When Are You Going To Be Free?

Most of us tell ourselves that we’re putting up with ill-treatment or keeping our mouths shut about our beliefs because we’re working on something big. We tell ourselves that we’re slogging away in this industry or that industry not because we’re big supporters of it, but because we need to, to get where we are going. We’re accumulating money or resources or playing politics to build up our base so that one day, some day, we can finally stand up and be who we really are. Marcus Aurelius reminds himself in Meditations that he could be good today...even though his first impulse is to put it off until tomorrow. That’s what we all do. In the future, we say, then we’ll be blunt and honest and principled. The problem is that this never seems to actually happen. DHH, who we interviewed for Daily Stoic a while back, joked about all the people in Silicon Valley who justify their 100 hour work weeks for dubious startups in order to get “Fuck You Money.” But for all the wealth in San Francisco...there seems to be very few people ever getting around to saying those words, or living that life. Shakespeare has a better line in Julius Caesar. His relations with the Senate are falling apart and it would be easier to lie to smooth things over, but he catches himself before he does: Have I in conquest stretched mine arm so farTo be afraid to tell graybeards the truth? This is an important reminder for each of us. We’ve worked this hard. We’ve accomplished this much. We’ve carved out these skills and built these relationships. For what? To keep putting off the day where we stand up for ourselves? To keep going along to get along forever? No. Now is the time. Now is the time to be good. To live as if we had the “Fuck You Money” or conquered enough of the world to tell the truth. Because there is no magic turning point. There is only the moment that we decide to be the person who lives those words. 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. When are you going to be free? Most of us tell ourselves that we're putting up with ill-treatment, or keeping our mouths shut about our beliefs, because we're working on something big. We tell ourselves that we're slogging away in this industry or that industry, not because we're big supporters of it, but because we need to, to get where we're going. We're accumulating money, or

• 0:49Ryan Holiday?

  resources, or playing politics to build up our base, so that one day, someday, we can finally stand up and be who we really are. Marcus Aurelius reminds himself in meditations that he could be good today, even though his first impulse is to put it off until tomorrow. "That's what we all do. In the future, we say, then we'll be blunt and honest and principled." The problem is that this never seems to actually happen. DHH, who we interviewed for Daily Stoic a while back, joked about all the people in Silicon Valley who justify their 100-hour work weeks for dubious startups in order to get what they call "fuck you" money. But

• 1:31Ryan Holiday?

  for all the wealth in San Francisco, there seems to be very few people ever getting around to saying those words, or living that life. Shakespeare has a better line in Julius Caesar: "His relations with the senator falling apart, and it would be easier to lie to smooth things over, but he catches himself before he does. Have I in conquest stretched mine arm so far to be afraid to tell graybeards the truth?" This is an important reminder for each of us. We've worked this hard. We've accomplished this much. We've carved out these skills and built these relationships. For what? To keep putting off the day Where we stand up for ourselves, to keep going along, to get along forever? No, now is the time.

• 2:16Ryan Holiday?

  Now is the time to be good, to live as if we had the fuck you money, or conquered enough of the world to tell the truth. Because there is no magic turning point. There is only the moment we decide to be the person who lives those words. If you're liking this podcast, we would love for you to subscribe. Please leave us a review on iTunes or any of your favorite podcast listening apps. It really helps and tell a friend.