Stoics Weekly recap newsletter

Ryan Holiday’s newest book, The Daily Dad: 366 Meditations on Parenting, Love, and Raising Great Kids is available for preorder! It’s filled with Plato’s lessons on how to control our temper in front of our kids. It shows us Marcus’ teachings on how to cultivate a peaceful home for our children. And what Seneca’s letters can teach us about the perils of spoiling our kids. Plus so much more!

If you preorder The Daily Dad before its May 2 release, we’ve got some exciting bonuses, including a numbered copy of the book signed by Ryan Holiday, a free pass to our Daily Stoic parenting course for you and a friend, and a free subscription to our new Parenting Mastermind community. Head over to dailydadbook.com to secure your copy!

PASSAGE OF THE WEEK:

Seneca notes how much time we waste in life. It may well be that we are wasting much of that time and energy thinking about things as unfulfilling and unproductive as being on time. Being punctual is important, yes. But more critical is making time for the things that really matter…and then being on time for those.

— Beware This Thief Of Time (Listen)

YOUTUBE TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK:

In one of the most-watched videos on the Daily Stoic YouTube Channel, Ryan Holiday discusses how a Stoic can find balance. Through anecdotes about famous Stoics, Ryan tells us how we can achieve balance and, ultimately, a good life:

“There’s a critical Stoic virtue, the virtue of temperance. Not too much, not too little. Knowing what to resist, what to persist in. It’s all about balance. That’s what virtue is. The right amount of the right things at the right time.”

Watch the full video: How Stoics Find Balance In Their Life

PODCAST TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK:

In a recent episode of the Daily Stoic podcast, Ryan speaks with scholar and professor of ancient Greek literature and cultural history Edith Hall. They discuss Aristotelian ethics, Aristotle’s theories on happiness, and what it means to be a person, social good, and the importance of enjoying what you do:

“What [Aritstotle] calls happiness is doing what you’re very good at in the act because you’ll be getting pleasure from it. In the moment, you’re being eudaimonic. His concept of happiness has nothing to do with transient, physical pleasure. It’s not the happy hour or cocktails or having a happy meal or even a happy birthday. It’s about continuously, daily reenacting this best version of yourself.”

Listen to the full episode: Edith Hall on Aristotelian Ethics, Intention, and Human Decency

WHAT RYAN HOLIDAY IS READING:

“Seneca was eager to banish discord and vengefulness, but he knew this took constant effort. He himself practiced a Zen-like exercise to restrain his own anger, if we can trust the self-portrait he paints in De Ira. Every night before bed, Seneca confides to his readers, he sat quietly beside his wife and took stock of his day, reviewing moments when he gave in to his passions. Perhaps he grew too hot during a dispute, or spoke more sharply to an underling than the man could handle. In each case, he tells himself: ‘See that you don’t do that again, but now I forgive you.’”

— Dying Every Day by James Romm

YOUR STOIC WEEKEND REMINDER:

If a book is bad, you can stop reading it!

Epictetus once spoke with a student who was pretty proud of themselves for managing to make their way through a particularly dense work by the Stoic philosopher Chryssipus. They expected Epictetus to be proud. Instead he looked at them and said,

“You know, if Chryssipus was a better writer, you’d have less to brag about.”

It’s a good reminder to us as readers: There’s nothing impressive about grunting our way through bad writing. Life is short. We can quit bad books. We can spend our time and money on writers who respect their audience, who know how to communicate effectively.

(For more on this….watch this video!)