You Still Have Time. You Have So Much Time.

Seneca’s life is worth looking at for anyone who thinks they missed their shot, who thinks it might be “too late” for them. Because in his early twenties, just as his career as a lawyer was taking off, Seneca was struck with a terrible blow of tuberculosis. He was sent away by his doctors to Egypt, where he spent the next ten years recovering. Eventually, he returned to Rome, and though many would have suspected his window had closed, he quickly made a name for himself as a politician and a philosopher. Then, just as his career was taking off, he was banished to Corisca on trumped up charges by jealous enemies. There he had to spend eight years, eight years of the prime of his life, on an island far away from home. Yet, he eventually returned to Rome, rebuilt and remade himself, and soon found himself one of the most powerful men in the world, advising the Emperor. You might be sensing where this is going, but once again, at the height of his influence, he was forced to retire from Nero’s service, as the Emperor became increasingly unstable. Still, Seneca managed to re-dedicate himself to philosophy and publish some of his most brilliant works. What Seneca’s life proves is something much more bluntly phrased in Gary Vaynerchuk’s viral video, “You’ve Got Fucking Time.” It might feel like you are too old, that things have not turned out like you planned, that you’ve been royally screwed by bad luck. And that may be so—but the fact remains that you still have time. You can still make something of this life. You can still be grateful for whatever—and how much ever—time you have left. What if you had just woken up from a coma? What if you had just gotten exonerated and released from death row? What if you’d found out your cancer was in remission? Would you be thinking 'I'm getting a late start' or ‘woe is me?” Or would you be thinking, 'I'm so lucky. This is the beginning of my new life'? There is no too late, not as far as ordinary life goes; just get started. Or get back to work. That’s all we can do. 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.

• 0:29Ryan Holiday?

  You still have time. You have so much time. Seneca's life is worth looking at for anyone who thinks they missed their shot, who thinks it might be too late for them. Because in his early twenties, just as his career as a lawyer was taking off, Seneca was struck with a terrible blow of tuberculosis. He was sent away by his doctors to Egypt, where he spent the next 10 years recovering. Eventually, he returned to Rome, and though many would have suspected his window had closed, he quickly made a name for himself as a politician and a philosopher. Then, just as his career was taking off, he was banished to Corsica on trumped-up charges by jealous enemies. There, he had to spend

• 1:10Ryan Holiday?

  eight years, eight years of the prime of his life on an island far away from home. Yet, he eventually returned to Rome, rebuilt and remade himself, and soon found himself one of the most powerful men in the world, advising the emperor. You might be sensing where this is going, but once again, at the height of his influence, he was forced to retire from Nero's service as the emperor became increasingly unstable. Still, Seneca managed to rededicate himself to philosophy and publish some of his most brilliant works. What Seneca's life proves is something more bluntly phrased in Gary Vaynerchuk's viral video, "You've Got Fucking Time." It might feel like you're too old, that things have not turned out like you planned, that you've been royally screwed by bad luck. And that

• 1:55Ryan Holiday?

  may be so, but the fact remains that you still have time. You can still make something of this life. You can still be grateful for whatever or how much ever time you have left. What if you had just woken up from a coma? What if you had just got exonerated and released from death row? What if you found out your cancer was in remission? Would you be thinking, "I'm getting a late start," or "Woe is me"? Or would you be thinking, "I'm so lucky this is the beginning of my new life"? There is no late, not as far as ordinary life goes. Just get started, or get back to work. That's all we can do.

• 2:30Ryan Holiday?

  Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or your favorite podcast app. And if you don't get the Daily Stoic email, go to dailystoic.com/email.