Spare Time Is Not Enough Pt II

The great Athenian statesman Pericles once explained to his people that being a great naval power was not some hobby. It was the key to their survival. “Seamanship is an art,” he said, “just like anything else, and you cannot merely practice it ‘on the side’ whenever you feel like it. To the contrary, it leaves you no room for side pursuits.” The Stoics believed philosophy was the same. That self-improvement and the pursuit of wisdom was not this extra thing we did with our spare time when we were finished working or putting our kids down to bed. No, it was the main thing. Everything else was the hobby. That was Seneca’s line (which we talked about in March): “Devote yourself wholly to philosophy. You are worthy of her; she is worthy of you; greet one another with a loving embrace. Say farewell to all other interests with courage and frankness. Do not study philosophy merely during your spare time.”And what was true in March was true in the first century AD when he wrote it, and it’s an important reminder again here today. If someone with a great track record had a great investment opportunity for you, you’d clear your schedule and seriously research it. If you got the call you’ve been waiting for, the one that would let you pursue your dream career, you’d do anything to say yes. You’d quite everything else. But wisdom seems less urgent. Less important. Something you can get around to later, if you so choose. No. If the end goal is happiness, strength in adversity, perspective, virtue—the kinds of traits you see in the people you truly admire—then philosophy has to be the priority, not the side hustle. It has to be the main thing. Everything else can come after, if there is even room. 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. Spare Time is Not Enough, Part Two. The great Athenian statesman Pericles once explained to his people that being a great naval power was not some hobby. It was the key to their survival. "Seamanship is an art," he said, "just like anything else, and you cannot merely practice it on the

• 0:49Ryan Holiday?

  side whenever you feel like it. To the contrary, it leaves you no room for side pursuits." The Stoics believed philosophy was the same, that self-improvement and the pursuit of wisdom was not this extra thing we did in our spare time when we were finished working or putting our kids down to bed. No, it was the main thing. Everything else was the hobby. That was Seneca's line, which we talked about in March. He said, "Devote yourself wholly to philosophy. You are worthy of her. She is worthy of you. Greet one another with a loving embrace. Say farewell to all other interests with courage and frankness. Do

• 1:32Ryan Holiday?

  not study philosophy merely during your spare time." And what was true in March was true in the first century AD when he wrote it, and it's an important reminder again today. If someone with a great track record had a great investment opportunity for you to look at, you'd clear your schedule and seriously research it. If you got the call you've been waiting for, the one that would let you pursue your dream career, you'd do anything to say yes. You'd quit everything else. But wisdom seems less urgent, less important, something you can get around to later if you so choose. No, if the end goal for us is happiness, strength, adversity, perspective, virtue, the kinds

• 2:16Ryan Holiday?

  of traits you see in the people you truly admire, then philosophy has to be the priority, not the side hustle. It has to be the main thing. Everything else can come after, if there's even room. Just a heads up, there's now "An Obstacle is the Way" pendant in the Daily Stoic store. It's awesome. We have it made here in the US. We designed it ourselves. It's got Marcus Aurelius's enduring words on it. "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." If you want something you can carry with you always, you can wear around your neck that reminds you that you can treat every obstacle as fuel, you can be better for everything that happens, that the way around is the way through, that the way through is the way. I suggest you check it out. I think you'll like it.

• 3:01Ryan Holiday?

  Just go to dailystoic.com/store.