The Daily Stoic - This is the Win | Discipline Is Destiny: The Four Virtues

Episode Date: September 27, 2022

Before he was a big time comedian, Hasan Minhaj was asked if he thought he was going to make it big. “I don’t like that question,” he said. “I fundamentally don’t like that question.” Because the question implies that doing comedy is a means to an end—the Netflix special, selling out the stadium, doing this, getting that.“No, no, no,” he said, “I get to do comedy…I won. It being predicated on doing X or being bigger than Y—no, no, no. To me, it’s always just been about the work. I’m on house money, full time.”📕 Ryan Holiday's new book "Discipline Is Destiny" is out now! We’ve extended the pre-order bonuses for the next week—among them is a signed and numbered page from the original manuscript of the book. You can learn more about those and how to receive them over at Dailystoic.com/preorder. ✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook 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 Stoic Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we read a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you in your everyday life. On Tuesdays, we take a closer look at these stoic ideas and how we can apply them in our actual lives. Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoy. [♪ Music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing 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. This is the win. Before he was a big time comedian, Hassan Minhazh was asked if he thought he was going to make

it big. I don't like that question. He said, I fundamentally don't like that question. He said, the problem with it is that it implies that doing comedy is a means to an end. The Netflix special, selling out the stadium, doing this, getting that, no, no, no, he said, I get to do comedy, I won.

It being predicated on doing X or being bigger than Y, no, no, no, to me, it's always been about the work I'm on house money full time. This is what we mean when we say that discipline is both predictive and deterministic. It both predicts that you will be great. And it makes whatever you are doing great discipline is not a means to an end. It's not something we value until we get something we think we might really value the job title the money that winning the biggest game landing the best opportunity No, no, no, no, no Discipline is the win when you are just about the work you want when you know you put your best in you want

When yourself worth isn't predicated on things outside your control you want. When you harness these powers of discipline you are on house money full time, it's the opening line of meditations, the two most important words, what everything great follows from character and self control. There's a key to life. Marcus said, it's that to love the discipline you know. Let it support you. Let it tether you to this moment. Not to some potential rewards in the far off future. Let it predicate your success if you are about the work. If you love the discipline, you know, you already won. Everything is extra. launch day of the new book, that's what I'm thinking about. I already won because I did my best, I tried hard, I said what I wanted to say. I'm not waiting, biting my nails to see what the results are going to be. If I'm going to get that review, if the reviews on Amazon are going to come pouring in,

I said that I don't care. It's that I care about something more, right? It's already a success in my mind because of the work that I did, because I got to do the work. I was privileged enough to do the work. It was a joy even when it was painful and even when it was hard. As I talk about in the afterward of the book, as you'll see, I just wanted to thank you all for allowing me to do that, for supporting me. It's an honor. It's a privilege, as I said. You can pick up the new book, Discipline is Destiny, the Power of Self Control. It's now available everywhere.

We're still honoring orders slash pre-orders. You can do that at dailystoke.com slash pre-order. If you want to sign copy, you can get that from me. If you want to come to this philosophy dinner we're doing, it's a private dinner where we talk about stoicism with just a handful of people. You can do that by ordering. So both copies, if you want sign manuscript pages,

do that. I can't wait. If you want sign manuscript pages, do that. I can't wait for you all to read the book. I do want to hear what you think, but I feel my heart is full in that I know I already won, and I'm just the luckiest guy in the world. Because of that, I get to do this podcast, I get to write these articles. I get to do this.

I never would have dreamed that's possible. It's a huge win. House money full time. House on is right. And a great guy and a fellow student of Stoicism. So he might even be listening. Check out discipline. It's destiny. The power of self-control. I hope you check it out. Talk soon. Hey, it's Ryan Holliday. Welcome to another episode of The Daily Stoke Podcast. to another episode of The Daily Stoke Podcast. The foundational moment in the history of stoicism comes when Zeno washes up a shore in Athens, totally penniless, broken, and he ends up in this bookstore.

And in that bookstore, on that fateful day, he's reading a story from Zenefin about Socrates where Socrates is talking about the choice of Hercules. This is a monumental sort of mythical moment in the history of philosophy and the history of ancient Greece about choosing between the hard road and the easy road, the choice between virtue and vice. And I'm going to give you my talent of that story, the choice of Hercules foundational to the idea of virtue, the foundational to the idea of the four virtues, courage, temperance, justice, wisdom, which I have been writing about now going on two, two and a half years.

And I opened my stowed virtues series, which began with curages, calling, which is available everywhere, which is going to be followed now by discipline and decency, the power of self, which you can preorder at dailystoke.com slash preorder. You can pick up at the end of September at any bookstore, but if you want to sign copy, of course, go to dailystoke.com slash preorder. If you want to come to my philosophy dinner, you can do that. Again, dailystoke.com slash preorder. Anyways, all I'm saying is if you want to understand the choice, if you want to understand the story that changes Zeno's life, that sets in motion the creation of Stoic philosophy that guides all of us, listen here as we meet Hercules at a pivotal moment in his life.

And I would argue a moment not unlike the one that all of us face all the time every second, every day, everywhere we happen to be, whatever we happen to be doing. So here is the choice of Hercules. The Four Virtues. It was long ago now that Hercules came to the crossroads, at a quiet intersection in the hills of Greece and the shade of knobby pine trees, the great hero of Greek myth first met his destiny. Where exactly it was or when no one knows. We hear of this moment in the stories of Socrates. We can see it captured in the most beautiful art of the Renaissance. We can feel his budding energy, his strapping muscles, his anguish in the classic Bach Cantata.

If John Adams had had his way in 1776, Hercules at the Crossroads would have been immortalized on the official seal of the newly founded United States. Because there before the man's undying fame, before the 12 labors, before he changed the world, Hercules faced a crisis, one as life-changing and real as any of us have ever faced. Where was he headed? Where was he trying to go? That's the point of the story. Alone, unknown, unsure, hercules, like so many, did not know.

Where the road diverged lay a beautiful goddess who offered him every temptation he could imagine. Adorned in finery, she promised him a life of ease. She swore he'd never taste want or unhappiness or fear or pain. Follow her, she said, and his every desire would be fulfilled. On the other path stood a sterner goddess, in a pure white robe. She made a quieter call. She promised no rewards except those that came as a result of hard work. It would be a long journey, she said.

There would be sacrifice. There would be scary moments. But it was a journey fit for a god. It would make him the person his ancestors meant him to be. Was this real? Did it really happen? If it's only legend, doesn't matter? Yes, because this is a story about us, about our dilemma, about our own crossroads. For Hurt Gileese, the choice was between vice and virtue, the easy way and the hard way, the well-trod path and the road less traveled. We all face this choice.

Hezotating only for a second Hercules chose the one that made all the difference. He chose virtue. Virtue can seem old-fashioned, yet virtue, eroté, translates into something very simple and very timeless, excellence, moral, physical, mental. In the ancient world, virtue was comprised of four key components, courage, temperance, justice, wisdom. The touchstones of goodness, the philosopher King Marcus Aurelius called them. To millions they're known as the Cardinal virtues.

Four near universal ideals adopted by Christianity and most of Western philosophy, but equally valued in Buddhism, Hinduism, and just about every other philosophy you can imagine. They're called Cardinal, C.S. Lewis pointed out, not because they came down from church authorities, but because they originate from the Latin Cardo or hinge. It's pivotal stuff. It's the stuff that the door to the good life hangs on. They are also our four topics for this book,

for this series, four books, four virtues, one aim to help you choose. Courage, bravery, fortitude, honor, sacrifice. Temperance, self-control, moderation, composure, balance. Justice, fairness, service, fellowship, goodness, kindness, wisdom, knowledge, education, truth, self-reflection, peace. These are the key to a life of honor, of glory, of excellence in every sense. Character traits that John Steinbach perfectly described as pleasant and desirable to their owner and makes him perform acts of which he can be proud and with which he can be pleased. But the he must be taken to mean all of humankind. There was no feminine version of the word

vertus in Rome. Virtue wasn't male or female. Just was. It still is. It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman, it doesn't matter if you're physically strong or painfully shy, a genius, or of average intelligence. Virtue is universal imperative. The virtues are interrelated and inseparable, yet each is distinct from the others. Doing the right thing almost always takes courage. Justice discipline is impossible without the wisdom to know what is worth choosing. What good is courage if not applied to justice? What good is wisdom if it doesn't make us more modest? North, South, East, West, the four virtues are a kind of compass.

There's a reason that the four points on a compass are called the cardinal directions. They guide us. They show us where we are and what is true. Aristotle described virtue as a kind of craft, something to pursue just as one pursues the mastery of any profession or skill. We become builders by building and we become harpists by playing the harpy rights. Similarly then we become just by doing just actions temperate by doing temperate actions brave by doing brave actions. Virtue is something we do. It's something we choose. Not once, for Hercules' Cross Road was not a singular event. It is a daily challenge. One we face not once but constantly, repeatedly. Will we be selfish or selfless, brave or afraid, strong or weak, wise or stupid? Will we cultivate a good habit or a bad one, courage or cowardice, the bliss of

ignorance or the challenge of a new idea. Stay the same or grow, an easy way, or the right way. 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. 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,

Manduka Yoga Mats, Soul Cycle, and Kodopaxi, 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 Wonder yet.

How I built this, wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and add free on the Amazon or Wondariac.