Your Saturday Stoic Review — Week of June 27 - July 3
By -Edward Lance Lorilla
July 02, 2022
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PASSAGE OF THE WEEK:
Marcus, as he got older, had to learn how to be "full of love" as he would say. He had to see the good in people. He could not let his heart grow hard, as we've said, instead, he had to learn to strengthen it like the muscle that it was—so he could use it. That's what leaders do. They have to care–practically, personally, professionally.
What about you? How are you strengthening that muscle—particularly in these difficult times? Has command or power made you cynical? Or are you working on becoming more conscientious and caring? Not because you have to, but because you know that to be great, to reach your potential as a parent, a partner, a creator, a friend, a human being…
"I once heard the billionaire Peter Thiel say that you want to look for pleasures that don't have diminishing returns…Sunsets, sunrises, playing with my kids—these are things I never get tired of. But chasing the newest thing, buying a new car, buying something fancy—these get old really quickly. So the Stoics would say to try to find pleasure and happiness in the simple things."
"It's absolutely a muscle, it's a mental muscle. The research backs this up: if we train that discipline, that self-control, that ability to sit with difficulty and navigate through it, it helps in other aspects of life. So in my life, I cultivate that mental muscle through physical practice. When I was growing up, I was a competitive runner. I don't push it as much any more, but at least once a week, I do something that pushes the bounds of my physical ability, that forces me to sit with that situation where part of my mind screaming to slow down or rationalizing why I should give up."
"The stakes are high but I wouldn't have it any other way. In the kitchen, jittery and pumped up just before the curtains rise, I'm in my element. I am the son of a caterer, and ever-expanding parties are my birthright. I remember my mother's outward calm when a client would call to say the party just doubled in size, moments before she loaded chafing trays of mesquite chicken wings and jollof rice into her van. Catering is like low-grade war games: hope for the best, prepare for the worst. So I prepare for nearly every eventuality. I'm so organized my systems have systems. A successful kitchen runs on plastic quart containers and paper towels, strips of tape and Sharpies. On the doors of my fridges are taped elaborate spreadsheets breaking down each dish into its component parts and assigning each element to a team member. Now I just have to trust the system."
Why do you read this email? Why do you read books?
Because you are learning how to live. Because you want to be freer, fear less, and achieve a state of peace. Education—reading and meditating on the wisdom of great minds—is not to be done for its own sake. It has a purpose. As Epictetus said,
"What is the fruit of these teachings? Only the most beautiful and proper harvest of the truly educated—tranquility, fearlessness, and freedom. We should not trust the masses who say only the free can be educated, but rather the lovers of wisdom who say that only the educated are free."
Remember that imperative on the days you start to feel distracted, when watching television or having a snack seems like a better use of your time than reading or studying philosophy. Knowledge—self-knowledge in particular—is freedom.
If you want to learn about true freedom, there is no one better to learn from than Epictetus. Which is why we've spent the last year and a half working on The Girl Who Would Be Free, an illustrated and timeless fable about the journey of Epictetus from a slave to the ultimate symbol of true freedom. Imagine being born a slave. Imagine what it would take to not only survive slavery, but to go on to become one of the most influential philosophers of all time. How did Epictetus do it? Read The Girl Who Would Be Free!
The 148-page book, written by the bestselling author Ryan Holiday and illustrated by the prolific illustrator Victor Juhasz, is officially available for pre-order. The book is produced entirely by Daily Stoic and printed here in the United States.
If you pre-order The Girl Who Would Be Free through the Daily Stoic Store BEFORE July 8, 2022, you receive these exclusive bonuses and deals:
Audiobook and e-book versions (emailed directly to the email associated at checkout on July 8, 2022): the audiobook contains over an hour of original content, including an interview between Ryan Holiday and Victor Juhasz, narration by Ryan Holiday, narration by his wife, Samantha Holiday, and more.
If you pre-order a signed copy of The Girl Who Would Be Free,you will receive a FREE copy of The Boy Who Would Be King (your free copy of The Boy Who Would Be King will automatically get shipped out with your copy of The Girl Who Would Be Free. Do not add The Boy Who Would Be King to your cart unless you want to pay for additional copies)
If you pre-order an unsigned copy of The Girl Who Would Be Free, you will receive the opportunity to purchase The Boy Who Would Be King 50% OFF (you must add The Boy Who Would Be King to your cart to automatically have the discount applied)
To learn more about the pre-order bonuses and pre-order your signed or unsigned copies of The Girl Who Would Be Free at dailystoic.com/girl!
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