Share
The Daily Stoic
This Is How To Go Out
Ep. 129
•
Epicurus’s final letter begins with a rather remarkable sentence: “On this happy day, which is the last day of my life, I write the following words to you.” While the letter briefly touches on the painful symptoms of the disease that would soon kill him, Epicurus doesn’t dwell on that. Instead, he speaks of the joy in his heart—not caused by his impending death, obviously, but by the memories he has accumulated of the friend he is writing to. Then, before concluding the letter and his life, Epicurus gives final instructions on how to care for one of his young pupils that has shown promise.
What a way to go out! What strength, courage, and poise emanating from a man whose life was supposedly all about pleasure!
Remember, the point of philosophy is to prepare us for exactly this moment (To philosophize is to learn how to die). That’s why we do this reading, that’s why we carry these memento mori medallions, that’s why we think about this scary subject in advance.
So that when it happens—today or in a hundred years—we are able to capture just a fraction of the dignity and selflessness that Epicurus was able to marshall, even as his body quit on him. So that we can live with joy in our hearts to their final beats and call our last day a happy one, and mean it. So that we can continue to take care of the people we’ve found ourselves responsible for, even in death.
That’s what it means to be a philosopher. Now go live it, all the way to the end.
More episodes
View all episodes
The Past Is a Lie | Would Ryan Holiday Ever Run for Office?
13:36|We are lucky to live in this moment, however flawed.📚 Grab signed copies of Steven’s books at The Painted Porch: The ArcadianTurning ProPut Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To BeThe War of ArtThe Daily PressfieldThe Warrior EthosA Man At ArmsGates of Fire The Virtues of WarFollow Steven on Instagram | @steven_pressfield Check out more of his work on his website: https://stevenpressfield.com/🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/🎙️ 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.The Past Is Looking Brighter All The Time
16:35|Seneca talked about how we need to ‘choose ourselves a Cato,’ a standard to measure ourselves against.📚 Learn more about Cato in Lives of the Stoics by Ryan Holiday🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/🎙️ 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.
The Truth About Banned Books (And Why It Matters)
19:09|Book banning isn't a thing of the past. The impulse to restrict what people can read, think, and question is as old as history itself. And just because you disagree with a book doesn't mean someone else shouldn't be allowed to read it.Got a banned book at home? Send it our way 👉 Address: 912 Main St. Bastrop, TX 78602Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ4ljMIRh6k
Robert Greene & Ryan Holiday: The Secret To A Great Apprenticeship
20:31|Twenty years ago, Robert Greene took a chance on a young college dropout named Ryan Holiday. In this episode, Ryan sits down with Robert, bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power, Mastery, The Laws of Human Nature, and his new book The Law of the Sublime , to reflect on the power of apprenticeship, the lessons that shaped his career, the mistakes that nearly derailed it, and what it takes to learn from someone great.Preorder The Law of the Sublime by Robert Greene | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/the-law-of-the-sublime?_pos=13&_sid=e0d7a8c03&_ss=rGrab signed copies of Robert Greene’s books at The Painted Porch: The 48 Laws of Power | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/48-laws-of-power-signed?_pos=4&_sid=e0d7a8c03&_ss=rThe Laws of Human Nature | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/laws-of-human-nature-copy?_pos=2&_sid=e0d7a8c03&_ss=rMastery | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/mastery-signed-by-robert-greene?_pos=3&_sid=e0d7a8c03&_ss=rThe 33 Strategies of War | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/33-strategies-of-war-signed-by-robert-greene?_pos=5&_sid=e0d7a8c03&_ss=rThe Art of Seduction | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/art-of-seduction-signed-by-robert-greene?_pos=6&_sid=e0d7a8c03&_ss=rThe Daily Laws: 366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery, Strategy, and Human Nature | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/the-daily-laws-366-meditations-on-power-seduction-mastery-strategy-and-human-nature-copy?_pos=7&_sid=e0d7a8c03&_ss=rThe 50th Law | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/50th-law-signed-by-robert-greene?_pos=10&_sid=e0d7a8c03&_ss=rFollow Robert GreeneInstagram | https://www.instagram.com/robertgreeneofficial/?hl=enX | https://x.com/RobertGreeneYouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@RobertGreeneOfficial🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/🎙️ 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.True Freedom Requires This | Two Tasks
06:11|The Stoics also believed that wisdom is something we have to work for—not something we’re given. It didn’t matter if you were a slave like Epictetus or groomed for the throne like Marcus Aurelius—wisdom was still something you had to earn.The new 10th Anniversary Edition of The Daily Stoic is out NOW! 👉 Grab your copy here: https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/the-daily-stoic-10🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/🎙️ 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.
BONUS | Ezra Frech Before Dancing with the Stars
53:36|You might be watching Ezra Frech on Dancing with the Stars right now, but there's a lot more to his story than what you see on TV. For today's bonus episode, we're bringing back Ryan's conversation with the Paralympic gold medalist, recorded before he joined the show.The new 10th Anniversary Edition of The Daily Stoic is out NOW! 👉 Grab your copy here: https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/the-daily-stoic-10🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/🎙️ 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.How Much Have You Changed? | Proof That Stoicism Can Change Your Life
16:07|Wouldn’t it be crazy if all that change had happened, but we were still doing the same things, still stagnant? We cannot go on being the person we’ve always been, Marcus writes in Meditations. We cannot remain as we are, Socrates said.If these stories have inspired you to share your journey with Stoicism, please email an audio recording to podcast@dailystoic.com for the chance to be featured on a future episode!The new 10th Anniversary Edition of The Daily Stoic is out NOW! 👉 Grab your copy here: https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/the-daily-stoic-10🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/🎙️ 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.10 Stoic Lessons It Took Ryan 10 Years to Understand
21:14|Ten years after publishing The Daily Stoic, Ryan shares what he’s learned, what he missed, and what he sees differently now.The new 10th Anniversary Edition of The Daily Stoic is out NOW! 👉 Grab your copy here: https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/the-daily-stoic-10🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/🎙️ 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.This Was The Difference (and it makes ALL the difference)
02:03|Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus shared the same DNA. They, like all fathers and sons, probably shared some of the same tendencies and weaknesses. So how did they turn out so differently?🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/🎙️ 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