The Daily Stoic - You Must Be a Good Example

Episode Date: March 13, 2020

Think of the pressure Marcus Aurelius must have been under. Not just of the temptations and the corruptions of power, but all the eyes that were on him. Forget the judgments of history, there was literally an “emperor cult” in Rome that worshipped the man on the throne as a god to be sacrificed to and prayed for. What we know is that Marcus took this pressure seriously. He strove to live up to the expectations and the dignity of his position, even if many of his predecessors had not. “Let people see someone living naturally,” he reminded himself in Meditations 10:15, “and understand what that means.” And in Meditations 10:16, that’s where he writes his famous line to stop talking about what a good person is like and just be one. But what’s interesting is that while Marcus more or less lived up to this pressure, he claimed to be doing it for himself, not for other people. Actually the second half of the line in 10:15 talks about how he’s fine being killed for what he believes in, if people don’t understand it. He’s doing right because it’s right, not because people are watching. It’s sort of like that Chris Rock line about being a role model: Don’t not beat your wife because you’re a role model for young people, don’t do it because it’s wrong!Remember what Marcus said about not expecting the “third thing”—that is, gratitude or acknowledgment. Be a good role model because you’re a good person, because you’ve trained yourself to like and enjoy being good. Be a good role model because that’s what this philosophy demands of you, because that’s what life is demanding of you. That it might help other people, that you are teaching your children or your audience at the same time? That’s extra. Don’t talk about being a good role model. Be one. 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 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. You must be a good example. Think of the pressure markets are really must have been under, not just of the temptations and the corruptions of power, but all the eyes that were on him. Forget the judgments of history, there was literally an emperor cult in Rome that worshipped the man on the throne as a god to be sacrificed to and prayed for. What we know is that Marcus Aurelius took this pressure seriously. He strove to live up to the

expectations and the dignity of his position, even if many of his predecessors had not. Let the people see someone living naturally, he reminded himself in Meditations 10, 15, and understand what it means. And Meditations 10, 16, that's where he writes his famous line to stop talking about what a good person is like and just be one. But what's interesting is that while Marcus more or less lived up to this pressure, he claimed to be doing it for himself, not for other people. Actually, the second half of the line in 1015 talks about how he's fine being killed for what he believes in if people don't understand it. And he's doing right because it's right not because people are watching. It's sort of like that Chris Rock line about being a role model.

Don't not beat your wife because you're a role model for young people. He said, don't do it because it's wrong. Remember what Marcus really has said about not expecting the third thing. That is gratitude or acknowledgement. Be a good role model because you're a good person because you've trained yourself to like and enjoy being good. Be a good role model because that is what philosophy demands of you, because that's what life is demanding of you. That it might help other people that you're teaching your children or your audience the

same thing. That's extra. Don't talk about being a good role model. Be one. 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 stokeic 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. 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, Manduke Yoga Mats, Soul Cycle, and Cotopaxi, 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 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.