Make It Happen. Whatever It Takes.

On this day in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Her solo exploits are well known. Less so is that Earhart had already made the same flight less than five years prior. Unable to make a living as a female pilot, Earhart was working a job as a social worker. Then one day the phone rang. On the other end of the line was a pretty offensive offer: She could be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, but she wouldn’t actually fly the plane and she wouldn’t get paid anything. Guess what she said to the offer? She said yes. Because that’s what people who defy the odds do. That’s how people who become great at things—whether it’s flying or blowing through gender stereotypes—do. They start. Anywhere. Anyhow. They don’t care if the conditions are perfect or if they’re being slighted. They swallow their pride. They do whatever it takes. Because they know that once they get started, if they can just get some momentum, they can make it work. And they can prove the people who doubted them wrong, as Earhart certainly did. “A podium and a prison is each a place, one high and the other low,” Epictetus said. “But in either place your freedom of choice can be maintained if you so wish." On the road to where we are going or where we want to be, we have to do things that we’d rather not do. Often when we are just starting out, our first jobs “introduce us to the broom,” as Andrew Carnegie famously put it. There’s nothing shameful about sweeping. It’s just another opportunity to excel—and to learn. Seize the opportunity. All of them. Any of them. Prove the doubters wrong. 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. Make it happen, whatever it takes. On this day in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Her solo exploits are well-known. Less so is that Earhart had already made the same flight less than five years prior. Unable to make a living as a female pilot, Earhart

• 0:50Ryan Holiday?

  was working a job as a social worker. Then one day, the phone rang. On the other end of the line was a pretty offensive offer. She could be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, but she wouldn't actually fly the plane, and she wouldn't get paid anything. Guess what she said to that offer? She said, "Yes, because that's what people who defy the odds do. That's how people who become great at things, whether it's flying or blowing through gender stereotypes, do. They start anywhere, anyhow. They don't care if the conditions are perfect, or if they're being slighted. They swallow their pride. They do whatever it takes, because they know that once they get started, if they can just

• 1:34Ryan Holiday?

  get some momentum, they can make it work, and they can prove the people who doubted them wrong, as Earhart certainly did." "A podium and a prison is each a place, one high and the other low," Epictetus said. "But in either place, your freedom of choice can be maintained, if you so wish. On the road to where we are going or where we want to be, we have to do things that we'd rather not. Often, when we are just starting out, our jobs introduce us to the broom," as Andrew Carnegie famously put it. "But there's nothing shameful about sweeping. It's just another opportunity to excel, and to learn, and eventually, to prove ourselves. Seize the

• 2:18Ryan Holiday?

  opportunities, all of them, any of them."

• 2:22Ryan Holiday?

  Prove the doubters wrong. 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.