We Are Chosen For Things

“It’s one of the most incredible stories in all of history. A young boy, out of nowhere, is chosen to be the emperor of most of the known world.”Ryan details one of history’s greatest fables, and launches the pre-order for his newest book, on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast. Pre-order The Boy Who Would Be King, our newest release at Daily Stoic, written by Ryan Holiday in the depths of the pandemic (not unlike the one Marcus ruled through), this new beautifully crafted book is available for preorder now. As a special bonus, if you order this book before March 9th, 2021, you’ll get a FREE audiobook version as well. Go to dailystoic.com/king to pre-order now and you’ll automatically get the free book.***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better. Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow Daily Stoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dailystoicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoic/Facebook: http://facebook.com/dailystoicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoicSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

• 0:04Speaker 00

  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.

• 0:27Speaker 00

  We are chosen for things. It's one of the most incredible stories in all of history. A young boy, out of nowhere, is chosen to be the emperor of most of the known world. Hadrian, without an heir, chose Marcus Aurelius to succeed him, but he knew that no one was born ready for the job. So he arranged for Marcus's education. He would adopt Antoninus Pius, then 51-years-old, who would in turn adopt Marcus Aurelius. One would hold the other's place while he trained and tutored him. The greatest philosophers in Rome were assigned to teach Marcus too: Junius Rusticus, Cornelius Fronto,

• 1:10Speaker 00

  Claudius Severus, and Herodotus Atticus. They all threw themselves into the almost inhuman task of preparing someone for absolute power. It's a parable for life, really. The gods, fate, someone chooses something for us, calls us to something. Will we answer? Will we step up? Will we achieve the greatness within us? Marcus Aurelius did. Absolute power not only didn't corrupt, it made him better. We marvel at him centuries later. This man who thought he would not be remembered, who thought that posthumous fame was worthless, and yet today, he stands more famous than ever, a hero to millions.

• 1:57Speaker 00

  Well, I have exciting news. This parable one that has so influenced me that I so marvel at is now the subject of my latest book, illustrated and told for all ages. Here at Daily Stoic, I have been working all throughout the pandemic, not unlike Marcus Aurelius during the Antonine Plague, on a beautiful, handcrafted new book that you can preorder now. It's called The Boy Who Would Be King. It's 100 pages of text and beautiful illustrations done by my friend, the illustrator Victor Yuhas, whose work you might have seen in Rolling Stoic. And it's the first book we've ever published here ourselves at the Daily Stoic.

• 2:42Speaker 00

  And as a special bonus, if you preorder The Boy Who Would Be King now, or anytime before March 9, 2021, I'll give you the audiobook as well. Simply check it out here at dailystoic.com/king. Preorder and you automatically get the free audiobook. It's a timeless tale told for all ages that makes for a great book. Probably the question I get more than any other here at Daily Stoic is how can I tell my kids about Stoicism? Well, this is one attempt to do that. I can't wait for you to see my new book, The Boy Who Would Be King, about the incredible life of Marcus Aurelius, the journey that transformed him from an ordinary boy to a

• 3:23Speaker 00

  philosopher king, one we all, I think, need to think about and try to apply in our own lives now. The Boy Who Would Be King, you can preorder it now at dailystoic.com/king, or check it out in the Daily Stoic store.