You Are Not Exempt

Ryan explains why you must think about the inevitable things coming your way, on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast. Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/emailFollow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and 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.

• 0:05Ryan 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 at dailystoic.com.

• 0:27Ryan Holiday?

  You are not exempt. We've talked before about the excuse that Seneca hated. "I did not think it could happen." But if we're being fair to the people who say that, their view is a little more complicated. It's not so much that they didn't think that this or that unlucky thing could happen at all. Of course, they knew it could. It's that they really didn't think it could happen to them. Obviously, they know that people get sick and die, that vaccinated people can get COVID, that high-flying stocks crash. They know that you can fall asleep while driving. They know that smokers can get lung cancer. They know that your computer can get hacked if your passwords are weak. They just also, deep down, believe that they are special

• 1:11Ryan Holiday?

  and that this will not happen to them. Seneca talks about watching a neighbor die and being taken out of their home by the corner. You can't just sit there and think, "Oh, that's sad for them." You have to think, "That could easily be me." Because it could. Anything that can happen can happen to you. "If it's humanly possible," Marcus Aurelius wrote, "know that you could do it also. But also, you must know and be prepared for it to happen to you also." The false accusation of bankruptcy, being cheated on, getting sick. Whatever, you are not exempt. So you must be ready. Thanks so much for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. Again, if you don't know this, you can get these delivered to you via email every day.

• 1:56Ryan Holiday?

  So check it out, dailystoic.com/email.