The Daily Stoic - We Need You To Be Bold

Episode Date: March 16, 2020

On the Roman calendar, March 15th was known as the Ides of March—once most notable as the year’s deadline for settling debts. That changed in 44 BC when Julius Caesar walked into the Theatre of Pompey for a routine meeting with the Roman Senate. Caesar was then at his apotheosis. He had made himself Dictator Perpetuo. He was about to embark on a three year expedition, which, if successful, would, as Plutarch wrote, “complete this circuit of his empire, which would then be bounded on all sides by the ocean." All of Rome hung on what would happen next. Would he name himself king? Would he destroy his remaining enemies? Would Rome destroy itself? Would it be content to be yoked under a tyrant?We don’t know, because it was yesterday 2,064 years ago that Brutus, Cato’s son-in-law, and his wife, Porcia, took matters into their own hands. Soon, Caesar was dead. What remained was a bloody Civil War in which the Roman Republic was nearly restored. It didn’t quite go the way that Brutus hoped. Cato himself was not quite successful in his attempt to rally the Roman people to stand up to their traditions. But the example remains in history as a partly inspiring, partly cautionary tale: Can an individual change the course of history? Can things blow up in our faces? Yes. The answer is yes to both. That’s basically the complicated arc of Conspiracy, which tells the story of Peter Thiel's quixotic, bold, desperate, deranged, inspiring (your pick) plot to take down Gawker Media, the gossip blog that had outed him, that he felt had become too powerful. The knock against the Stoics—one repeated by Thiel himself once or twice—is that they are too resigned, that they accept the status quo. This would have been surprising to Rome’s emperors, from Julius Caesar to Nero to Galba and Domitian, who were all convinced that the Stoics were plotting against them. It is almost ironic that Marcus Aurelius became the Stoic philosopher king, because nearly every single one of his predecessors believed that the Stoics were seeking to destroy the monarchy entirely. No one thought that Cato or Thrasea or Musonius Rufus were passive. They feared them. They believed they were radicals who sought to change things. With yesterday being the anniversary of the Ides of March, we challenge you to think about where that spirit has gone. We could use more boldness, and less passivity. We could use more vision, courage, creativity, a sense of justice, a willingness to try and fail, to risk and hope. We could use more people courageous enough to reject the status quo and fight for change they believe in. We could use more people trying. 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 Stood Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wundery'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. music or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the Daily Stoic. For each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the 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. We need you to be bold. On the Roman calendar, March 15th, was known as the Ides of March, once most notable as the year's deadline for settling debts. That changed in 44 BC when Julius Caesar walked into the theater of Pompey for a routine meeting with the Roman Senate. Caesar was at that moment at his apotheosis. He had made himself dictator, perpetuo. He was about to embark on a three-year expedition, which, if successful, would, as Plutarch wrote,

complete this circuit of his empire, which would then be bounded on all sides by the ocean. All of Rome hung on what would happen next. Would Caesar name himself King, when he destroy his remaining enemies, would Rome destroy itself, would it be content to be yoked under a tyrant? We don't know because it was on this day 2064 years ago that Brutus, Cato's son-in-law and his wife, Portia, took matters into their own hands. Soon Caesar was dead, what remained was a bloody civil war in which the Roman Republic was nearly restored. It didn't quite go the way that Brutus hoped, and Cato was himself not quite successful in his attempt to rally the Roman people to stand up to their traditions. But the example remains to history, partly inspiring, partly accostionary tale.

Can an individual change the course of history? Can things blow up in our faces? Yes. The answer is yes to both. That's basically the complicated arc of my book, Conspiracy, which tells the story of Peter Teel's quicksotic, bold, desperate, deranged, inspiring, your pick plot to take down Gokka media, the gossip blog that it had outed him that he had felt had become too powerful. The knock against the Stoics, one repeated by Teal himself once or twice, is that they are too resigned that they accept the status quo. This would have been surprising to

Rome's emperors from Julius Caesar to Nero to Galba to Demission, who were all convinced that the Stoics were plotting against them. It's almost ironic that Marcus Aurelius became the Stoic philosopher King because nearly every single one of his predecessors believed that the Stoics were seeking to destroy the monarchy entirely. No one thought that Cato, or Thrasia, or Musonius Rufus were passive. In fact, they feared them. They believed they were radicals who sought to change things. With this the anniversary of the Ides of March.

We challenge you to think about where that spirit has gone. We could use more boldness and less passivity. We could use more vision, courage, creativity, a sense of justice, a willingness to try and fail to risk and hope. We could use more people courageous enough to reject the status quo and fight for change they believe in. We could use more people to try. Hey everyone, just a reminder, the obstacle is the way as an ebook in the US is on sale for $199 for a little bit longer.

Check it out. It will not be cheaper than this. Give the book as a gift if you've been on the fence about trying it out. I promise you it is worth at least $1.99. There's a book that sold hundreds of thousands of copies. It's translated in dozens and dozens of languages. It's used by professional sports teams and politicians and all sorts of awesome people.

But I also know, I've heard from so many of you that it just has made your life better. It's given you something to think about. It's given you a framework for applying Stoicism in your life. So check it out. The obstacle is the way e-book, on sale right now for $199. 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. 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 Wondery's new podcast, Dis and Tell, where each episode we unpack a different iconic celebrity feud from the buildup, 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 Brittany's fans form the free Brittany 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. It's about a movement to save a superstar, which set its sights upon anyone who failed to fight for Brittany. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music or the Wondering app.