The Daily Stoic - What Will You Do Now?

Episode Date: February 11, 2019

In the winter of 1824, things were not looking good for Simon Bolivar. He was at one of the lowest points of his decade-plus long revolution of South America. Many of the countries he had freed from Spanish rule were in chaos or at risk of being re-conquered. His own health had begun to fail from so many hours in the saddle on campaign. He was haggard and gaunt--skeletal, really. Would he give up? Would he die? Would all this turn out to be for naught? With this in mind, a man asked Bolivar, as it appeared that he neared rock bottom, “What will you do now?”The great liberator didn’t pause, he didn’t hesitate. All his charisma returned in an instant and he answered simply and definitively, “Triumph!”It’s one of those scenes from history that sends chills down our spine. It’s Napoleon shouting, “There will be no Alps!” It’s the Spartans retorting to the Persians who claimed the arrows of their overwhelmingly superior forces would blot out the sun, “Then we shall fight in the shade.” It’s Churchill, “We shall go on to the end...we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be...we shall never surrender.” It’s incredible bravery, fortitude, and strength. But here’s the thing: Those lines came from people just like you. Bolivar was a spoiled rich kid for most of his life. Napoleon started in the army as an artilleryman. No one, including Churchill’s parents, thought he’d amount to much. But these men did it--they put countless people on their backs and dragged their cause to victory. Just like you can do. Remember Marcus’s line: If it’s humanly possible, know that you can do it. And think about Bolivar in that moment and how Stoic it was. He was focused not on the past, not on how bad things were, but on what he would do next. Because that’s all that matters. Because that’s all he controlled. And then he got to work. 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. What will you do now? In the winter of 1824, things were not looking good for Simon Bolivar. He was at one of the lowest points of his decade-long

plus revolution of South America. Many of the countries he had freed from Spanish rule were in chaos or at risk of being reconquered. His own health had begun to fail from so many hours in the saddle on campaign. He was haggard and gaunt, skeletal, really. Would he give up? Would he die? Would this all turn out to be for naught? With this in mind, a man asked Bolivar, as it appeared that he neared rock bottom, what will you do now? The great liberator didn't pause. He didn't hesitate. All his charisma returned in an instant and he answered simply and definitively triumph. It was one of those scenes from history that sends chills down our spine. It's Napoleon shouting, there will be no out.

It's the Spartans retorting to the Persians who claimed the arrows of their overwhelmingly superior forces would blot out the sun, then we shall fight in the shade. It's Churchill. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight on the seas, and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall never surrender. It's incredible bravery, fortitude, and strength. But here's the thing, those lines came from people just like you. Bolivar was a spoiled rich kid for most of his life. Napoleon started in the

army as an artillery man. No one, including Churchill's parents, thought that he'd amount to much. But they did it. They put countless people on their backs and dragged their cause to victory, just like you can do. Remember Marcus' line, if it's humanly possible, know that you can do it. And think about Boulevard in that moment and how stoke it was. He was focused not on the past, not on how bad things were, but on what he would do next. Because that's all that matters. Because that's all he controlled, and then he got to work. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or your favorite podcast app. And if you don't get the Daily Stoke email, go to dailystoke.com slash email.

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. and the Wundery Plus in Apple Podcasts.