The Daily Stoic - Don’t Wait. Get Started. Now.

Episode Date: December 28, 2018

This is that weird time of year where we start to think about how we want the following year to go. We call them “resolutions” and they are the promises we make to ourselves about what we’re going to do in the next twelve months. The habits we’re going to quit, the skills we’re going to learn, the standards we’re going to hold ourselves to.On the one hand, it’s a wonderful and inspiring bit of reflection that the whole world basically comes together to do this at the same time. It’s excellent that everyone has finally decided to get in shape, to stop smoking, to try to give back more, to commit to being a better friend or relative, to read a certain number of books. But it’s strange that everyone puts it off for so long—we treat our self improvement like it’s a school project we hope might just complete itself, praying that maybe our parents or teacher will handle it for us.Well, they won’t.Epictetus asked why it is that we wait to demand the best for and of ourselves. It’s pretty crazy. But no matter, because here we are today, staring down the barrel of 2019 and while it would have been better to get started earlier, the second best time to improve is right now. We can put that missed opportunity behind us and repeat this passage from Epictetus,"From now on, then, resolve to live as a grown-up who is making progress, and make whatever you think best a law that you never set aside. And whenever you encounter anything that is difficult or pleasurable, or highly or lowly regarded, remember that the contest is now: you are at the Olympic Games, you cannot wait any longer, and that your progress is wrecked or preserved by a single day and a single event."Can you do that? Can you start right now? No more putting stuff off. No more, “I’ll start on Monday.” No more “in the future, I’ll do better and expect better.” No. Demand the best for yourself now.It’s what a grown up does.If you want to join us on the 14 Day Stoic Challenge: New Year, New You, you have 3 more days to sign up. Registration closes December 31st at 11:59pm. Click here to sign up.Thousands of people joined us for the challenge we did in October and found it life-changing. Here are a few testimonials:“The challenge was awesome. One of the things that really blew me away was just the interaction with the group. The overwhelming support in the Slack channel was amazing, and I feel like it was a ‘quake’ towards sympatheia.” — Daniel Hebb"I loved the fact that the daily challenges engage not only your mind, but your body and spirit. I’d highly recommend the Challenge to others who are interested in deepening their understanding of Stoic writings, but most importantly how stoic principles can be meaningfully applied to our daily lives." — Mark Clayton“The 30 Day Stoic Challenge really helped push me deeper into actual practice of Stoic principles, aside from just doing daily readings and some journaling. I still have the 30 day challenge hanging on my fridge.  It serves as a daily reminder of simple, relevant tasks that can be performed to keep this alive in my life.” — Shawn Sarazin“The 30 Day Stoic Challenge kicked off an avalanche of change in my life. A wall of resistance crumbled during the Challenge. Over and over and over again I've heard that I can control the quality of my days, and my life is in my hands, and every other buzz phrase that's floating around out there. I've also done some other challenges and taken classes, but the 30 Day Stoic Challenge let me experience what those words meant.  This was a unique experience and has probably saved me a ton of money that would have gone to a shrink.” — Mary MadsenIf that sounds like somethSee 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 the 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 dailystowic.com. Don't wait. Get started. Now, this is that weird time of year where we start to think about how we want to fall in year to go. We call them resolutions and they are promises we make to ourselves about what we're going to do in the next 12 months. The habits we are

going to quit, the skills we're going to learn, the standards we are going to hold ourselves to. On the one hand it's wonderful and inspiring bit of reflection that the whole world basically comes together to do this at the same time. It's excellent that everyone has finally decided to get in shape to stop smoking, to try to give back more, to commit to being a better friend or relative, or to read a certain number of books. But it's strange that everyone puts it off for so long.

We treat our self-improvement like it's a school project. We hope just might complete itself, praying that maybe our parents or teacher will handle it for us. Well, they won't. Epictetus asked why it is that we wait to demand the best for and of ourselves. It's pretty crazy, but no matter because here we are today staring down the barrel of 2019 and while it would have been better to get started earlier, the second best time to improve is right now. We can put that

missed opportunity behind us and repeat this passage from Epictetus. From now on, then resolve to live as a grown-up who is making progress, and make whatever you think best a law that you never set aside. And whenever you encounter anything that is difficult or pleasurable or highly or lowly regarded, remember that the contest is now. You are at the Olympic Games. You cannot wait any longer and that your progress is wrecked or preserved by a single day and a single event. Can you do that? Can you start right now? No more putting stuff off. No more. I'll start on Monday. No more in the future. I'll do better and expect better. No demand the best

for yourself now. It's what a grownup does. And, you know, if you want to join us on the 14-day Stoic Challenge, New Year, New Year, you have basically three more days to sign up. Registration closes December 31st at 11.59 p.m. You can click to sign up at dailystoic.com slash challenge. Thousands of people joined us for the challenge we did in October and found it life-changing. Here's a few testimonials. Daniel said the challenge was awesome. One of the things that really blew me away was just the interaction with the group. The overwhelming support in the Slack channel was amazing and I felt like it was a quake towards sympathy. Mark wrote in, I love the fact that the daily challenges

engage not only your mind, but your body and spirit. I'd highly recommend the challenge to others who are interested in deepening their understanding of stoic writings, but most importantly, how stoic principles can be meaningfully applied to our daily lives. Sean wrote in,

the 30-day stoic challenge helped really push me deeper into actual practice of still principles aside from just doing daily readings and some journaling. He says he still has the 30-day challenge hanging on his fridge because it serves as a reminder of what he wants to do. And then Mary wrote in, the 30-day challenge kicked off an avalanche of change in my life, a wall of resistance crumbled during the challenge. Over and over and over again, she heard that she can control the quality of her days and that her life was in her hands. But basically, the challenge let her experience what those words meant.

She said it was a unique experience that has saved me a ton of money that would have gone to a shrink. So if that sounds like something you can use, you can sign up again dailystoke.com slash challenge. There's not much more time to put it off because it starts on January 1st and will be closed then to any new entries. I hope to see you there. I think you'll have a great time.

You won't regret it. It's awesome. I'm gonna be doing it. So let's check it out. dailystoke.com slash challenge. 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 add free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts.

Ah, the Bahamas. What if you could live in a penthouse above the crystal clear ocean working during the day and partying at night with your best friends and have it be 100% paid for? FTX Founder's Sam Bankman Freed lived that dream life, but it was all funded with other people's money, but he allegedly stole. Many thought Sam Bankman Freed was changing the game as he graced the pages of Forbes and Vanity Fair. Some involved in crypto saw him as a breath of fresh air, from the usual Wall Street buffs with his casual dress and ability to play League of Legends during boardroom meetings.

But in less than a year, his exchange would collapse. An SPF would find himself in a jail cell, with tens of thousands of investors blaming him for their crypto losses. From Bloomberg and Wondering, comes Spellcaster, a new six-part docu-series about the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of FTX, and its founder, Sam Beckman Fried. Follow Spellcaster wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, prime members, you can listen to episodes ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. Celebrity feuds are high stakes. You never know if you're just gonna end up on page six or Du Moir or in court. I'm Matt Bellesai.

And I'm Sydney Battle and we're the host of Wundery's new podcast, Diss and Tell. Where each episode we unpack a different iconic celebrity feud from the build up why it happened and the repercussions what does our obsession with these feuds say about us the first season is packed with some pretty messy pop culture drama but none is drawn out in personal as Brittany and Jamie Lynn Spears when Britney's fans formed the free Britney movement dedicated to fraying her from the infamous conservatorship, Jamie Lynn's lack of public support, it angered some fans, a lot of them.

It's a story of two young women who had their choices taken away from them by their controlling parents, but took their anger out on each other. And it's about a movement to save a superstar, which set its sights upon anyone who failed to fight for Brittany. Follow Dissentel wherever you get your podcast. You can listen ad free on Amazon Music or the Wondering App.