Podcasts about stoics

Daily Boost Podcast Making Decisions October 1, 2026 | Episode 5554 Host: Scott Smith Episode Description You're making a decision right now. Stay and listen, or move on? That tiny choice shows up all day, every day, and a lot of us are stuck. Smart people with MBAs and PhDs come to me confused. Too many options, too much information, and too many hours arguing with a chatbot that can't decide for them. Today I'll share a formula the Stoics talked about around 300 BC. Emotion plus logic equals your outcome. Learn how both sides work together, and you'll make your next big call faster and with a lot more confidence. Featured Story A few years ago, I picked out a house right on the beach in Daytona. Beachfront. I was ready to go. Then I found out my wife wanted to raise alpacas. Within a second, emotion took over, and we bought a 12-acre ranch about 15 miles from the ocean. I learned to drive a tractor, clear fields, and put up fences. Four years later, she said, I made an emotional decision that didn't work. And people kept asking how we made money on alpacas. You don't. You write them off. Logic finally stepped back in, and it gave us our answer. Important Points * Your biggest and most fun decisions start with emotion, so stop fighting it and learn to harness what you feel first. * Logic is the second step: check the boxes and do your due diligence before you commit to an outcome. * Feeding your confusion into a chatbot rarely brings clarity. It has too much data and no real emotion to work with. Memorable Quotes * Making decisions is the most important skill you can have. Your ability to make a decision makes you a superhero. * Emotions are always the first step in decision-making, but you've got to put some logic into it as well. Then decide. * Black-and-white reality rarely makes for a good life, so bring both emotion and logic to the table. Scott's Three-Step Approach * Notice the emotion driving your decision first, whether it's excitement or frustration, and call it what it is. * Bring in logic next by checking the cost, the work involved, and the facts, the way you'd do real due diligence. * Put what you feel together with what you learned, make the call, and let the emotion come back as your happy dance. Chapters 0:16 - You're deciding whether to listen right now 2:31 - Why so many smart people can't decide anymore 3:27 - Frustration, chatbots, and harnessing your heart 5:28 - The Stoic formula behind every decision you make 6:00 - Trading a beach house for a 12-acre alpaca ranch 7:11 - A coffee, a donut, and a brand-new Harley 8:48 - Emotion first, logic next, then the happy dance SEO Description Emotion plus logic equals your outcome. Scott Smith shares a Stoic formula to break decision paralysis and choose with clarity. Connect With Me Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify * Email: support@motivationtomove.com * Main Website: https://motivationtomove.com * YouTube: https://youtube.com/dailyboostpodcast * Instagram: https://instagram.com/heyscottsmith * Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/motivationtomove * Facebook Group: https://dailyboostpodcast.com/facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time has passed. The ideas haven't changed, as the Stoics say, but you have. The new 10th Anniversary Edition of The Daily Stoic will be released October 6, 2026—but signed and numbered first-edition copies are available NOW

The Stoics wrote about almost every part of life, but which of their ideas are worth carrying with you every day? In this episode, Ryan shares 50 short rules from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, and other Stoics that you can actually put into practice.

LIFE: A DREAM, OR REALITY?I'm confused - confused about the nature of “reality.” I'm listening to the film maker, Roger Avary on Rick Rubin's podcast, and he's talking about “creating your own reality.” He says he subscribes to the S.P.E.C. method: “select it, project it, expect it, and collect it” — as a way to manifest his chosen reality. The term was originally coined by a 1950s housewife, Helen Hadsell, “The Contest Queen”, who used it to win over 5,000 contests.Avary, who spent time in jail for killing someone while drunk driving, was relating the harsh tale, describing how he had lost everything, but, then had an epiphany of deep gratitude upon his release, whereby he vowed to reorder his priorities. I know the Stoics say that “you can't control what happens to you; all you can control is how you react to those things.” Is this an example of creating your own reality, or of simply accepting the fact that life is chaotic, random, and painful? Without being aware of it, I also have practiced the SPEC method of visualization to manifest reality, specifically in regards to my vision of eventual success that propelled me through the roller coaster of a 3 decades-long professional life. But, then, I walked away after a couple of busy years, because the image that had sustained me had suddenly vanished. I decided to stop beating myself up waiting for the big win to happen, and began living for my family rather than to gratify my own ego. In Buddhist terms, I freed myself by stopping “wanting” it, and, in fact, the appeal of whatever that “success” would look like became moot. But, doubts remain. So, to clear up the confusion, I'll consult the oracle on whether of not it's preferable that one should accept that we are simply observers in a senseless dreamscape, or, to believe that one can create one's own reality?HEXAGRAM 40: LIBERATION, with moving lines 1,5 & 6HEXAGRAM 10: AUDACITYDREAM:I was awakened from this morning's sleep with a mini-nightmare. I heard groaning, so I investigated the source of the sound. As I turned the corner into the kitchen, I see two legs with moccasins (like mine) on their feet. There was a woman face down on the floor with puddles of something  (vomit? Blood?) Around her head. The old woman was dying, in the last moments of life, and a number of people were sitting around, basically ignoring the old ladies situation. I became upset, (but of course, I wasn't relating to her either) - and, I said to one younger woman who looked like my wife's friend, Susan, “I wish Chemayne were here, she'd minister to the dying woman. She was too good to live!” And I woke up weeping. 

Send us Fan MailJoin your host Clifton Pope as he is back with another solocast as the September 2026 Installment of the Spiritual Enlightment Series is here to close out the month strong and set the tone for 4th quarter of 2026 in your spiritual potentialIn this month's installment, Clifton Pope breaks down the ancient question of " What's The Point" through the time of unprecedented uncertainty with the book of Ecclesiates by confronting the limitations of worldly success through the eyes of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Stoics, and Gnosticism!Clifton breaks down how these traditions offer a response to the problem of dissatisfaction and how it asks us to look beyond surface level achievements to achieve spiritual transformation!Don't miss a single installment live on Apple/Spotify Podcasts/Rumble so you can unlock your spiritual potential!Share this episode with someone who needs to discover their point in life and if you love the show, please leave a rating/review so more people can tune in!Support the showhttps://athleticism.com/HEALTHFWEALTHBhttps://coolgreenclothing.com/HEALTHFITNESSWEALTHBUSINESShttps://normotim.com/HEALTHFIThttps://www.portablemeshnebulizer.com/pages/collab?dt_id=2573900official affiliates of the HFWB Podcast SeriesPlease support the mission behind each product/services  as it helps grow the HFWB Podcast Series to where the show can continue to roll along!

The streets of Rome still carry the lessons the Stoics left behind nearly 2,000 years ago. In today's episode, Ryan walks through the places where Stoicism was lived and tested and shares 11 lessons the ancient Stoic sites still have to teach us.Watch on YouTube

We often wait for the perfect conditions to feel joyful, but joy rarely arrives as expected. In today's episode, Kate Bowler and Ryan discuss three surprising signs that something might bring you real joy and how to become more open to recognizing it. They also talk about the difference between joy and happiness, what the Stoics thought about contentment, and our obsession with optimizing everything. Kate Bowler is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and professor of religious history at Duke University. She is the host of the podcast Everything Happens, where she has honest conversations about grief, joy, faith, love, and the realities of being human.Grab signed copies of Kate's books Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved, No Cure For Being Human (And Other Truths I Needed To Hear), and her latest book Joyful, Anyway at The Painted Porch | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/Follow Kate Bowler: Instagram, YouTube

In this week's Book Club podcast, Sam Leith is joined by philosopher John Sellars to discuss his new book, Stoicism Is Not What You Think.Sellars explores the ancient philosophy of Stoicism and challenges some of its most common misconceptions – from the idea that Stoics repress their emotions to the belief that they are cold, indifferent and detached from the world.From its origins in ancient Athens to its modern revival online, Sellars explains what the Stoics actually believed and counter Stoicism's reputation beyond its ‘stiff upper lip' image. Sam and John also discuss Marcus Aurelius, the role of women in the history of Stoicism, and the growing body of psychological research asking whether putting Stoic ideas into practice can actually improve our lives.Produced by Abigail Brierley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Book Club podcast, Sam Leith is joined by philosopher John Sellars to discuss his new book, Stoicism Is Not What You Think.Sellars explores the ancient philosophy of Stoicism and challenges some of its most common misconceptions – from the idea that Stoics repress their emotions to the belief that they are cold, indifferent and detached from the world.From its origins in ancient Athens to its modern revival online, Sellars explains what the Stoics actually believed and counter Stoicism's reputation beyond its ‘stiff upper lip' image. Sam and John also discuss Marcus Aurelius, the role of women in the history of Stoicism, and the growing body of psychological research asking whether putting Stoic ideas into practice can actually improve our lives.Produced by Abigail Brierley. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcastsContact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nobody said getting wiser, better, or stronger would be accomplished without hard work. In fact, the Stoics specifically said the opposite.Turn the words into works

Failure is easy to notice. You build the wrong company, make a bad investment, or choose the wrong direction, and eventually the result tells you something went wrong. Success can actually be harder. Let's say the company grows, the numbers improve, the sacrifices keep paying off. Meanwhile, you may be giving up time with your spouse, your children, your health, or years of your life that you can never get back. That's the problem. Money can often be replaced. Time can't. You can earn back a million dollars. You can't get your child's sixth year back. You can't become single today and have a twenty-year marriage next year. In this episode, you'll learn four questions that help you see the price of a decision before time makes it obvious. The goal is not to stop sacrificing. It is to know what you are really spending, what you are spending it on, and whether the trade is worth it. Listen now.  Show Highlights Include: Why do you make personal decisions (that often matter more to you than any financial return) without much thought or scrutiny? (0:54)  How putting a dollar amount on various personal decisions gives you clarity (even if it feels weird and unnatural at first) (1:24)  4 questions to ask yourself before making a personal sacrifice to help prevent a decision you'll regret 10, 20, or even 50 years later (5:17)  How the natural passing of time inflates the cost of decisions you make today (and why understanding this is crucial for minimizing your regrets) (17:49)  The #1 blind spot achievers have that traps you into overvaluing business decisions and undervaluing personal ones (23:47)  Why considering your potential losses is like a cheat code to making correct decisions (24:42)  This gloomy-sounding exercise (originally created over 2,000 years ago by the Stoics) allows you to "time travel" and make decisions today with the perspective of the future (27:40)  For more about David Tian, go here: https://www.davidtianphd.com/about/  Feeling like success in one area of life has come at the expense of another? Maybe you've crushed it in your career, but your relationships feel strained. Or you've built the life you thought you wanted, yet there's still something important missing. I've put together a free 3-minute assessment to help you see what's really holding you back. Answer a few simple questions, and you'll get instant access to a personalized masterclass that speaks directly to where you are right now. It's fast. It's practical. And it could change the way you approach leadership, love, and fulfillment. Take the first step here → https://dtphd.com/quiz

In June 2026, a team of papyrologists and AI researchers achieved something once thought impossible: reading an entire ancient scroll, carbonized by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, from beginning to end, without ever physically opening it.In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast, I'm joined by Federica Nicolardi, lead papyrologist of the Vesuvius Challenge and Associate Professor of Papyrology at the University of Naples Federico II, and Maria Chiara Robustelli, a member of the Vesuvius Challenge papyrology team and postdoctoral scholar at the same university, currently preparing a critical edition of a Herculaneum scroll on the Stoics.We talk about how they each found their way into papyrology, what Pompeii and Herculaneum actually are and how differently they were buried by the eruption, the history of the Villa dei Papiri and its library, and how the Vesuvius Challenge used X-ray imaging and machine learning to virtually unwrap scrolls no one has been able to read in nearly two thousand years.At the heart of the conversation is PHerc. 1667: a philosophical treatise on impulse, human nature, and practical wisdom, found in a library that's almost entirely Epicurean, except for this one Stoic text. Its final surviving column names Aristocreon, the nephew and student of Chrysippus, raising the genuine possibility that this could be connected to Chrysippus himself, one of the most influential Stoic philosophers whose own writing has otherwise been lost to history.We close, as I do with most guests, by asking about their own personal philosophy of life.Topics covered: the Vesuvius Challenge, virtual unwrapping, Herculaneum papyri, the Villa dei Papiri, Pompeii vs Herculaneum, Philodemus, Stoic philosophy, Chrysippus, papyrology, and what it means to recover a voice from the ancient world.Learn more about the project:

Welcome to Day 2946 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain and today is Day 2946 – Theology Thursday – Sirach and the Fight for Israel's Soul Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2946 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps!   I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2946 of our Trek.   The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Our current series of Theology Thursday lessons is written by theologian and teacher John Daniels. I have found that his lessons are short, easy to understand, doctrinally sound, and applicable to all who desire to learn more of God's Word. John's lessons are available on his website, theologyinfive.com.  Sirach and the Fight for Israel's Soul. The Book of Sirach stands at a turning point in the history of Israel. After the conquests of Alexander the Great, the ancient world changed forever. Greek culture, language, philosophy, and civic life spread across the Near East with remarkable speed. This cultural tide carried enormous pressure, because Hellenism was not simply a set of interesting ideas. It was a full identity system that sought to redefine what it meant to be human. In this environment, many Jews abandoned the covenant, believing that Greek customs offered a path to prosperity, prestige, and modernity. Sirach emerges from this crisis as a call to renewed loyalty to Yahweh. It confronts the seductive promises of Hellenism and offers a vision of wisdom anchored in the covenant rather than the philosophies of the nations. The first segment is: What Hellenism Was. Hellenism reshaped the world by promoting a single cultural framework grounded in the Greek language and the ideals of classical Greece. It elevated philosophical schools like the Stoics and Epicureans. It introduced gymnasiums that celebrated physical excellence, public honor, and the pursuit of fame. It established theaters that portrayed Greek mythology as the universal story of humanity. It encouraged participation in Greek civic life, which often required honoring Greek gods and adopting Greek moral values. This cultural system promised enlightenment and unity, presenting itself as the natural next step for any society wishing to progress. It was attractive because it offered social mobility and respect in a world where power had shifted decisively toward Greek norms. The second segment is: Why Hellenism Threatened Israel For Israel, the spread of Hellenism created a direct conflict with the covenant. Greek philosophy grounded virtue in human reason rather than in obedience to the God of Abraham. Greek athletics celebrated the human body in ways that clashed with Jewish modesty and purity laws. Greek civic rituals often involved sacrifices or festivals to the Greek gods. Even the Greek language and educational system encouraged a worldview that placed human achievement at the center rather than Yahweh. Many young Jews saw Hellenism as sophisticated and forward-looking. They wanted to join the gymnasium, study philosophy, adopt Greek names, and climb the social ladder. This was not a casual interest. It required abandoning parts of Jewish identity. Circumcision was mocked as barbaric. Loyalty to Yahweh was treated as narrow-minded. The pressure to assimilate was immense. The third segment is: The Jewish Conflict Under Hellenistic Pressure. This cultural tension fractured Jewish society. A group later known as the Hasidim resisted assimilation and insisted on faithfulness to the covenant. Other Jews, particularly those in positions of power, embraced Hellenism as the path to political and social advancement. Competition between these groups intensified until it eventually set the stage for the crisis under Antiochus IV. Even before that explosion, the conflict was already reshaping daily life in Jerusalem. The Book of Sirach comes from this period when assimilation was growing rapidly, and the faithful needed clear guidance to resist it. The fourth segment is: Sirach as Resistance Literature. Sirach is not merely a collection of sayings. It is a deliberate pushback against the cultural takeover of Hellenism. Ben Sira confronts the idea that wisdom can be defined by human intellect or philosophical speculation. He insists that the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom and that true understanding comes only through covenant obedience. This stands in sharp contrast with Greek philosophical traditions that grounded virtue in reason, logic, or the disciplined human will. Sirach places humility at the center of wisdom in a world that celebrated fame, glory, and self-elevation. Sirach counters Greek ideals by teaching that wisdom begins with awe before the Creator, not with human insight. He rebukes the pursuit of honor for its own sake, warns against the destructive power of pride, and emphasizes the holiness of marriage, family, and righteous speech in a culture that glorified pleasure, ambition, and the art of persuasive rhetoric. The fifth segment is: Sirach's Strategy for Preserving Israel. Ben Sira sought to form a community capable of resisting assimilation. He taught that honoring parents was not merely good manners but a foundation of covenant life. He linked generosity to trust in God rather than to Greek ideals of civic virtue. He rooted ethics in the commandments, not in philosophical debates. He warned against false friendships and manipulative speech, both of which characterized political life in Hellenistic cities. Every part of his instruction was aimed at creating a resilient identity grounded in Yahweh rather than the prestige of Greek culture. Sirach's approach was simple and profound. If Israel remained faithful in daily life, it would remain faithful in moments of crisis. If Israel treasured humility, purity, and obedience, the temptations of Hellenism would lose their appeal. His wisdom was not abstract. It was a way of life designed to protect the covenant community. The sixth segment is: The Praise of the Fathers as Cultural Warfare. Chapters 44 through 50 form one of the most deliberate acts of cultural resistance in ancient Jewish literature. Greek culture filled the world with heroic narratives that celebrated men who were born from unions between gods and human women. Figures like Achilles, Heracles, Perseus, and Helen were remembered as half divine beings whose power, stature, and physical prowess exceeded normal human limits. They were not described as towering giants like the Titans or the Gigantes, but ancient writers often portrayed them as unusually large, strong, or imposing when compared with ordinary people of their time. Their scale and abilities placed them within the same broad category of divine human hybrids that the Bible associates with the Nephilim, even if their size was not monstrous. Ben Sira understood what these stories represented. The Greek heroic tradition did not simply offer entertaining myths. It offered an identity system rooted in beings connected to the spiritual rebellion described in Genesis. Their greatness was measured through violence, pride, sensuality, and the pursuit of glory. Their stories shaped the imagination of those who admired them and encouraged the moral values at the heart of Hellenistic culture. Sirach responded by presenting a different lineage of greatness. Instead of exalting demigods, he lifted up Enoch, who walked with God, Abraham, who trusted God, Moses, who confronted empires, Aaro,n who guarded holiness, Phinehas, who defended purity, Davi,d who shepherded Israel, and Elija,h who opposed idolatry. These were faithful humans rather than hybrids born of rebellious spirits. They represented humility, obedience, covenant identity, and devotion to Yahweh. In doing this, Ben Sira declared that Israel did not need the myths of the nations to define true greatness. Israel already had a sacred history rooted in the work of the Most High. The Praise of the Fathers was therefore an act of cultural warfare. It rejected the spiritual corruption behind Greek heroic tradition and replaced it with a godly vision of strength and virtue. The seventh segment is: How Sirach Shaped the World of Jesus. When Jesus walked the hills of Galilee, the struggle between faithfulness and Hellenism was still shaping Jewish life. The moral vocabulary promoted by Sirach influenced the world in which Jesus taught. Many of His teachings on generosity, integrity, humility, and wise...

What does it really mean to be fully present with your clients?As healers, we spend a LOT of time mastering techniques and promising new methods, pursuing certifications and figuring out new ways to help people feel better. And all of that matters.But there's something even more foundational underneath all of that, something we can easily lose sight of:  our ability to slow down, quiet our own minds and really see the human being sitting in front of us.My guest today is psychotherapist, writer and fellow LCSW Lex Santí. Lex is developing a new psychometric framework called AMI—Acceptance Motivation Inquiry—designed to help clinicians better understand a client's motivation for therapy and their relationship to the problem they're facing.But our conversation became about something bigger than the framework itself.In this episode, you'll hear…Why moving too quickly – and assuming you already understand what's happening – can cause real harm. (Speaking from experience…)What Lex calls “inner silence,” and how your relationship with yourself can impact your ability to be truly present with anyone else.How understanding and tracking AMI's four categories (Seekers, Survivors, Skeptics and Stoics) can help us think differently about the people sitting across from us.Why meeting clients where they actually are matters way more than getting them where we think they should be.We explored the seduction of methodology, the surprising problem with our “best” clients, what AI can (and cannot!) replicate about human connection, and the extraordinary courage it sometimes takes just to walk through your door.There is nothing quite like being fully seen by another human being.And as our tools get faster, smarter and more sophisticated, I believe our ability to offer that kind of presence is going to matter more than ever.So listen to this one with your clinician hat on.And the next time you sit down with a client, see what happens when you quiet your own mind, stay curious…and let them show you who they really are.~WendyP.S. I'd love to know what this brings up for you. How does presence show up in your work? Drop me a note at Wendy@WendyPittsReeves.com and share your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you. _______________TODAY'S GUESTLex E. Santí, LCSW, is a psychotherapist, novelist, and founder of A Key Therapy in New York state. He has been in private practice since the early days of COVID-19, helping adults navigate anxiety, life transitions, relationships, and questions of meaning through mindfulness, narrative therapy, and Acceptance & Motivation Inquiry (AMI), a framework he developed to support lasting change. He is the author of multiple published books, including a novel, and previously worked as a therapist at Family & Children's Service of Ithaca and Cornell University. Lex is currently pursuing his Doctor of Social Work (DSW) at the University of Kentucky. Learn more: A Key Therapy: https://www.akeytherapy.co/  Lex Santí: https://www.lexenricosanti.com/_______________MENTIONED AMI — Acceptance Motivation Inquiry (New protocol being developed by our guest.)AAIT — Acceptance and Integration Training / Melanie McGheeMotivational InterviewingAcceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)_______________LET's CONNECT:Quick Start Consult: If you're ready to get out of your own way, this 1:1 coaching work session could make all the difference. Learn more here.  Want to be a Guest on Ideal PracticeTM? Submit your application here. Follow me on Facebook or Linked In. Support the showWendy Pitts Reeves, LCSWHost, Ideal PracticePrivate Practice Coach and Mentorwww.WendyPittsReeves.comWendy@WendyPittsReeves.com

Not all the Stoics were leaders, but all of them were readers.Turn the words into works

Most advice about habits is really about saving you time. This episode of the Via Stoica Podcast looks at a different kind of habit entirely, the one Epictetus considered the only one that actually matters.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. We all build habits to avoid the exhaustion of deciding everything from scratch every day, from what we eat to how we start our mornings. That kind of habit is useful and worth having. But it isn't the habit the Stoics were most concerned with.Epictetus taught that the real work is training your response to impressions, not your morning routine. His method was simple and demanding: since bad habits form through repeatedly giving in to an impulse, you fight them the same way, by deliberately practicing the opposite, on purpose, again and again, until it becomes second nature. This episode also looks at how to tell whether a habit still genuinely fits you, or whether it's something you inherited without ever choosing it, and why a habit that breaks the moment your circumstances change was never built well in the first place.Because the habit that actually shapes your character isn't the one that saves you five minutes each morning. It's the pause you train yourself to take before you react.Support the showviastoica.comYouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com

Ryan Holiday has introduced millions of people to Stoicism. But is what he teaches about success actually consistent with what the ancient Stoics taught?In this episode, I take a closer look at several of Holiday's claims about success—not to tear him down, but to test those ideas against the philosophy itself.We explore why Stoic success cannot be measured purely by outcomes, what the Stoics actually meant by preferred indifferents, why making more money isn't necessarily the Stoic choice, and a revealing passage from Seneca's Letter 95that raises a larger problem with the way Stoicism is sometimes presented today.Because Stoicism isn't fundamentally about becoming more effective at getting what you want.It asks a much harder question:Is what you want actually worth wanting?Ryan Holiday gets some things right. Other ideas, I argue, are incomplete. And in at least one case, returning to the original Stoic text tells a very different story.A successful life and a good life are not necessarily the same thing.The Stoics were concerned with the latter.

Ryan Holiday has introduced millions of people to Stoicism. But is what he teaches about success actually consistent with what the ancient Stoics taught?In this episode, I take a closer look at several of Holiday's claims about success—not to tear him down, but to test those ideas against the philosophy itself.We explore why Stoic success cannot be measured purely by outcomes, what the Stoics actually meant by preferred indifferents, why making more money isn't necessarily the Stoic choice, and a revealing passage from Seneca's Letter 95that raises a larger problem with the way Stoicism is sometimes presented today.Because Stoicism isn't fundamentally about becoming more effective at getting what you want.It asks a much harder question:Is what you want actually worth wanting?Ryan Holiday gets some things right. Other ideas, I argue, are incomplete. And in at least one case, returning to the original Stoic text tells a very different story.A successful life and a good life are not necessarily the same thing.The Stoics were concerned with the latter.

In Rome, Ryan could barely go for a run without passing a place connected to Stoic history. In today's episode, he shares moments from his family trip, from visiting the places where the Stoics lived and worked to running a 50K route through Rome's ancient Stoic sites.

Scott Samuelson is a professor of philosophy at Iowa State University and the author of several books. His latest work is called To Taste: On Cooking and the Good Life.Greg asks Scott about his views on why philosophy and aesthetics have sidelined food and actual taste in favor of nutrition, consumer preference, or narrow ethics. Scott argues food, cooking, and communal meals are central to human meaning, ethics, and hospitality, and that taste is a form of wisdom joining truth, goodness, and beauty while bridging the labels of subjective, objective, and intersubjective judgment. He links taste to style through cooking as an active practice of tasting and adjusting, critiques consumer capitalism's push toward radical aesthetic subjectivity and “food porn,” and the subject of tradition as an evolving conversation. They also connect food to education via metaphors of digestion, emphasizing initiation, attention, and the cultivation of judgment and style, and Scott defends ‘festivity' and ‘shared meals' as two foundations for intimacy and flourishing.*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:Is it possible to be intimate with someone that you've never eaten with?57:28 [Greg LaBlanc]: Do you think that it's possible to be intimate with someone that you've never eaten with? Is it possible to be a friend with somebody that you've never sat down and had a meal? I find it hard to imagine in a way.57:45 [Scott Samuelson] I mean, it's almost impossible to imagine having deep connections, intimate connections with family members, with friends, with a lover that doesn't involve sharing a food and drink on a pretty regular basis, actually. And it's not simply that, "Oh, well, you need to eat," and whatever. It's that, that becomes a scene in which, the intimacy plays out, sometimes at its most fundamental level. The family dinner conversations, or the drinks with the friend or the great meal with your lover or whatever, those are things that are fundamental to what it is.We're not just consumers of food20:01: We've thought about things as we thought about ourselves as consumers, and I want us to think of ourselves not just as consumers, but as cooks, not just as eaters, but as makers of food. And that to me is a better lens for thinking about a good life.Taste is meeting of the subjective and objective09:50: The beauty of taste is that it is precisely the meeting of the subjective and the object. It's putting an object into my subjective mouth, and it's the meeting of those two things. So there's an objective component, there's a subjective component, and there's an intersubjective component as well that one can't really develop one's taste independent of a community, I think, of taste at some level. But just again, to speak fairly bluntly and straightforwardly, I just think the development of taste is just one of the best things in life.Show Links:Recommended Resources:EpistemologyXeniaAlfred North WhiteheadThe Taste of ThingsM. F. K. FisherCotton MatherBlaise PascalGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at Iowa State UniversityScottSamuelsonAuthor.comWikipedia ProfileGuest Work:Amazon Author PageTo Taste: On Cooking and the Good LifeSeven Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering: What Philosophy Can Tell Us about the Hardest Mystery of AllRome as a Guide to the Good Life: A Philosophical Grand TourThe Deepest Human Life: An Introduction to Philosophy for EveryoneIf you enjoyed this show, here are some other unSILOed episodes you may like:604: Scott Samuelson - The Intersection of Philosophy and Suffering: From the Stoics to ModernityPaula Marantz CohenJulian Baggini48: Rob Dunn - Understanding Food Science: The Role of Evolution and Nature in our Diet Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Reading Acts 17:16-21 where Paul comes to Athens and is provoked by the idolatry to preach the gospel, and the Epicureans and the Stoics are bewildered by this. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!

On the Ides of March, 44 BC, sixty men took part in a single act: killing a tyrant. In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast we ask a question that still matters two thousand years later. Were all sixty acting virtuously, or were some of them doing the exact same thing for entirely different reasons?Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. The Stoics were clear that virtue never lives in the visible act itself. It lives in the judgment behind it, in what they called prohairesis, the reasoned choice that belongs to you and no one else.Two people can do the identical thing, reach out to a friend, stay quiet in an argument, walk away from a fight, and only one of them is acting from genuine character. The other might be doing it for approval, out of fear, or to avoid feeling guilty. From the outside, both actions look exactly the same. Only the person doing them ever really knows which one they did. This episode also looks at a simple, practical question worth sitting with before any decision, big or small: would I still do this if no one else would ever know? And it explores why this isn't just a private matter, since a society built on the right actions for the wrong reasons rarely holds together for long.Support the showviastoica.comYouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com

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.

Can Ancient Philosophy Teach Us How to Succeed? | Tom Morris on Aristotle, Stoicism & Living WellWhat does it actually mean to succeed in life? And could Aristotle, the Stoics and other ancient thinkers have better answers than our modern obsession with money, status and achievement?In this episode, Anya Leonard speaks with Tom Morris, public philosopher, former Notre Dame professor and bestselling author of If Aristotle Ran General Motors. Together they explore what happens when ancient philosophy leaves the classroom and enters everyday life: from business and leadership to personal success, politics and the search for meaning.Drawing on Aristotle, Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius and others, Tom challenges conventional ideas of success and offers a deeper vision rooted in developing our talents, helping others and pursuing genuine human flourishing.The conversation also explores the extraordinary modern revival of Stoicism, whether we can separate great ideas from the flaws of the people who held them, and how ancient concepts of virtue, community and responsibility might help us navigate the divisions of modern society.Key Topics:Why ancient philosophy still speaks to modern problemsWhat happened when Tom brought Aristotle into corporate AmericaWhy success isn't simply about money, power or statusAristotle, eudaimonia and the meaning of human flourishingHow to find the useful “gold nuggets” in ancient philosophyShould we reject thinkers whose values don't match our own?Philosophy, patriotism and the search for shared valuesCan ancient wisdom help us move beyond political extremes?Why Stoicism has become a worldwide phenomenonThe forgotten philosophical traditions we should rediscoverTimestamps:00:00 – Introduction01:00 – From philosopher to corporate America05:03 – Why ancient wisdom connects with people10:53 – Our hunger for meaningful ideas14:08 – What is true success?16:13 – The Seven C's of Success17:52 – Eudaimonia & human flourishing18:46 – If Aristotle Ran General Motors20:13 – “Cherry-picking” ancient wisdom24:04 – Can we learn from flawed thinkers?28:07 – Philosophy, patriotism & shared values32:17 – Can philosophy overcome division?42:11 – Why Stoicism is booming46:38 – Stoicism & political division49:25 – Can individuals change society?53:29 – Finding the middle ground58:54 – What lies beyond Stoicism?1:00:30 – Final thoughtsWhat does success mean to you? And which ancient philosopher has given you the most useful guidance for modern life? Let us know in the comments.If you enjoy conversations that bring ancient wisdom to modern problems, subscribe to Classical Wisdom for more interviews on philosophy, history, Stoicism and the ideas of the ancient world.

Does your legacy actually matter, and what if you left nothing behind at all? In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast we look honestly at why so many of us build our lives around being remembered, and what the Stoics actually thought about that impulse.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. Only twelve people have ever walked on the moon, and their footprints will likely outlast almost everything else humans have ever built, yet ask someone to name the seventh person to do it. That gap between permanence and memory says more about legacy than most of what gets written about it.This episode looks at the strange case of Marcus Aurelius, whose private journal was never meant for publication, and yet two thousand years later it remains one of the most read books in the world. He could not have controlled that, could not have predicted it, and never got to witness it. His actual legacy came from doing the work in front of him, not from chasing how he would be remembered. We also look at what happens when people build a career around legacy directly, from famous musicians and actors whose personal choices ended up defining how they are remembered, to the quieter ways all of us attach our sense of worth to something that will outlast us.Because here is the uncomfortable truth. You will not be there to see your legacy. So the only honest question left is what you do with today.Support the showviastoica.comYouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com

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:

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

Which of these do you struggle with the most?

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?

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)

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?

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.

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.

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.”