When You Need Help...

Maybe you’re having a difficult time in your relationship. Or work has worn you down. Maybe things have gone exceedingly well in your business and now you’re dealing with opportunities you never thought possible. Or you’re trying to figure out what to do with your life. Or trying to figure out how to help your kid—who has struggled for a long time now—to figure out what to do with their life. These are tough situations. Just a sample of what the days can throw at us...on top of all the things the world likes to throw at us, from economic instability to brutal wars, to snarling traffic and bafflingly incompetent governance. Solving all these problems is probably impossible. Which is why most of us would likely settle for their proper management or at least some amount of pain reduction. The good news is that this stop gap remedy is readily at hand. It’s just a book or a letter or a lecture away. As Seneca writes: “Would you really know what philosophy offers to humanity? Philosophy offers counsel.” For thousands of years, the wisest minds have been offering counsel and wisdom to those who seek it out, those who go forth to look for it. Will you be one of those people? Or will you keep doing things the way you’ve always done them? Will you endure the same trials just hoping one day they will magically change? Will you stick to your own guidance? Or will you let those wise minds help you out? Your problems—our problems—are not new. They are not different. They are the same things humans have always struggled with, just dressed up in modern language and contemporary garb. They fall neatly in the same category that problems have always fallen into (what’s in our control and what isn’t), which means they present the same opportunities that every problem offers (to become better for it...or worse for it), and require the same virtues that all problems require (justice, temperance, wisdom, courage). 2Fortunately, a guide for this gauntlet exists and has for thousands of years: Philosophy. It offers counsel. It offers you help. But only if you avail yourself of it. If you make use of it...and actually listen. 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 you need help, maybe you're having a difficult time in your relationship, or your work has worn you down. Maybe things have gone exceedingly well in your business, and now you're dealing with opportunities you never thought possible. Or you're trying to figure out what to do with your life, or trying to figure out how to help your kid, who has struggled for a long time now, to figure out what to do with their life.

• 0:51Ryan Holiday?

  These are tough situations, just a sample of what the days can throw at us, on top of all the things the world likes to throw at us, from economic instability to brutal wars, to snarling traffic, to bafflingly incompetent governance. Solving all of these problems is probably impossible, which is why most of us would likely settle for their proper management, or at least some amount of pain reduction. The good news is that there is a stop-gap remedy readily at hand. It's just a book, or a letter, or a lecture away. As Seneca writes, "Would you really know what philosophy offers to humanity?

• 1:31Ryan Holiday?

  Philosophy offers counsel." For thousands of years, the wisest minds have been offering counsel and wisdom to those who seek it out, those who go forth to look for it. Will you be one of those people? Or will you keep doing things the way you've always done them? Will you endure the same trials, just hoping one day they will magically change? Will you stick to your own guidance? Or will you let those wise minds help you out? Your problems, our problems, are not new. They're not different. They are the same things that humans have always struggled with, just dressed up in modern language and contemporary garb. They fall neatly in the same category that problems have always fallen into,

• 2:14Ryan Holiday?

  what's in our control and what isn't. Which means they present the same opportunities that every problem offers to become better for it, or worse for it. And they require the same virtues that all problems require: justice, temperance, wisdom, courage. Fortunately, a guide for this gauntlet exists and has for thousands of years: philosophy. It offers counsel. It offers you help. But only if you avail yourself of it, if you make use of it, and actually listen. 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:

• 2:58Ryan Holiday?

  "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. Just go to dailystoic.com/store.