Not What, But Who?

"We’ve spoken about the commencement address that Arnold Schwarzenegger made to the Class of 2020. In it, he makes an important distinction that the Stoics make themselves. If you want to endure and overcome obstacles, he says, it’s not about what you are in life, but who."Ryan delves into Schwarzenegger's speech further 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?

  Not what, but who. We talked before about that commencement address that Arnold Schwarzenegger made to the class of 2020. In it, he makes an important distinction, one the Stoics would make themselves. "If you want to endure and overcome obstacles," he says, "it's not about what you are in life, but who." What he's talking about is the primacy of character and virtue over recognition and position. Are you going to identify with your stuff or with your abilities? This question matters whether you're a recent grad or an adult facing the biggest economic crisis of a generation. Remember, the Stoics reminded themselves that it doesn't matter what people think, it doesn't matter what job you have, it doesn't matter the size of your bank account. Those things aren't in your control and they can

• 1:14Ryan Holiday?

  be taken away. But character, that's all you. It not only can't be taken away, it also, as Herakles says, determines your fate. Right now, you could be down and out, facing all sorts of adversity, but if you're a good person, if you aren't a quitter, if you keep your word to yourself and others, if you're always focused on learning and getting better, then you'll get through this. That's a guarantee. No one knows what the future holds, but those traits will serve you well, whatever comes, no doubt about it. In another earlier commencement, Arnold gave some advice to someone trying to cultivate a good who. Marcus Aurelius had his epithets for the self: upright, modest, straightforward,

• 1:57Ryan Holiday?

  sane, cooperative, and they work well alongside Arnold's. So, let me tell you, he said, as you prepare to go off into the world, remember six rules: trust yourself, break some rules, don't be afraid to fail. Ignore the naysayers, work like hell, and give something back. So yes, this pandemic is real. So is everything else that's happening. It's scary and its consequences loom before us. What will happen is not ours to decide, but who we are matters more. Events are not our call, but the rules we decide to follow are. So don't be afraid, work hard, give back, and be good. Hey, just wanted to remind you, if you want to take your practice to Stoicism to the next

• 2:39Ryan Holiday?

  level, if you want some physical reminders of the ideas we talk about here, check out the Daily Stoic store and go to dailystoic.com/store. These products are what help us keep the lights on here at Daily Stoic. They help grow the business, let us spread the message to more and more people. So if you want to support us, check that out. Go to dailystoic.com/store.