The Daily Stoic

You will have to face facts. You will have to get uncomfortable. You will have to take up the burden of history. This will not always be fun.

Every “yes” is a trade. Every obligation takes its cut. Every distraction leaves with something.

The Stoics remind us that everything has its compensation…if we choose to see it, if we choose to welcome it.

Everyone has something they’re trying to quit, whether it’s a habit, compulsion, or addiction. But what if the secret to getting clean and breaking free from that kind of slavery dates back more than 2,000 years?

Do not trade your soul away. Because once it’s gone, you cannot get it back. 

We could do it later. We could get serious later. But why? Why not do it while we have the chance?

The easier life gets, the less prepared we may be for what’s hard. In today’s episode, Ryan talks with David Epstein about “desirable difficulties,” the challenges that make learning slower and more frustrating in the moment but lead to greater growth over time. David Epstein is the author of the #1 New York Times best seller Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. His new book, Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better, is out now!

82 years ago, thousands of young men crossed the English Channel and stepped into one of the most consequential days in history. In today’s episode, Ryan shares the Stoic lessons behind D-Day and Dwight D. Eisenhower’s leadership. He explains how Eisenhower prepared for failure, took responsibility before the outcome was known, stayed steady under unimaginable pressure, and saw opportunity where others saw disaster.

We are in desperate need of good, courageous people. Can you fill that need?

The world has always been uncertain, but we have never had this much access to everything that might go wrong. In today’s episode, Ryan talks with the hosts of The Imperfects about what Stoicism can teach us when the world feels like too much. They discuss doomscrolling, AI anxiety, the difference between worrying and actually taking action, and how to stay engaged with the world without letting it pull you away from the life and people right in front of you.

It is harder to be courageous when all you see are examples of cowardice. Well, the Stoics can help us with this. 

Moral compromise is never a single act. It creates a precedent…and then another, and another.

 Stop extrapolating. Stop adding in the lens of anxiety.

After recording in studio for The Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan and Maria Semple went next door to The Painted Porch to talk about the Stoic-themed novels everyone should read.

In today’s episode, Ryan answers questions about how to apply Stoicism to the real problems life throws at us. How do you stay Stoic when the obstacle is emotional, personal, and human? What does “doing the work” look like when you’re exhausted, burned out, or discouraged? How do you know what’s in your control, what you can influence, and where your energy is best spent? Plus more.

There are some situations where panic is not an option. In today’s episode, Ryan talks with Senator Mark Kelly about what his years as a Navy pilot, test pilot, and NASA astronaut taught him about fear, focus, humility, and staying calm under pressure. They discuss the lessons of spaceflight, the danger of ego in high-stakes moments, Marcus Aurelius’ “view from above,” and what real leadership requires in today’s world.Senator Mark Kelly is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. Before entering public service, he served as a U.S. Navy combat pilot, test pilot, and captain. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1996 and flew four space shuttle missions: STS-108, STS-121, STS-124, and STS-134, commanding the final two. Over the course of his NASA career, he spent more than 54 days in space. After his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, was shot in an assassination attempt in 2011, Kelly retired from the Navy and NASA later that year. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2020 in the special elect

A Stoic thinks about what’s right. They don’t ask, “Is this safe?” They say, “That’s wrong.”

The ancients are there to guide us. We can struggle to live up to their expectations. We can learn from their mistakes

The more powerful our tools become, the more important our judgment becomes. In today’s episode, Ryan talks with Jeremy Utley and Henrik Werdelin, hosts of Beyond the Prompt, about what the Stoics can teach us about AI, modern technology, and the skills we can’t afford to outsource.Beyond the Prompt is hosted by Henrik Werdelin, an entrepreneur known for co-founding BarkBox, prehype, and other startups, and Jeremy Utley, a lecturer at Stanford and author of Ideaflow.