This Is Real Power

Seneca, Cato, and Marcus Aurelius operated in the real world. They navigated within and around the halls of power. They had people working above and below them, and they needed to figure out how to motivate, influence, understand, and accommodate those people. And while virtue kept them from being too Machavailian, they had to figure out how to affect change and get things done inside a world that wasn’t so virtuous. So it’s an interesting question: What is the most Stoic law of power? You can catch the entire conversation with Ryan and Robert in the video below. And don’t miss out on their two live events next month: Strategy And Philosophy For Turbulent Times. Listen to the two best-selling authors discuss big ideas touching on a wide-range of topics–from apprenticeships to cutting-edge technologies, to productivity habits, to happiness—and take your questions from the stage. Grab your tickets to the Los Angeles event on September 19 here, and the Seattle event on September 21 here.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwURNy2Lfe8&ab_channel=DailyStoic✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, 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.

• 0:03Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom in everyday 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, dailystoic.com.

• 0:30Ryan Holiday?

  This is real power. Seneca and Cato and Marcus Rilis operated in the real world. They navigated within and around the halls of power. They had people working above and below them. They needed to figure out how to motivate, influence, understand, and accommodate those people. And while virtue kept them from being too Machiavellian, they had to figure out how to affect change and get things done inside a world that wasn't so virtuous. So it's an interesting question. What is the most Stoic law of power? We actually asked Robert Greene this question over on the Daily Stoic YouTube channel not long ago. I'd gone out and seen him when I was in Los Angeles, because actually, he and I are going to be live onstage in Los Angeles and Seattle in September. More about that later. You can grab tickets.

• 1:14Ryan Holiday?

  I'll tell you about that. Anyways, I suggested that the most Stoic law of power is law number four: always say less than necessary, because it's about having self-control, being wise, being indifferent to what other people say or think, not needing to prove anything to anyone. But Robert, of course, went deeper and got to the essence of what real power is. Has he explained?

• 1:34Robert Greene?

  In the introduction, I make it clear that the main law is to have power over yourself. There's also the law about never win through argument, which is about demonstrating your ideas and not arguing. The self-discipline ones are that, and despise the free lunch, and...

• 1:57Robert Greene?

  In victory, no end to stop. There's some that are a little bit more than others. But yeah, you can look at each one of them that way.

• 2:06Ryan Holiday?

  Remember what Seneca said, that the greatest empire is within us, that no one is fit to rule who is not first master of themselves? That's what real power is. If you lead a large company, but you're addicted to work, if you command an army but are commanded by ambition, as Seneca said of Marius, then you are not powerful. You are certainly not free. And like I said, you can catch Robert and I onstage. We're talking about strategy and philosophy for turbulent times. And one of my favorite people in the world will be live onstage in L.A. on September 19th, Seattle on September 21st. There's a couple VIP meet and greet tickets left as well. And you can grab those at ryanholiday.net/tour. And I'll link to them in today's episode notes.