The Daily Stoic - It Can Happen To You

Episode Date: February 14, 2019

A few weeks ago, we ran an email about Austin Murphy, the former Sports Illustrated writer whose thirty year career (which included interviewing presidents and champions) somehow ended in a gig delivering packages for Amazon.There is always a variety of reactions to these kinds of stories. Some people feel a wave of pity for the person on the short end of it. Others politicize it—Look how terrible these big tech companies are, this is why we need more [insert policy]. Others react by trying to poke holes in the story or to blame the subject—He says that he had to get the job in order to qualify for refinancing his house, sounds like he was living outside his means. Or, what kind of stupid journalist doesn’t see the disruption his industry was facing?!?All of these reactions are wrong in their own ways. Austin Murphy doesn’t need your internet pity. Nor should he be a pawn in your politics. And what good is blaming him for his circumstances? Does that make you feel better about yourself? No, the Stoic response is to see these events as a reminder of how fickle Fortune can be. Seneca talks about how when we see something bad happen to a neighbor, sometimes we cry and then sometimes we privately smile that they got what they deserved, but what we really should be thinking about is how easily the same thing could happen to us. You think that your job or your industry are so secure that nothing can ever disrupt them? In the early 20th century, it took less than a generation for the automobile to wipe out numerous horse-related industries. More recently, check the alarming suicide rate of big city taxi drivers.You think you’ve saved so much money that you’ll never have to work some job that’s beneath you? There are some former lottery winners and Enron stockholders that might disagree.You think life can’t knock you on your ass? It can. It will. Besides, the real lesson of Austin Murphy’s story is not what happened to him. It’s how he responded. He got a job. He worked. He found something he liked about it. And then he turned the experience into the best piece of writing he’s done in a long 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 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 dailystowach.com. It can happen to you. A few weeks ago, we ran an email about Austin Murphy, the former sports illustrated writer whose 30-year career, which included interviewing presidents and champions, somehow ended in

a gig delivering packages for Amazon. There's always a variety of reactions to these kinds of stories. Some people feel a wave of pity for the person on the short end of it. Others politicize it. Look how terrible these big tech companies are. This is why we need more of insert policy. Others react by trying to poke holes in the story or to blame the subject. He says that he had to get that job in order to qualify for refinancing this house. Sounds like he was living outside his means. Or what kind of stupid

journalist doesn't see the disruption his industry was facing. All of these reactions are wrong in their own ways. Austin Murphy doesn't need your internet pity, nor should he be upon in your politics. And what good is blaming him for his circumstances? Does that make you feel better about yourself? No, the stoke response is to see these events as a reminder of how fickle fortune can be. Seneca talks about how when we see something bad happen to a neighbor, sometimes we cry, and then sometimes we privately smile that they got what they deserved. But what we should really be thinking about is how easily the same thing could happen to us.

You think that your job or your industry are so secure that nothing can ever disrupt them. In the early 20th century, it took less than a generation for the automobile to wipe out numerous horse-related industries. More recently, check the alarming suicide rate of big city taxi drivers. You think you save so much money that you'll never have to work some job that's beneath you? There are some former lottery winners and Enron stockholders that might disagree. You think life can't knock you on your ass. It can. It will.

Besides, the real lesson of Austin Murphy's story is not what happened to him. It's how he responded. He got a job. He worked. He found something he liked about it, and then he turned the experience into the best piece of writing he's done in a long time. Please check out the Daily Stoke Store where we sell products that we ourselves use that are designed to take these stoke lessons to the next level.

Just go to dailystoke.com slash store. Hey, prime members, you can listen to the daily stoke 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. or you can listen early and add free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts.