The Daily Stoic - These Simple Words Will Help You Through Life's Most Difficult Situations

Episode Date: March 28, 2021

On today's episode, Ryan introduces 3 core Stoic concepts that are sure to help you through whatever life puts in front of you. The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche would describe his formula for human greatness as amor fati—a love of fate. Memento Mori—the ancient practice of reflection on mortality that goes back to Socrates, who said that the proper practice of philosophy is “about nothing else but dying and being dead.” The single most important practice in Stoic philosophy is differentiating between what we can change and what we can’t.This episode is also brought to you by stamps.com, a secure Internet mailing solution to print postage using your computer. Stamps.com allows you to mail and ship anytime, anywhere right from your computer. Send letters, ship packages, and pay a lot less with discounted rates from USPS, UPS, and more. There’s NO risk. Use the promo code, STOIC, to get a special offer that includes a 4-week trial PLUS free postage and a digital scale. No long-term commitments or contracts. Just go to Stamps.com, click on the Microphone at the TOP of the homepage and type in STOIC.This episode is brought to you by Beekeeper’s Naturals, the company that’s reinventing your medicine with clean, effective products that actually work. Beekeepers Naturals has great products like Propolis Spray and B.LXR. Beekeeper’s Naturals created a whole hive of products packed with immune-loving essentials so you can feel your best all day, every day. As a listener of the Daily Stoic Podcast you can receive 15% off your first order. Just go to beekeepersnaturals.com/STOIC or use code STOIC at checkout to claim this deal.This episode is also brought to you by FitTrack, the best way to calculate your body’s composition accurately, reliably, and consistently. Every FitTrack smart scale uses advanced algorithms to offer insights into 17 different metrics indicative of bodily health. The Dara Smart Scale syncs with the free FitTrack App so all of your health insights are saved in one place. Go to fittrack.com/stoic to take 50% off your order, plus get an additional 30% with code BUILD30 at checkout. ***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better.Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow @DailyStoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dailystoicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoic/Facebook: http://facebook.com/dailystoicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoicSee 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 Stoic podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. Welcome to the weekend edition of the Daily Stoic. Each weekday we bring you a meditation inspired by the ancient Stoic, something that can help you live up to those four Stoic virtues of courage, justice, wisdom, and temperance. And here, on the weekend, we take a deeper dive into those same topics. We interview stoic philosophers. We reflect. We prepare. We think deeply about the challenging issues of our time. And we work through this philosophy in a way that's more possible here when we're not rushing to work or to get the kids to school. When we have the time to sing, to go for a walk, to sit with our journals, and to prepare

for what the future will bring. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wendery'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. Hey, it's Ryan Holiday. Welcome to another weekend episode

of the Daily Stood Podcast. Today, I wanted to present to you three Stoic phrases, three Stoic concepts that I think will resonate with you. I know you're familiar with all of them. Well, I hope you're familiar with all of them, so I won't spoil them, but in this form, this is adapted from a video we've done. The video has been seen almost a million times. It's got almost 50,000 thumbs up on YouTube. It's one of our most popular videos. So I thought I would share it with you.

We'll get right into it. But I think these words will help you in the difficult situations of life. These are sort of mantras. I try to repeat to myself on a daily basis. You don't have to, you know, maybe not all of them are going to resonate with you, but I think at least one out of the three should hit you.

And hopefully you can find a situation in the upcoming days and weeks ahead that you can apply this to your actual life. This will help you at a turning point, a decision, a challenge, a temptation, and let's see what you can do with it. What the Stoics talk about is the idea of loving what happens. Marcus really says that what you throw on top of a fire is fuel for the fire. So what you want to cultivate, what you have to practice, you have to almost repeat it like a mantra to yourself is the practice of loving everything that happens. Not just accepting it, not just tolerating it, but leading into it.

Going, this is for me, I chose this, I wanted this way and it's the best fucking thing that ever happens to me. When the computer eats the manuscript you've been working on, you say, a more faulty, I love it. When you're stuck in traffic, you say, a more faulty, I love it. When you're stuck in traffic, you say, a more faulty. I love it. When you're criticized on Twitter, when your boss calls you out, you say, a more faulty, I love it. I'm going to be better for this having happened to me. When you're hungry, you say, I love it.

I'm alive. I feel this. I'm going to make the most of it. You say, a more faulty. When you lose someone you love, it might seem crazy to say say a more faulty, but no amount of anger, no amount of resentment, no amount of sadness brings them back. So you take what you can from this. That's what a more faulty is. You use it as fuel. You become better from it. You become improved by it. You have cancer, you're disabled, you're white, or black, you're short or tall, your white, or black, your short or tall,

your rich or poor. A more faulty, I'm gonna make the most of it. I'm not gonna let this stop me. I'm gonna be better for this haven't happened. When Thomas Edison's factory burned down, he finds his son, his son, his son, his stunned shell shop. That's how most people are when they face obstacles. But Edison grabbed them and he said,

go get your mother and all her friends, they'll never see a fire like this again. That's what Amor Fati is. I'm gonna use this. And he rebuilds that factory. He tells a report of the next day, this is gonna prevent me from getting bored. This is gonna be the next act of my life.

And that's what he did. He rebuilt. He didn't want, he didn't complain. He didn't point the finger. He just moved on and he just kept going. And that's what we have to do with every obstacle that we face. Whatever it is, big or small, fair or unfair, chosen or tragic, we say a more botty.

Love it all, use it as fuel, become better for this having happened. And that's the formula for human greatness. It's the only way that we should go through for human greatness. It's the only way that we should go through the world because it's the only way that turns the bad things in life into good things. Got a quick message from one of our sponsors and then we'll get right back to the show. Stay tuned. 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 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 in Bannity 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 Wondery, comes Spellcaster, a new six-part docu-series about the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of FTX, and its founder, Sam Beckman-Freed. Follow Spellcaster, wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to episodes Add Free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today. Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. If there's one thing that philosophy can teach any athlete, whether you're an amateur,

whether you're a collegiate prospect, whether you're a top ranked recruiter, whether you're making millions of dollars in the pros, it's something that I talked about to the Cleveland Browns this year when they had me talk about stoicism. I started my talk and I said, look everyone in this room controls one thing. They control how they play. You don't control what your teammates do, you control how you play. You don't control what they say about you on Twitter, you control how you play. You don't control the size of your contract, you control how you play. You don't control the size of your contract, you can control how you play. You don't control what they say about you from the stands, you control how you play. You don't control what the ref says, you control how you play. You don't control whether it's snowing, you don't control whether it's raining, you don't control whether it's a hundred degrees, you control how you

play. You don't control whether your teammates get hurt, you don't control whether it's a hundred degrees, you control how you play. You don't control whether your teammates get hurt. You don't control if your teammates are fair. You don't control if the guy in the position ahead of you wants to groom you and mentor you or not, you control how you play. You don't control whether your opponent's cheat. You control how you play. You don't control if your coach is a bully and he screams at you. You control how you play. You don't control if your coach is a bully

and he screams at you, you control how you play. You don't control if people are doubting you, if they don't believe in you, you control how you play. You don't control yesterday's game, you control how you play today. You don't control if you've lost to this team a thousand times, you control how you play. You don't control if your team wins, you control how you play today. You don't control if you've lost to this team a thousand times. You control how you play. You don't control if your team wins. You control how you play.

You don't control if you lose. You control how you play. All you control if it's not clear enough is how you play right now, right the second. Whether there's doubters, whether you're being adored, all you control is how you play, the effort that you bring, the decisions you make, the principles by which you operate. And that's ultimately all you can judge yourself on. You don't control the outcome, you don't control the facts, you don't control anything, but how you play. But if we can focus on this, the stoic said, if we can focus exclusively on what we control, not only be happier, we'll have way more energy and way more to focus on what is in front of

us while everyone else waste time, whining about, complaining about, worrying about, thinking about, bragging about what they don't control. We've got a quick message from one of our sponsors and then we'll get right back to the show. Stay tuned. There's two words that come to us from the ancients that I think we should remind ourselves of repeat to ourselves in any and every situation we're in. You win the lottery, you strike it rich, you get recognized, you get the lottery, you strike it rich, you get recognized, you get an award,

you say to yourself, momentumori, remember you will die. You go through shit, you go through trouble. Someone cheats on you, someone betrays you, someone lies to you, someone steals from you. Someone gets what you earned, someone gets promoted over you, you say to yourself

momentumori, remember that I will die. You could leave life right now, Mark has really said, let that determine what you do and say and think. You get in a fight with your girlfriend or your boyfriend, your parents say something mean or let you down, your neighbor pisses you off. You break your leg, you blow out your knee, you fall out of love with someone. You're stressed out by work, your kids are sick. You say to yourself a memento morning. Life is short, I'm going to die. And what that means is you can't take any of this seriously. You can't let it weigh on you, you can't hold onto it, you can't let it puff you up either. If you're rich, you're famous, you have a million Instagram followers, you just got hired, you just got into Harvard,

you just got nominated for a Nobel Prize, you just got a call from the president, you just got a promotion, you just got to raise Memento Mori, you will die, you can't take any of this with you. It pales in comparison to the idea of eternity. How many people have come before you would have had these same honors? And where are they now? They're fucking dead, just like you will be. What Marcus really said is this practice of Memento Mori, of saying to the good things and to the bad things in life, that we will be. What Marcus really said is this practice of Memento Mori of saying to the good things and to the bad things in life that we will die. It's a reminder that helps you

accept the good things without arrogance and to let the bad things go within difference. Your plane is delayed, your stress, your tired, your hungry, your frustrated, your cynical. You say, Memento Mor you're frustrated, you're cynical. You say, Memento Mori, I'm going to die. What does any of this mean? Why am I taking any of it so seriously? Why am I letting it get to me?

What's three hours here or three hours there? Remember, you are going to die. What you do control is whether you waste time getting upset by this, whether you waste time taking it personally, whether you're the best in the world at what you do or you're an unpaid intern, whether your work is being beloved by the critics or savaged by the critics,

whether you have more opportunities than you know what to do with, whether you can't get the one shot no one will even give you a chance, whether you have all the money you need or you can barely get by, you say, Memento Mori, remember I will die. None of this matters in light of that. Whether you're having sex with a beautiful supermodel, whether you're putting your kid down to bed, whether you're sitting there in your pajamas eating cereal, or you are standing in front of a prestigious audience.

Memento Mori, you will die. Is this how you want to spend your time? Are you wasting it or are you living it? Are you embracing it or are you letting it escape from your grasp? Memento Mori, remember, I will die. You could leave life right now, let that determine what you do and say and think. Whatever your experience in, whatever you're going through, however awesome your life is, however frustrating it is right now.

Memento Mori. Remember, you will die. This too shall pass. You must not forget that. Hey, it's Ryan. Thanks so much for listening. If you could leave a review for the podcast, we'd really appreciate it. The reviews make a difference, and of course, every nice review from a nice person helps

balance out. The crazy people who get triggered and angry anytime we say something they disagree with. So if you could rate this podcast and leave a review on iTunes, that would mean so much to us. And it would really help the show. We appreciate it. And I'll see you next episode. 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 on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and ad-free

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