This Is the Hardest Thing

"So much is happening. At home. Abroad. On the news. At work. You have the things you need to do. And the emails that keep pouring in. You have the distractions that your own head creates. You have the criticisms and actions of the mob outside. There are a million different options, different opinions, different orders that things can be done."What should you do in moments like these? Find out on 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/ryanholidayInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanholiday/Facebook: http://facebook.com/ryanholidayYouTube: 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. This is the hardest thing. So much is happening, at home, abroad, on the news, at work. You have things you need to do, and the emails that keep pouring in. You have the distractions that your own head creates. You have the criticisms and actions of the mob outside. There are a million different options, different opinions, different orders that things can

• 0:49Ryan Holiday?

  be done. As the voices grouse and the noise mounts, it is in moments like this that we must slam our open hand down on the table, as Daniel Day-Lewis does in the movie Lincoln. It buys him a second of silence. "Now, now, now," he cries to his squabbling cabinet members, "we are stepped out on the world's stage. The fate of human dignity is in our hands. See what is before you. See the here and now. That's the hardest thing, the only thing that accounts." In his case, he's talking about procuring just the few critical votes to pass the amendment to abolish slavery. Everything else, peace overtures, political ramifications, complaints,

• 1:33Ryan Holiday?

  it's all irrelevant in the light of that here and now, that world-changing opportunity. He's talking to himself and everyone, as Marcus Aurelius did. He's demanding that we concentrate like a Roman. He's saying, as Marcus did, that there is what is essential, and there is everything else. These are times where it seems all but impossible for people to grasp this. We ping and zoom from issue to issue, scandal to scandal, tweet to tweet. Meanwhile, the world needs masks. They need clear messaging on safety and best practices. A vaccine must be developed. There are people who need saving reforms. That must be passed. You have to get your stuff in order. You have to make hard decisions about your family, about your lifestyle, about what role you are going to play in these

• 2:17Ryan Holiday?

  solutions. You have to do this now. You, we, have to see what is before us. We have to concentrate like Romans. It is the hardest thing, but it is the only thing that accounts. Everything else is noise. Hey, it's Ryan Holiday. I've been raving about today's sponsor for a while now, Magic Spoon Cereal. And I thought I loved Magic Spoon. And yesterday I got in the mail their new flavor, Birthday Cake, and it is far and away my favorite. And let me tell you, this box is not going to be here much longer. So I love Magic Spoon Cereal, can't recommend it enough. They're sponsoring the show because I love it a lot. So check it out, magic spoon cereal.com, code DAILYSTOIC.