The Daily Stoic - Alive Time or Dead Time. What Will It Be?

Episode Date: March 28, 2020

Here you are, stuck indoors, stuck somewhere you don’t want to be. Maybe also you’re stuck because you’re 17 going on 30. Maybe also you’re stuck because you’ve got another two years left on your enlistment or because you’re waiting for a position to open up at a new company. Or you’re stuck because there is a global pandemic and, like a good Stoic, you’re listening to the authorities, and staying home, and helping to flatten the curve. You can’t help that, the Stoics would say. But you can help what you do with this time. As we talked about recently, just because you’re stuck is not an excuse for killing time. More than two thousand years ago, Cato the Elder advised that in rainy weather, farmers must “try to find something to do indoors. Clean up, rather than be idle. Remember that even though work stops, expenses run on nonetheless.” Robert Greene says we always have a choice between alive time and dead time. What will it be? The answer determines the course of our life, whether what we face is an obstacle or an opportunity. Issac Newton did some of his best research when Cambridge closed due to the plague. Shakespeare wrote King Lear while he hid out from the plague as well. Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, while he was laid up in the hospital, expressly forbidden from working on something as tough as a novel. Malcolm X educated himself in prison and turned himself into the activist the world needed. So we get it, you’re stuck. That’s not your fault. But what you do while you’re stuck? That’s on you. That’s what the Stoics meant when they said you don’t control what has happened, but you control how you respond. That’s what Marcus was talking about when he said we can turn everything that happens into fuel, and that the impediment to action can actually advance actionSo that’s where we are right now. Faced with a choice. A choice to use this or not. Make something of it or not. It’s the only potential silver lining...and it’s totally up to you. Check out the Daily Stoic Alive Time Challenge! It starts Monday 3/30, and is the perfect way to turn your quarantine into productive "alive time."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stood Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wondery's podcast business wars. And in our new season, Walmart must fight off target. The new discounter that's both savvy and fashion forward. Listen to business wars on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. music or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the Daily Stoic. For 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 2000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women.

For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com. A live time or dead time, what will it be? Here you are, stuck indoors, stuck somewhere you don't want to be. Maybe you're stuck because you're 17 going on 30. Maybe you're stuck because you've got another two years left on your enlistment or because you're waiting for your papers to come in so you can apply for a new job. Or you're stuck because there is a global pandemic

and like a good stoic, you're listening to the authorities and staying home and helping to flatten the curve. You couldn't have prevented this, the stoic say, but you can help what you do with this time. As we talked about recently, just because your stuck is not an excuse for killing time, more than 2,000 years ago, Cato the Elder advised that in rainy weather, farmers must try to find something to do indoors. Clean up, rather than be idle, he said. Remember that even though work stops expenses run on nonetheless. Robert Green says we always have the choice between a lifetime and dead time. What will it be?

The answer determines the course of our life, whether what we face is an obstacle or an opportunity. Isaac Newton did some of his best research when his university was closed due to the plague. Shakespeare wrote King Lear while he hit out from the plague as well. Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, wrote Chidi Chidi Bang Bang while he was laid up in the hospital, expressly forbidden from working on something as tough as a novel. Malcolm X educated himself in prison and turned himself into the activist, the world needed. So we get it, you're stuck. That's not your fault. But what you do while you're stuck, that's our new. That's what the Stoics meant when they said that you don't control what has happened,

you control how you respond. That's what Marcus was talking about when he said that we can turn everything that happens into fuel. Use this, make something of it. It's the only potential silver lining and it's totally up to you. Hey everyone, if you're like me, you're stuck at home right now trying to do our best to flatten the curve of COVID-19. Maybe you've been furloughed. Maybe you are just working from home because you can, but what we're stuck with is this sort of classic potential dead time scenario as Robert Green would call it. And we contrast dead time with what he calls a live time. When instead of being passive and resigned, you seize the moment in front of you. And that's why we've been hard at work at what we're

calling the Daily Stoke a live time challenge. It's gonna start Monday, March 30th. I'm urging you to sign up and do it with us. You can sign up at dailystoke.com slash a live time, but it's 14 days, that's the length of the quarantine window. 14 days of stoke inspired wisdom that will help make you better, get the most out of this time,

help you be of use to other people, help you take your mind off, all the most out of this time, hope you've used to other people, help you take your mind off, all the uncertainty that's going on in the world. I'm really proud of this. You can check it out at dailystoke.com slash a live time. Hey, prime members, you can listen to the daily stoke early and add free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and ad-free with Wondery

Plus in Apple Podcasts. Hey there listeners! While we take a little break here, I want to tell you about another podcast that I think you'll like. It's called How I Built This, where host Guy Razz talks to founders behind some of the world's biggest and most innovative companies, to learn how they built them from the ground up. Guy has sat down with hundreds of founders behind well-known companies like Headspace, Manduke Yoga Mats, Soul Cycle, and Cotopaxi, as well as entrepreneurs working

to solve some of the biggest problems of our time, like developing technology that pulls energy from the ground to heat in cool homes, or even figuring out how to make drinking water from air and sunlight. Together they discussed their entire journey from day one, and all the skills they had to learn along the way, like confronting big challenges, and how to lead through uncertainty. So if you want to get inspired and learn how to think like an entrepreneur, check out how I built this, wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and add free on the Amazon or Wondery app.