Will You Be Proud of This?

"Marcus had no interest in posthumous fame. He was a private man. It’s a historical irony that today he is famous for a work of art he desperately wanted no one to see. What he really cared about was what he did in the moment, who he was as a person, how he responded to crises and difficulty. 'Just that you do the right thing,' he told himself, “the rest doesn’t matter.” That would be his legacy, that would be his source of pride, not the buildings he erected or the conquests he made."Ryan describes how you should act in climactic moments in today's Daily Stoic Podcast.***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better. Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow @DailyStoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dailystoicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoic/Facebook: http://facebook.com/dailystoicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoicSee 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?

  Will you be proud of this? When Marcus Aurelius looked back at the emperors who came before him, Caligula, Tiberius, Nero, Julius Caesar, even Hadrian, who had adopted him, he wasn't particularly impressed. Some were deranged, others were lazy. Hadrian had a terrible temper. As a rule, his predecessors had wanted eternal fame and shrines and statues. But, as Marcus points out, even if they could somehow know a shrine was put up, would it please them? Marcus had no interest in posthumous fame. He was a private man. It's a historical irony that today he is famous for a work of art he desperately wanted no one to see. What

• 1:12Ryan Holiday?

  he really cared about was what he did in the moment, who he was as a person, how he responded to crisis and difficulty. Just that you do the right thing, he told himself, the rest doesn't matter. That would be his legacy. That would be his source of pride, not the buildings he erected or the conquests he made. Queen Elizabeth recently gave a rare public speech with essentially that same message. One of Britain's last living links to World War II, the Queen compared it to the way that today she can look back with admiration for those who acted bravely. "I hope in the years to come," she said, "everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation

• 1:55Ryan Holiday?

  were as strong as any, that the attributes of self-discipline and quiet, good-humored resolve and fellow feelings still characterize this country." Right now, you are living through history, an event your kids and their kids will be asking about. Will you be able to take pride in how you respond to this challenge? Can you make this part of your quiet, noble legacy? Or are you simply waiting this out so you can go back to earning money or chasing fame? Will you be proud of who you were today? That's the question. That's a way to measure and make an impressive life.

• 2:31Ryan Holiday?

  If you like the podcast that we do here and you want to get it via email every morning, you can sign up at dailystoic.com/email.