Do Things That Make You Normal

Ryan talks about the importance of cultivating humility. For a one day only, the ebook edition of Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday is only $1.99! We have no idea how long the discount will last, so grab your copy now! Or if you prefer hardcover, you can get those over in the Daily Stoic store, where you can also get signed copies! Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/emailFollow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and FacebookSee 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.

• 0:02Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast. Each day, we bring you a meditation inspired by the ancient Stoics, illustrated with stories from history, current events, and literature to help you be better at what you do. And at the beginning of the week, we try to do a deeper dive, setting a kind of Stoic intention for the week, something to meditate on, something to think on, something to leave you with, to journal about, whatever it is you happen to be doing. So let's get into it.

• 0:33Ryan Holiday?

  Do things that make you normal. Hadrian was the emperor of Rome. Yet there he was, sitting in on Epictetus's lectures like some ordinary student. Cato was obscenely wealthy, yet there he was, walking around Rome, dressed like your average peasant, just as his own great-grandfather had worked in his own fields. Cato was a towering Roman figure, yet he spent his mornings interacting with and chatting with his fellow citizens. Marcus Aurelius, even after he ascended to the throne, would treat his teacher Rusticus with the deference he had learned as a young and considerably less powerful man. Power and success are intoxicating. They stain us purple, to use Marcus Aurelius's expression,

• 1:18Ryan Holiday?

  warping and changing us, puffing up our egos. Which is why it's so important that we have some practices in our lives that humble us, that keep us in touch with how we used to be, and of course, how most people on the planet are. Famously, in American politics, that means doing your own grocery shopping and knowing the price of a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, or a loaf of bread. For you, maybe that's mowing your own lawn or driving that old car. Maybe it's maintaining relationships with those people who knew you from before, who can be honest and straight with you. Maybe it's volunteering. Maybe it's deliberately avoiding some of the perks of your business, opting for a quiet night at home with your family instead of a fancy dinner dangled by your client. Maybe it's having a strong physical practice,

• 2:01Ryan Holiday?

  running a marathon or training in martial arts, that makes equals of everyone who attempts it. It doesn't matter what it is. You must find ways to escape that imperialization that Marcus warned against. You must do the things that remind you who you are, which is and always will be a regular person who is no better and no more special than anyone else.

• 2:26Ryan Holiday?

  To me, that's what the idea of ego is the enemy is about. It's why I have it tattooed on my arm. It's why I wrote the book. It's why we have the challenge coin that I hear from so many people. They sort of carry it with them everywhere. Ego is not a flattering attribute, but it's also not a positive part of your life. It doesn't make you more successful. It doesn't make you more connected with others. It doesn't make you better at what you do. It's the opposite of that. Ego gets in there and it grinds down the gears. It messes things up. It separates you from other people. So it's just a really important reminder. You can check out some of the ones we have in the Daily Stoic store. Or of course, check out the book, Ego is the Enemy. We sell it here at the Painted Porch. You can get it anywhere books are sold.

• 3:08Ryan Holiday?

  And we have signed copies at store.dailystoic.com. Thanks so much for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. If you don't know this, you can get these delivered to you via email every day. Check it out at dailystoic.com/email.