Keep These Thoughts At Hand, Everyday

The Stoics were all about routine and concentration. Epictetus said that philosophy was something that should be kept at hand every day and night. Indeed, his book Enchiridion, actually means “small thing in hand,” or handbook. Seneca, for his part, talked about deep diving into the right books—rather than chasing every new or exciting thing published. “You must linger among a limited number of master-thinkers, and digest their works,” he said, “if you would derive ideas which shall win firm hold in your mind. One of the reasons we wrote The Daily Stoic was to help accomplish just that. We thought it was pretty remarkable that despite more than two thousand years of popularity, no one had ever put the best of the Stoics in one book—let alone one that was easy to carry, read and study. It’s been pretty incredible to see the success it’s had since its release in 2016, having now sold more than 300,000 copies in the English language, and it’s currently slated for publication in 14 languages. The book has spent more weeks on the bestseller list than any other book about Stoicism ever. In celebration of that, the ebook is $1.99 in the US for the next week if you haven’t picked one up yeOf course, that success is a reflection of the power of Stoic teachings above all. But it’s also a testament to the power of combining the right idea with the right medium. Marcus Aurelius was a brilliant mind and a beautiful writer, but his Meditations is not organized in any coherent way. While Marcus acknowledges many other Stoics including Epictetus, neither Marcus nor Epictetus acknowledge Seneca in the writings they left, even though Epictetus was once the slave of Epaphroditus who served Nero when Seneca did (one suspects they didn’t like him, or couldn’t be associated with his service to Nero). What we have from Epictetus is really a collection of quotes and highlights from his lectures jotted down by his student Arrian, and what we have of Arrian’s work is only half of what originally existed. Just ploughing straight through those writings is, for many, not the best way to digest the philosophy—it’s almost un-Stoic in its disorderliness. However, reading excerpts by themes with a focus on the concerns of everyday life brings these works both into focus and to life. Once this happens, going through the entirety of Seneca (a major undertaking), Epictetus, and Marcus can be richly rewarding for anyone. Stoicism is designed to be a practice and a routine. It’s not a philosophy you read once and magically understand at the soul-level. No, it’s a lifelong pursuit that requires diligence and repetition and concentration. (Pierre Hadot called it spiritual exercising). That’s one of the benefits of the page-a-day (with monthly themes) format we organized the Stoics into (and the weekly themes in The Daily Stoic Journal). It’s putting one thing up for you to review—to have at hand—and to fully digest. Not in passing. Not just once. But every single day over the course of a year, and preferably year in and year out. And if Epictetus is right, it’s something you’re supposed to keep within reach at all times—which is why a collection of the greatest hits, presented daily, was so appealing to us. So here we are beginning 2019 and we hope you’ll give The Daily Stoic a chance, in print or with this discounted ebook. Or make your own greatest hits and your own study plan of the Stoics that you keep and carry with you wherever you go this year. Because if 2019 is anything like 2018, you’re going toSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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  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. Keep these thoughts at hand every day. The Stoics were all about routine and concentration. Epictetus said that philosophy was something that should be kept at hand every day and night. Indeed, his book Incredian actually means "a small thing in hand" or handbook. And Seneca, for his part, talked about deep

• 0:50Speaker 00

  diving into the right books, rather than chasing every new or exciting thing that's published. "You must linger among a limited number of master thinkers and digest their works," he said, "if you would derive ideas which shall win firm hold in your mind." One of the reasons we wrote The Daily Stoic was to help accomplish just that. We thought it was pretty remarkable that despite more than 2,000 years of popularity, no one has ever put the best of the Stoics in one book, let alone one that was easy to carry, read, and study. It's been pretty incredible to see the success it's had since its release in 2016, having now sold more than 300,000 copies in the English language. It's currently

• 1:35Speaker 00

  slated for publication in 14 more languages. The book has spent more weeks on the bestseller list than any book about Stoicism ever, and that's why, in celebration of that, the ebook is $1.99 in the US for the next week if you haven't picked one up. Amazon's probably the best place to grab it, but you can get it anywhere ebooks are sold. And of course, that success is a reflection of the power of Stoic teachings above all. It's also a testament to the power of combining the right idea with the right medium. Marcus Aurelius was a brilliant mind and a beautiful writer, but his Meditations is not organized in any coherent way. While Marcus acknowledges many other Stoics, including Epictetus, neither Marcus nor

• 2:19Speaker 00

  Epictetus acknowledged Seneca in the writings they left, even though Epictetus was once a slave of someone who served Nero when Seneca did. One suspects they didn't like him or couldn't be associated with his service to Nero. What we have from Epictetus is really a collection of quotes and highlights from his lectures jotted down by his student Arrian. And what we have of Arrian's work is only half of what originally existed. Just plowing straight through these writings is, for many, not the best way to digest the philosophy. It's almost un-Stoic in its disorderliness. However, reading excerpts by themes with a focus on the concerns of everyday life brings these works both into focus and to life.

• 3:04Speaker 00

  Once this happens, going through the entirety of Seneca, a major undertaking, Epictetus and Marcus can be richly rewarding for you. Stoicism is designed to be a practice and a routine. It's not a philosophy you read once and magically understand at the soul level. Note, it is a lifelong pursuit that requires diligence and repetition and concentration. Pierre Hadot actually called it "spiritual exercising." That's one of the benefits of the page-a-day with monthly themes format we organized the Stoics into and weekly themes in the Daily Stoic Journal. It's putting one thing out for you to review, to have at hand, and to fully digest, not

• 3:47Speaker 00

  in passing, not just once, but every single day over the course of a year, and preferably year in and year out. And if Epictetus is right, it's something you're supposed to keep within reach at all times, which is why a collection of the greatest hits presented daily was so appealing to us. So here we are, beginning 2019, and we hope you'll give the Daily Stoic a chance, in print or with this discounted ebook. Or make your own greatest hits and your own study plan of the Stoics that you keep and carry with you wherever you go this year. Because if 2019 is anything like 2018, you're going to need it. And again, you can get The Daily Stoic for $1.99 anywhere eBooks are sold,

• 4:31Speaker 00

  Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, wherever you want to buy your eBooks, you can get it there for $1.99, but it won't last long and then the promotion ends. So enjoy.