Now’s the Time to Sharpen Your Sword

"It’s when you actually need something that it’s too late to get it ready. It’s in times of peace that nations must sharpen their swords. It’s in times of prosperity that people must save money. It’s in times of leisure that we have to be learning. It’s before the onslaught that we need to be shoring up our defenses."And it is precisely during this time, as bad as it is, that we should be preparing for worse things to come, as Ryan explains 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?

  Now's the time to sharpen your sword. It's when you actually need something that it's too late to get it ready. It's in times of peace that nations must sharpen their swords. It's in times of prosperity that people must save money. It's in times of leisure that we have to be learning. It's before the onslaught that we need to be shoring up our defenses. We've talked about this before, but there's a great exchange in the book Chicago by David Mamet. The characters, having found themselves on the wrong side of a mob war, are arming themselves and discussing where to hide a pistol for protection. Then one reminds the other that the one phrase you never want to use when trouble arises is "wait here while

• 1:14Ryan Holiday?

  I fetch it." It should be obvious to you by now that the next few months and years will be rough. We don't know exactly how rough, but considerably rougher than they were last year, and quite possibly rougher than they have been already. That's not going to be yours to control or to prevent. What is up to you, putting aside any failures or mistakes we may have made in the past, is how ready you will be. Are you going to have a sharp sword, or are you going to have to run and fetch something? Are you going to be tucked inside a strong inner citadel, or are you going to be looking enviously at other people who used their time wisely, who prepared for the possibility of winter?

• 1:55Ryan Holiday?

  Marcus Aurelius said that philosophy made us like a boxer, where we don't even need to stoop to pick up a weapon, where all we have to do is clench our fists. Epictetus' in Choridion translates similarly: "at hand."

• 2:09Ryan Holiday?

  It's always ready to go, which is how you have to be, how you'll want to be for whatever the future holds. And right now, in the present, now is the time to get ready to use this moment to prepare, to sharpen, to build, to reinforce, to learn. And if you're behind, better late than never. They say the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. Well, the second best time is today. So get to it. Thanks for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. If you could leave us a review in iTunes, it helps a great deal. And of course, if you know anyone who would benefit from these messages, please spread the word. Thanks.