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The Greatest Leader You’ve Never Understood | Doris Kearns Goodwin
What made Lincoln great wasn’t power or genius, it was his moral fiber. Historian and bestselling author Doris Kearns Goodwin joins Ryan to explore why Lincoln stands above the rest, how ambition can be twisted toward selfishness or greatness, and how moments of pain and principle shape true leaders. Ryan and Doris discuss the pressures of writing about legendary figures, Doris’s years working for LBJ, and what it takes to bring history to life for future generations.
Doris Kearns Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize–winning presidential historian and bestselling author. Her latest #1 New York Times bestseller, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, is being adapted into a feature film, while her earlier works, Team of Rivals, The Bully Pulpit, and No Ordinary Time, have won some of the nation’s highest literary honors and inspired leaders worldwide. She has served as a White House Fellow to President Lyndon Johnson, produced acclaimed docuseries for the HISTORY Channel, and earned countless awards for her contributions to history and leadership.
She has a new book out called The Leadership Journey: How Four Kids Became Presidents in which she shares the different childhood experiences of Abraham Lincoln. Theodore Roosevelt. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Lyndon B. Johnson, and how they each found their way to the presidency.
Grab copies of Doris’ books Team of Rivals and Leadership at The Painted Porch | https://www.thepaintedporch.com
Follow Doris on Instagram @DorisKGoodwin and check out more of her work on her website doriskearnsgoodwin.com
📕 Books mentioned:
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Gregory Hays Translation)
📚 The Four Stoic Virtues: Justice, Temperance, Wisdom, Courage, are timeless keys to living your best life. The Daily Stoic is releasing a limited collector’s edition set of all four books signed and numbered, with a title page identifying these books as part of the only printing of this series. PLUS we're including one of the notecards Ryan used while writing the series. Pre-order the Limited Edition Stoic Virtues Series Today! | https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/stoic-virtues
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Your Obligation Remains The Same | Why Did You Choose Stoicism?
14:19|Our job today and tomorrow is the same as it’s always been—to be good, to be wise, to stand up for what’s right, to resist what is wrong and evil. Nothing changes that.🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/Boston, Massachusetts - November 16 Nashville, Tennessee - November 20 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - December 8Washington D.C. - December 9 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail
If You're Anxious About The Election, Listen To This
16:52|Political dysfunction and uncertainty are nothing new. The Stoics lived through their own times of chaos, cruelty, and disorder. But they understood something about surviving times like these that we would do well to remember today.Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_itTQaiu4G0🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/Boston, Massachusetts - November 16 Nashville, Tennessee - November 20 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - December 8Washington D.C. - December 9 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemailThis is Your Chief Task
02:40|The act of casting a ballot is in your control. You control whether or not you engage in the democratic process. And the Stoics are explicit on this point: the philosopher, they say, is obligated to contribute to the polis, and to participate in politics. 🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/Boston, Massachusetts - November 16 Nashville, Tennessee - November 20 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - December 8Washington D.C. - December 9 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail
BONUS | 3 Shows in 72 Hours
21:35|In this bonus episode, follow Ryan behind the scenes as the Daily Stoic Live Tour takes him through Minneapolis, Chicago, and Detroit.🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/Boston, Massachusetts - November 16 Nashville, Tennessee - November 20 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - December 8Washington D.C. - December 9Your Job is This Simple | Accepting What Is
08:23|When misinformation and extremism and utter nonsense pervades…When cruelty and meanness become acceptable…When the system is falling apart and the center looks like it may not hold…Your job is simple. 🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/Boston, Massachusetts - November 16 Nashville, Tennessee - November 20 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - December 8Washington D.C. - December 9 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail
Stoicism, Democracy, and Personal Responsibility | Stacey Abrams
44:48|You can't control everything that happens in politics, but you can control what you do with the power you have. In today’s episode, political leader, voting rights activist, and bestselling author Stacey Abrams joins Ryan to talk about the importance of accountability, the difference between outrage and action, why good leadership requires more than good intentions, and what Stoicism teaches us about our responsibility to make things better. Stacey Abrams is a New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur, voting rights advocate, and political leader. She served 11 years in the Georgia House of Representatives, including seven as Democratic Leader, and made history in 2018 as the first Black woman to become a major-party nominee for governor in the United States. Following the election, she founded Fair Fight Action to protect voting rights and expand access to the ballot box.— Grab signed copies of Stacey’s books: Stacey’s Extraordinary Words | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/staceys-extraordinary-words?_pos=1&_sid=56a0eb53a&_ss=rWhile Justice Sleeps: A Thriller | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/while-justice-sleeps-a-thriller-avery-keene?_pos=2&_sid=56a0eb53a&_ss=rCoded Justice: A Thriller | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/coded-justice-a-thriller-avery-keene?_pos=3&_sid=56a0eb53a&_ss=rFollow Stacey on Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/staceyabrams/?hl=enStacey’s podcast Assembly Required | https://www.youtube.com/@AssemblyRequiredPodcastGet Involved at 10StepsCampaign.Org | https://10stepscampaign.org/🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/Boston, Massachusetts - November 16 Nashville, Tennessee - November 20 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - December 8Washington D.C. - December 9 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail
43 Stoic Rules That Will Change How You Live
34:16|Philosophy isn't supposed to be an intellectual exercise reserved for scholars. It's supposed to help you make better decisions, face difficulties, and figure out how to live. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vultJhU9XLU🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/Boston, Massachusetts - November 16 Nashville, Tennessee - November 20 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - December 8Washington D.C. - December 9 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemailIf We Were Dying, It Would Be Easier | What Grief Teaches Us About Being Alive
18:41|If only we could, as Marcus Aurelius said, let everything we do and say be that of a dying person, then we would get so much more right.Kate Bowler is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and professor of religious history at Duke University. She is the host of the podcast Everything Happens, where she has honest conversations about grief, joy, faith, love, and the realities of being human.Grab signed copies of Kate’s books Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved, No Cure For Being Human (And Other Truths I Needed To Hear), and her latest book Joyful, Anyway at The Painted Porch | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/Follow Kate Bowler: Instagram, YouTube🪙 We have a collection of items in the Daily Stoic store to help you in your own memento mori practice, check them out here: https://store.dailystoic.com/🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/Boston, Massachusetts - November 16 Nashville, Tennessee - November 20 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - December 8Washington D.C. - December 9 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail--Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/DAILYSTOIC and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are.It’s Not How You See It. It’s What You Make It | 18 Stoic Lessons You’ll Wish You Learned Sooner
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