad-Free Version of this Episode: https://holypost.substack.com/p/725-the-cage-match-for-americas-story Bonus Interview: https://holypost.substack.com/p/should-the-church-preserve-ethnic 0:00 - Show Starts 3:12 - Theme Song 3:35 -  Sponsor - PolicyGenius - Secure your family's tomorrow so you have peace of mind today. Go to https://www.policygenius.com/HOLYPOST to find the right life insurance for you 4:38 - Sponsor - Rocket Money - Find and cancel your old subscriptions with Rocket Money at https://www.rocketmoney.com/HOLYPOST 5:38 - Science Supports Dad Jokes 14:49 - UFC Fight at the White House 30:45 - Sponsor - Feeding America - Feeding America, led by neighbors! Give now to end hunger at https://www.feedingamerica.org 31:15 - Sponsor - BetterHelp - This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/HOLYPOST and get 10% off your first month! 32:17 - "American Dream" Finding Cuts 35:02 - What Story is America Telling? 52:16 - Interview 57:46 - Is Social Justice Christian? 1:06:20 - Epicureans and Stoics 1:14:33 - Bonhauffer and the Incarnate Church 1:28:15 - End Credits   Links Mentioned in News Segment: Sciences Supports Dad Jokes: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2026/06/15/science-suggests-cringe-worthy-dad-jokes-may-serve-an-actual-purpose/   No Common American Narrative: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/07/american-history-common-narrative/687301/   Other Resources: Paul for the World: A Grounded Vision for Finding Meaning in This Life—Not Just the Next (What Paul's Letters Say about Work, Friendship, Money, Wellness, Justice, and More) by Nijay Gupta: https://amzn.to/3RZR8ON   Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/   Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus   Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost   Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop   The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.  

Want to work with Muscle Intelligence?  Apply Now Most men try to out-discipline their emotions and wonder why they still snap, freeze, or stew at the worst possible moment. Donald Robertson, the cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist who wrote the book on thinking like a Roman emperor, has spent three decades proving there's a better operating system. Drawing on the same Stoic playbook that ran an empire, he and Ben discuss why composure isn't suppression, why the calmest man in the room is almost never the one trying hardest to stay calm, and where the real leverage hides inside every reaction you have. The edge, it turns out, lives in a gap most people never notice… the split second between what happens to you and what you make it mean. Robertson breaks down the two-phase machinery behind anger and anxiety, the reason your meditation practice keeps failing you the moment you actually need it, and the counterintuitive move Marcus Aurelius used to command loyalty when his own generals turned against him. If you've built the career, the body, and the bank account and still get hijacked by your own nervous system, this is the conversation that explains why — and what the most self-possessed men in history did about it. 5 Key Takeaways Why every emotion arrives in two phases and why elite composure is decided entirely in the second one The reason willpower backfires, and what Stoics trained instead Why your meditation and journaling don't transfer to high-pressure moments (and the fix) The leadership move that made Marcus Aurelius untouchable even during a civil war How to model real composure for your kids without pretending to be perfect Chapters 0:00 Meeting Donald Robertson 4:30 From Therapy to Stoicism 7:47 Virtue As the Only True Good 10:14 Why Success Can Feel Empty 14:25 Why Meditation Leaves You Exposed 16:00 The Pause Before You React 22:21 Why Only Three Stoics Survived 27:16 Marcus Aurelius: Power and War 38:08 How an Emperor Truly Led 45:44 Stoicism in the Therapy Room 50:49 Is Anything Really "Bad"? 55:13 The Socratic Test of Success 1:00:41 A Lightning Tour of Philosophy 1:09:42 Modeling Wisdom for Your Kids 1:16:00 The Two Phases of Emotion 1:21:50 Why Studying Stoicism from Soundbites Fail You 1:29:01 Where to Find Donald Connect with Donald Substack – https://donaldrobertson.substack.com Website – https://donaldrobertson.name

Looksmaxxing promises to make you more attractive, more confident, and more powerful. But at what point does self-improvement become obsession? In today's episode, Ryan looks at what the Stoics would say about this viral trend, the dangers of chasing external validation, and what it actually means to become your best self.

The Stoics remind us that everything has its compensation…if we choose to see it, if we choose to welcome it.

It is harder to be courageous when all you see are examples of cowardice. Well, the Stoics can help us with this.

The more powerful our tools become, the more important our judgment becomes. In today's episode, Ryan talks with Jeremy Utley and Henrik Werdelin, hosts of Beyond the Prompt, about what the Stoics can teach us about AI, modern technology, and the skills we can't afford to outsource.Beyond the Prompt is hosted by Henrik Werdelin, an entrepreneur known for co-founding BarkBox, prehype, and other startups, and Jeremy Utley, a lecturer at Stanford and author of Ideaflow.