The World Is Trying To Teach You

This was all pretty sudden, wasn’t it? The economy was chugging along. Life was going well. We had travel plans. We had work plans. We had things we were doing. We had a sense for what we’d do next. And then… bam. Now, here we are. You know what that is? It’s a reminder. It’s a reminder that Seneca—a man who experienced exile, illness, financial setbacks, and all sorts of other adversity—wrote about more than 2,000 years ago. He told us “never to trust prosperity, and always take full note of fortune’s habit of behaving just as she pleases, treating her as if she were actually going to do everything it is in her power to do.” His point was that events can change quickly, and that we have to be vigilant, particularly in good times, because vigilance is the first step towards preparation. “Whatever you have been expecting,” he said, “comes as less of a shock.”The events of the last few weeks have been an expensive and merciless reminder of the truth of that advice. We ignored it at our peril, for too long, as humans often do. Fate is fickle. Reversals happen. Black Swans are real. Nothing is stable, change is the only constant. No one is so rich, so healthy, so strong or smart that they cannot be brought low. That is obvious to anyone looking around today. Yet we are likely, as things get better (which they inevitably will), to forget this fact if we’re not careful...and that is a waste of the pain we are experiencing right now. The world is always teaching us. The question is whether we’re open to listening. The question is whether we’re ready to hear. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. 📢 Share | ⚙️ Manage Subscription

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com.

• 0:28Ryan Holiday?

  The world is trying to teach you. This was all pretty sudden, wasn't it? The economy was chugging along, life was going well, we had travel plans, we had work plans, we had things we were doing, we had a sense for what we'd do next. And then bam, now here we are. You know what that is? It is a reminder. It's a reminder that Seneca, a man who experienced exile, illness, financial setbacks, and all sorts of other adversity, it's a reminder of something that Seneca, a man who experienced exile, illness, financial setbacks, and all sorts of other adversity, wrote about more than 2,000 years ago. He

• 1:12Ryan Holiday?

  told us that "we should never trust prosperity and always take full note of fortune's habit of behaving just as she pleases, treating her as if she were actually going to do everything it is in her power to do." His point was that events can change quickly and that we have to be vigilant, particularly in good times, because vigilance is the first step towards preparation. "Whatever you have been expecting," he said, "comes as less of a shock." The events of the last few weeks have been an expensive and merciless reminder of the truth of that advice. We ignored it at our peril for too long, as humans often

• 1:52Ryan Holiday?

  do. Fate is fickle, reversals happen, black swans are real, nothing is stable, change is the only constant. No one is so rich, so healthy, so strong, or smart. That they cannot be brought low. That is obvious to anyone looking around today. Yet, we are likely, as things get better, which they inevitably will, to forget this fact if we're not careful. And that is a waste of the pain we are experiencing right now. The world is always teaching us. The question is whether we're open to listening. The question is whether we're ready to hear. Thanks for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. If you could leave us a review in iTunes,

• 2:36Ryan Holiday?

  it helps a great deal. And of course, if you know anyone who would benefit from these messages, please spread the word. Thanks.