The Daily Stoic - Avoid Special Treatment Like The Plague

Episode Date: September 13, 2019

During the American Revolution—as in any war—the British quite rightly targeted the estates and the landholdings of the leadership on the American side. Because to them, these men weren��t founders—they were instigators. At one point in the war, George Washington’s estate was threatened by advancing troops. Thinking he might be able to save his boss’s property, one of Washington’s overseers rushed out to try to convince the enemy to spare them.When Washington heard about this, he was not pleased. In fact, he wrote immediately to his staff: I’d rather my home be demolished than receive special treatment. Given our selfish and corrupt modern politics, it’s a remarkable sentiment. Here was a rich, powerful person turning down a favor, not only refusing to profit from his position but actually willingly accepting a potentially massive sacrifice because of it.Why? Because it was the right thing to do. And as Marcus Aurelius said, that’s all that mattersThe Stoics, were, as far as we know, similarly inclined as leaders. When Rome’s finances were in ruins, Marcus Aurelius sold off the treasures of the imperial palace to shore them up. He could have levied high taxes, he could have invaded another country—he could have used his power so that others suffered instead of his family, but he didn’t. Because that would have been unfair. James Stockdale and John McCain turned down special treatment as prisoners of war in Vietnam. They must have ached for even the slightest relief. They were desperate to get home. But they refused to abandon their duty—they would not undermine their country or deprive their fellow prisoners.This is not to say that a Stoic must decline every perk in life. Or that you can’t be compensated for your work or your success. However, we must always consider whether these perks come at the expense of somebody else, or if our special treatment means neglect elsewhere. What if everyone took advantage of their position? How would the world work? How fair would that be?We must always do the right thing...even if it comes at great cost.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 Stoke podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. Welcome to the Daily Stoke. For each day, we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. insight, wisdom necessary for living 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. Avoid special treatment like the plague. During the American Revolution, as in any war,

the British quite rightly targeted the estates and the land holdings of the leadership on the American side. Because to them, these men weren't founders, they were instigators. And at one point in the war, George Washington's estate was threatened by advancing troops. Thinking he might be able to save his boss' property, one of Washington's overseers rushed out to try to convince the enemy to spare them. When Washington heard about this, he was not pleased. In fact, he wrote immediately to his staff, I'd rather my home be demolished than receive special treatment. Given our selfish and corrupt

modern politics, it's a remarkable sentiment. Here was a rich, powerful man turning down a favor, not only refusing to profit from his position, but actually willingly accepting a potentially massive sacrifice because of it. Why? Because it was the right thing to do. And as Marcus Aurelia said, that's all that matters. The Stoics were, as far as we know,

similarly inclined as leaders. When Rome's finances were in ruins, Marcus Reles sold off the treasures of the Imperial Palace to shore them up. He could have levied high taxes, he could have invaded another country, he could have used his power so that others suffered instead of his family, but he didn't, because

that would have been unfair. James Stockdale and John McCain turned down special treatment as prisoners of war in Vietnam. They must have ached for even the slightest relief. They were desperate to go home, but they refused to abandon their duty. They would not undermine their country or deprive their fellow prisoners. This is not to say that a stoic must decline every perk in life or that you can't be compensated for your work or your success.

However, we must always consider whether these perks come at the expense of somebody else, or if our special treatment means neglect elsewhere. What if everyone took advantage of their position? How would the world work? How fair would that be? So we must always do the right thing even if it comes at great cost. You can leave life right now, let that determine what you do and say and think. That was Marcus Aurelius' line, one of the most profound quotes in all of Stoicism. If you want to carry this with you, always if you want to wear it on your hand, keep it

always at hand, as the Stoics would say. You can now get a Memento Mori Signet Ring. We sell it in the Daily Stoic store. Just go to DailyStoic.com slash store. I'm wearing a Memento Mori Signet Ring on my right ring finger right now. I wear it everywhere I go. I can touch it throughout the day. I can touch the skull, the hourglass, the time, the fundamental ingredients of life is fleeting, fragile existence we all have. We are all mortal. We must remember death.

We could leave life right now. We should let that determine what we do and say and think. Check out the momentum. Mori, Signet Ring at dailystoic.com slash store. Hey, prime members, you can listen to the daily stoic early and ad free on Amazon music. Download the Amazon music app today, or you can listen early and ad-free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts.