How Much Have You Changed? | Proof That Stoicism Can Change Your Life

Wouldn’t it be crazy if all that change had happened, but we were still doing the same things, still stagnant? We cannot go on being the person we’ve always been, Marcus writes in Meditations. We cannot remain as we are, Socrates said. If these stories have inspired you to share your journey with Stoicism, please email an audio recording to [email protected] mailto:[email protected] for the chance to be featured on a future episode! Thenew 10th Anniversary Edition of https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/the-daily-stoic-10The Daily Stoic https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/the-daily-stoic-10https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/the-daily-stoic-10is out NOW! 👉 Grabhttps://store.dailystoic.com/pages/the-daily-stoic-10your copy here: https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/the-daily-stoic-10 🎟️https://www.dailystoiclive.com/DAILY STOIC LIVE https://www.dailystoiclive.com/| Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you https://www.dailystoiclive.com/! Grab tickets here https://www.dailystoiclive.com/ | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/ 🎙️AD-FREE https://dailystoic.supercast.com/| Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing toThe Daily Stoic Premium https://dailystoic.supercast.com/ - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content:https://dailystoic.supercast.com/ ✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email athttps://dailystoic.com/dailyemail -- Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/DAILYSTOIC and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Ryan Holiday?

  So I have a bunch of traveling I'm doing through the end of the year on Daily Stoic Live Tour. I just got back from San Diego. I like to stay in the places that I'm staying. I like to book places on Airbnb so I can be like a local. I not only do some of my best writing, but I learn about things that I wouldn't have known otherwise. When I was just in San Diego, I took a walk along the water. I bumped into someone who recognized me and they told me about their favorite local bookstore, which was like two blocks from where I was staying. And I never would have known about it if it wasn't for that encounter. It was cool to me to think that I have helped facilitate that experience for many, many people coming to Austin over the years. The first house that I bought in Austin, when my wife and I first moved here, we would list it on Airbnb and it helped me make the transition from my corporate life to being a full-time writer.

• 0:45Ryan Holiday?

  So if you're gonna be away, you should maybe think about listing your place on Airbnb. It can be a great way to earn extra cash while you travel, can offset the cost of your trip, or maybe even go towards whatever you're doing next. If you've got travel coming up, check out Airbnb. Your home might be worth more than you think and you can find out how much at Airbnb.com/host. Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, designed to help bring those four key Stoic virtues, courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom into the real world.

• 1:22Ryan Holiday?

  How much have you changed? It doesn't seem that long ago. It seems like forever ago. 10 years. How much have you changed in the last decade? Certainly, the world has changed. Radical new technologies, millions of people have been born, millions have passed away. Enormous buildings have been built. Cities have been remade by natural disasters, felippers, and changing demographics alike. New species have been discovered and some have been driven out of existence. There were scandals, mergers and acquisitions, surprise collapses. Things were legalized and made illegal.

• 2:04Ryan Holiday?

  "Time is a ceaseless torrent of events," Marcus Spelius writes. "The only constant from his era to ours is change." So what have you learned in this time? How have you grown? What have you gained? What have you lost? What traps are you still stuck in? Which ones have you broken out of? The world changes and we have to try to change with it. Seriously, wouldn't it be crazy if all that change had happened and we were still doing the same things, still stagnant? "We cannot go on being the person we have always been," Marcus writes in Meditations. "We cannot remain as we are," Socrates said.

• 2:45Ryan Holiday?

  I've been thinking a lot about this because, well, 10 years ago, the Daily Stoic came out. The Daily Stoic is 10 years old. And when Steve and I sat down to write it, our hope was that a little bit of Stoic wisdom each day could help people live better lives. You know, real change doesn't happen because of a dramatic breakthrough. It happens slowly from the things we read about and talk about and practice and return to. Seneca understood this and in his famous letter to Lucilius, he warns against trying to do everything at once. Instead, he says, "We ought to acquire something each day that will fortify you against poverty, against death, against all misfortune."

• 3:30Ryan Holiday?

  One idea turned over, thought through, put into practice, and then repeating the cycle the next day. And that was the idea of the Daily Stoic. One page per day, one piece of wisdom, so that over the weeks and months it adds up. And in the 10 years since the book was published, I've tried to do the same thing. I kept reading the Stoics, writing about them, trying to live what they taught. And as I changed, my understanding of some of those ideas changed as well. Found passages that I'd missed. I found passages I wish I'd explained more clearly. Stories I could tell better or examples that illustrated the ideas better. Interpretations I wanted to reconsider.

• 4:13Ryan Holiday?

  Stoic voices I wish I'd included the first time. And so, so Steve and I spent the last year or so going back through the book page by page. And the result is this new 10-year anniversary edition of the Daily Stoic, which is available in hardcover and leather bound. I even recorded the audiobook. We added 60 new translations, new and revised stories, fixed some things, tightened things up. It's got illustrations, a bunch of other awesome stuff. Look, the wisdom of the Stoics hasn't changed, but you've changed and I've changed. And now the Daily Stoic itself has changed. Stuff's gonna change in the next 10 years too. The question ultimately that I want to leave you with today is whether you will change along with it.

• 4:57Ryan Holiday?

  And you can grab signed and numbered first editions of the Daily Stoic at DailyStoic.com/ds10. I will link to that in the show notes.

• 5:14Ryan Holiday?

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• 5:57Ryan Holiday?

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• 6:18Speaker 01

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• 6:21Ryan Holiday?

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• 7:05Ryan Holiday?

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• 7:26Speaker 02

  My name is Timothy Ryan. I was drawn to Stoicism about six years ago after reading How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robinson. Since then, I have many, many books on Stoicism and frequent the Daily Stoic Podcast. I also read the Daily Stoic emails, which help set up my day in a good frame of mind. My introduction into life was when my brother tragically died when I was 18 years old. I depended on my brother. This event led me on a quest, which eventually took me to a Catholic seminary, training to be a Catholic priest. My search for meaning was such that I needed answers to the why and the how. Why did my brother die?

• 8:10Speaker 02

  How can I make meaning of this? And how can a future worth living be possible? Project on 35 years and I find Stoicism. It begins to make sense to me. It gives me tools that I can use daily and practically. The further I delve into Stoicism, the more the history is at the core from which many other beliefs seem to come from. Then, as life often does, I would be asked to put this way of living and thinking to the test. My son dies the same way that my brother died on a motorcycle. He was 17.

• 8:48Speaker 02

  Now I need to review all my thoughts, meanings, the why, the how, again, for a second time in my life. Grief can have two destinations, one that is not so good and one that is a teacher on how to live a purposeful life.

• 9:07Speaker 02

  This, to me, is the core of Stoicism. The Letters from Seneca on How to Die Against the Throes of Life. Cicero on How to Grieve gives guidance to Memento Mori. Changing my thoughts, the only thing I have control over. The change in how I think shows me a life with meaning in my life sentence with grief. I learnt about amor fatae. Embracing my fate is better than fighting it like I did thirty-five years ago.

• 9:41Speaker 02

  Life is about constantly learning, right to the end of life itself.

• 9:47Speaker 02

  Training every day is another principle I have from Stoicism. As if I was a boxer entering the ring of life. My sparring partners are the cold water swimming I practise. Reading about the lives of the Stoics and reflecting on the daily passages. Regular journaling. Carrying the medallions on Stoic virtues that remind me about what's really important with the tactile sensations. Having conversations that are about building understanding as humans. Stoicism, for me, has real understanding. It has supported me to live with grief without regret of the past.

• 10:27Speaker 02

  Stoicism put things in life into perspective that allow space in my head to analyse and progress forwards in life and not to be held back. While I have investigated other belief systems, none of them gave me the tools to keep living with purpose in spite of tragedy and adversity. Above all, Stoicism builds resilience to life without negative vibes. It gives me tranquility of mind and strategies I can use within myself. My brother and my son, both gone, but I can still have a relationship with them that exist today. I am able to keep learning from them both. A tragedy is what it is. Not to live after a tragedy is the biggest tragedy of them all.

• 11:12Speaker 02

  There will be some in life that will lose more than me. Nothing is of permanence in this world. Nothing belongs to us, either human or animal. We're all just on loan for a while. So I now keep giving, trying to do the right thing always. These are my competitors in the ring. Myself is the biggest competitor. Thank you.

• 11:36Speaker 03

  My name is Brendan Gorder Smith. I'm forty-two years old and I live in a little, small town called Tarrer, Mississippi. I first got interested in Stoicism about a year ago. I have a master's degree in theology, so the concepts of philosophy are not new to me, at least on the basic level. I'm aware of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, you know, the big guys. What I knew of Stoicism was mostly how it contrasted with Christianity, most notably some of Hall debates with the Stoics in Athens. So ironically, what got me considering Stoicism was not anything related to theology or Christianity, though.

• 12:21Speaker 03

  What got me interested into Stoicism was the game of poker. I'm a poker player, been a poker player for about half my life now, and so not a very good poker player at that. And so one day I saw a guy playing poker with a shirt that just said Stoic on it. And he talked about how he tries to have a Stoic philosophy at the table, not letting any bad beats or any problems at the table get to him too much. I said, oh, that might be a philosophy I need to shake into, it's called me. Around that same time, there was a Christian newsletter by a pastor named Benjamin Kramer that I subscribed to. And one of his resources and recommendations he made in a certain newsletter was the Daily Stoic Podcast.

• 13:05Speaker 03

  This was around the same time I was thinking about studying Stoicism and bringing some Stoic ideas into my poker game. So I said, well, this just seems fortuitous. So I downloaded the Daily Stoic Podcast, started listening to some of Ryan's meditations. And of course, that, of course, led me to Meditations by Marcus Rilius, of course, which then led to Epictetus's Discourses and the Letters from a Stoic or Seneca. And from there on, I just took a deep dive into it. And about every book I could get my hands on, I read, I studied, I bought the Daily Stoic into the Daily Stoic Journal and just really dove in. And ironically, what I initially picked up is that to try to help myself get into a better mind space at the poker table,

• 13:48Speaker 03

  I found actually helped me in my life and in my faith. Stoicism has led me to be a better Christian and a better husband, a better son. And the practices that I normally hate it, like giving up or I now look forward to because I know I get to, hey, I get to journal. I look forward to journaling. And I remember things like, hey, if this problem happens, this is out of my control. I can't control how I respond to it. And it has just been a common presence in my life that I didn't know I needed away from the poker table, but turns out I did, which has just been a positive influence to me, especially how it has impacted my faith. As a Christian, especially an intellectual Christian with a vast degree,

• 14:34Speaker 03

  we're always looking for ways that we can grow stronger in our faith. And usually that comes through more Bible reading, more prayers. But Stoicism is not something we usually think about as something that can help us, but it has. Stoicism has made me a better Christian. And I think my Christianity has led me to be a better practitioner of Stoicism. That might be ironic for some to hear, but it has been the truth of me. So I can honestly say that I thank God for Stoicism.

• 15:04Speaker 04

  My name is Landon Blackburn. I'm thirty-one years old and I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. And this is my journey through Stoicism. I fear death. Every day I wake up, I can't help but feel that time slips away based on every decision that I make. And I catch myself doing the things I know I shouldn't be doing. And every time I do it, I take a personal inventory, like a reminder that being irresponsible with my time does not benefit me. I don't fear dying of illness or dying unexpectedly. It's not that which makes me sick at night.

• 15:48Speaker 04

  It's not being able to do what the universe has told me to do. And that's to play the drums and to make music. During my journey through Stoicism, I have learned what is essential and what is not essential. And every day, as I prepare myself for death, I also meet every day with unyielding gratitude that what I get to do in my life right now is what I love to do more than anything else. And that's play drums and make music.

• 16:25Speaker 05

  My name is Arishankar Muthenarvi. I am an Indian living and working in Abu Dhabi. For a long time, I found myself in situations that were difficult to understand and even harder to navigate. I felt stuck. There were moments of confusion, pressure and challenges. I found myself reacting to circumstances and to people around me. And then something changed. I discovered Stoicism. I began reading the Daily Stoic every day. I read, "The obstacle is the way." I read, "Ego is the enemy."

• 17:07Speaker 05

  Stillness is the key. Courage is calling. And gradually, I realised these books weren't really teaching me how to control life. They were teaching me how to control myself within life. That distinction was enormous because life is unpredictable. People are unpredictable. Circumstances are unpredictable, but my response that belongs to me. One book in particular, "The Obstacle is the Way," changed the way I looked at my life. I began to understand that perhaps the obstacle itself was not something standing between me and my life.

• 17:50Speaker 05

  Perhaps the obstacle was the way forward. That idea changed me. I slowly moved from being reactive to responsive. People started noticing. They would sometimes ask me, "What happened to you? Why are you so calm? How do you remain so serene?"

• 18:10Speaker 05

  And honestly, I don't have some magical secret. I still have difficult days. I still get frustrated. I still feel anger. I still feel disappointment. The difference is that I don't believe every emotion deserves an immediate action. I can't feel anger without becoming anger. I can't feel disappointment without allowing it to define me. I can be provoked without becoming provocative. And sometimes the strongest response is no response at all. For me, the journey has been simple, from reactive to responsive, from chaos to stillness,

• 18:54Speaker 05

  from trying to control everything to focus on what I can control. And above all, do the right thing. Rest doesn't matter. Stay with the situation at hand. Focus on this moment. Obstacle is the way and ultimately, character is fate.

• 19:25Speaker 06

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