Your Saturday Stoic Review — Week of May 2 - 8

​ ​ PASSAGE OF THE WEEK: A leader must be a reader. We must learn from the experiences of others. We must be challenged. We must exercise our brains. We must prepare ourselves for the things we'll only be able to experience once, by learning from the experiences of others. — A Leader Must Be a Reader (Listen) YOUTUBE TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK: ​ In one of the most watched videos on the Daily Stoic YouTube Channel this week, Ryan Holiday shares 11 Stoic Principles Every Athlete Needs To Win. One comes to us from Seneca, who wrote in his letters, "The body should be treated more rigorously that it may not be disobedient to the mind." As Ryan elaborates, "I think about that when I'm jumping in the shower, jumping in a cold pool, when i'm pushing myself while I'm running or lifting weights—I'm reminding the body who's in charge. This idea that we treat the body rigorously, that's what the physical practice is: it's a reminder of who's in charge. It's the mind asserting itself over the body. We tend to think of philosophers as these sort of soft people, but actually the mental practice, the mental resilience, being in charge of yourself is the ultimate muscle that you want to cultivate. And it's the thing that every great athlete has to have." PODCAST TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK: ​ On the Daily Stoic podcast this week, Ryan interviewed Jeff Waldman about his new book "Tools: The Ultimate Guide" (which you can get a signed copy of at the Painted Porch), the problems created by holding opinions with absolute certainty, the link between competence and confidence and much more. Jeff also told the story of the years building out a piece of land in the Santa Cruz mountains before it was all lost in the historic California wildfires of 2020. He then described his reaction to the loss: "It's sort of the cliche thing to say but I didn't mind losing the stuff because of the experience that was gained…The reason the cliche is true is that during the five years of building there, there was a lot of personal growth. It cemented a firm feeling of who I am and what I can do. I figured out who I am and I figured out what it is I desire in life, and we saw enough of it through that post-fire, what I'm left with are important lifelong lessons that can't be taken away." WHAT RYAN HOLIDAY IS READING: "A little imprisonment—if it's of your own making—can set you free. Rather than restricting your freedom, a routine gives you freedom by protecting you from the ups and downs of life and helping you take advantage of your limited time, energy, and talent. A routine establishes good habits that can lead to your best work." — Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad by Austin Kleon (Signed by Austin Kleon) YOUR STOIC WEEKEND REMINDER: The obstacle is the way. We can think of hardship many ways: As failure. As unfairness. As the end of the conversation. Or, we can choose—we can train ourselves—to see it a better way: As grist for the mill. As a chance to learn about endurance, patience, resilience, struggle. As an opportunity to prove our mettle. As a way of learning about people or situations or actions or things. Marcus Aurelius believed in the latter approach. As he wrote: "Our inward power, when it obeys nature, reacts to events by accommodating itself to what it faces—to what is possible. It needs no specific material. It pursues its own aims as circumstances allow; it turns obstacles into fuel. As a fire overwhelms what would have quenched a lamp. What's thrown on top of the conflagration is absorbed, consumed by it—and makes it burn still higher." It's not about accepting hardship then, or resigning ourselves to it. Rather, it's a matter of agreeing to work with it. To decide to make the most of it. To see hardship as an opportunity, not an obstacle.* (For more on this idea, watch this video!) THIS WEEK'S BEST SOCIAL MEDIA POST: ​ EMAIL OF THE WEEK: ​There is Heaven in You Now (Listen) *For more Stoic wisdom on seeing hardship as an opportunity, check out Ryan Holiday's book The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph. The first in Ryan's trilogy of books on Stoicism, The Obstacle is the Way has sold millions of copies and is beloved by men and women around the world, including NBA legend Chris Bosh to PGA Champion Rory McIlroy, pop star Camila Cabello, and the coaches and players of winning teams like the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, and Chicago Cubs. ​ You can also check out The Obstacle is the Way medallion which is inspired by the same insights from the Stoics and is awesome for carrying with you everywhere you go. ​Unsubscribe | Update your profile | 906 Main Street #274, Bastrop, Texas 78602