Daily doses of practical, uplifting philosophy from the bestselling author of The Obstacle is the Way.
Ryan Holiday is one of the world’s foremost thinkers and writers on ancient philosophy and its place in everyday life. He is a sought-after speaker, strategist, and the author of many bestselling books including The Obstacle Is the Way; Ego Is the Enemy; The Daily Stoic; and the #1 New York Times bestseller Stillness Is the Key. Stephen Hanselman has worked for more than three decades in publishing as a bookseller, publisher and literary agent. He is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, where he received a master’s degree while also studying extensively in Harvard’s philosophy department.
This review has been a long time in the making!
The Daily Stoic contains 366 days of quotes from the great Stoic philosophers and a short analysis of each of them. You can take each day as its printed and study the quote and take from it what you will. It’s easy to slot into your daily or morning routine as it takes about 5-10 minutes at most to read, review and apply the daily lesson. Some of the lessons may seem obvious, while some may be more profound. Even the books recommends you journal:
At the end of each day, he would ask himself variations of the following questions: What bad habit did I curb today? How am I better? Were my actions just? How can I improve? At the beginning or end of each day, the Stoic sits down with his journal and reviews: what he did, what he thought, what could be improved.
Keep your own journal, whether it’s saved on a computer or in a little notebook. Take time to consciously recall the events of the previous day. Be unflinching in your assessments. Notice what contributed to your happiness and what detracted from it. Write down what you’d like to work on or quotes that you like. By making the effort to record such thoughts, you’re less likely to forget them.
As a Kindle book, it’s so easy to highlight things that are meaningful for you, and you will get more out of it. I have highlighted many sentences and quotes, which you can see on my Goodreads page for this book.
Try to remember that when you find yourself getting mad. Anger is not impressive or tough—it’s a mistake. It’s a weakness. Depending on what you’re doing, it might even be a trap that someone laid for you.
I’m still only up to July 7th but download yourself a copy and start getting on board with the wisdom of the sages. You don’t have to apply everything, but you might find a few insights to apply to your life. Here’s another quote which is quite profound:
At the end of your time on this planet, what expertise is going to be more valuable—your understanding of matters of living and dying, or your knowledge of the ’87 Bears? Which will help your children more—your insight into happiness and meaning, or that you followed breaking political news every day for thirty years?
I know what I prefer.
