The Daily Stoic - We’re Part of This Beautiful Tradition

Episode Date: April 3, 2020

Do you remember the first time you heard about the Stoics? Maybe you read about them in another book. Maybe someone you know recommended them to you. Remember that feeling though? When those words first started going through your brain and you felt them in your soul for the first time? It was an incredible experience right? One of the most important and transformative moments in your life. Here’s the crazy thing though. Before the Vietnam war, James Stockdale had almost that exact experience when he was given a copy of Epictetus at Stanford. You could roll back the tape of history almost 200 years and find the exact moment that George Washington had his experience when, at 16, a neighbor passed along a copy of the works of the Stoics. Nearly 2,000 years ago almost the exact same thing happened, only instead of America it was in Rome, and a man named Junius Rusticus was loaning Marcus Aurelius a copy of Epictetus. A generation before that, someone was introducing Epictetus himself, then no more than a slave, to the works of Musonius Rufus. You could go back further still and sit in a book store and watch Zeno, washed up from a shipwreck, being introduced to philosophy by way of a reading of the works of Socrates. It shouldn’t take away from the beauty of your experience to learn that it wasn’t singular. In fact, it enhances it. It ties directly into the most moving passages of Marcus Aurelius, where he points out how long human beings have been doing the same thing, how we’ve been falling in love and fighting over money, improving ourselves and falling short, and yes, having our minds blown by great books, since as long as there have been books. We are part of a long tradition and it’s a long tradition that will continue after we’re gone. We’re not special. We’re a strong, but ordinary link in a timeless chain… that includes some of the greatest men and women to ever walk the earth. We don’t own these ideas. We are, as they say about Patek Philippe watches, just guarding them for the next generation. We are caretakers. And that’s important. 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 Wondery'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 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 are part of this beautiful tradition. Do you remember the first time you heard about the Stowachs? Maybe you read about them in another book.

Maybe someone you know recommended them to you. Do you remember that feeling when those words first started going through your brain and you felt them in your soul for the first time, it was an incredible experience, right? One of the most important and transformative moments in your life. But here's the crazy thing. Before the Vietnam War, James Stockdale had almost

that exact experience when he was given a copy of Epic Titus at Stanford. You could roll back the tape of history almost 200 years and find the exact moment that George Washington had this experience when at 16, a neighbor passed along a copy of the works of the Stelix. Nearly 2,000 years ago, almost the exact same thing happened again.

Only instead of an America, it was in Rome. And a man named Junius Rousticus was loaning Marcus Aurelius a copy of Epictetus, a generation before that. Someone was introducing Epictetus himself, then, no more than a slave, to the works of Musonius Rufus. You could go back further still and sit in a bookstore and watch Zeno, washed up from a shipwreck, being introduced

to philosophy by way of a reading of the works of Socrates. It shouldn't take away from the beauty of your experience to learn that it wasn't singular. In fact, it enhances it. It ties directly into the most moving passages from Marcus Aurelius when he points out how long human beings have been doing the same things, how we've been falling in love and fighting over money,

improving ourselves and falling short. And yes, having our minds blown by great books, since as long as there have been books. We are part of a long tradition and it's a long tradition that will continue after we're gone. We're not special. We're a strong but ordinary link in a timeless chain that includes some of the greatest men and women to ever walk the earth. We don't own these ideas. We are, as they say, about a certain kind of watch, just guarding them for the next generation.

We are caretakers, and that's important. Hey there, if you're wondering how to get the most out of this time, you have stuck at home. Maybe you're working only part time, or you're working from home, you've got a child care situation. None of this is what we would choose, but the Stoic say we don't choose what happens, we choose how we respond. And so that's why we've been scrambling here at Daily Stoic to put together what we're calling the Daily Stoic a live time challenge. It's 14 days of inspired Stoic wisdom that will help you get the most out of this moment,

that will help you seize this moment, rise to the occasion. We're going to challenge you. It's not going to be easy, but I think you will emerge from it better, and that will be some small good that's come out of this experience. So you can listen early and add free with Wondering 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. I'm going to be able to talk about it in a few days. I'm going to be able to talk about it in a few days. in Apple podcasts. Hundreds of founders behind well-known companies like Headspace, Manduke Yoga Mats, Soul Cycle, and Codopaxi, 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. on the Amazon or Wonder yet.