The What Is Stoicism? Podcast

In his Discourses, the Stoic teacher Epictetus explains that a person is making progress when they understand a simple Stoic principle: we desire what we see as good, and we avoid what we see as bad.In this episode, we look at how this advice can drastically reduce the chances of being disturbed by what happens around us.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:It's Not A Joyless Philosophyhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-its-not

It's an unfortunate truth: many so-called leaders expect things from others that they don’t expect from themselves.In this episode, we look to the Stoics and an old story about Mahatma Gandhi to see how true leaders lead by example.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:Unbroken Tranquility And Unending Freedomhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-unbroken

The ancient Stoic’s prerequisite for getting the most out of each of life’s experiences was to consider the possibility that it would be the last time they would ever have that particular experience.In this episode, we look at some practical ways to achieve this.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:Amongst Friends All Things In Commonhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-amongst

In this episode, I talk to Gregory B. Sadler. Through his public speaking, content production (including videos for a YouTube channel with over 150,000 subscribers), consulting, and philosophical counseling, Greg makes classical and contemporary philosophy accessible to non-philosophers.I really enjoyed this conversation, in which we mainly discussed the many misconceptions there are about what Stoicism really is. Greg did a great job of clearing these misunderstandings up, so I think this will be a really useful episode for those who want to learn more about Stoicism to listen to. I hope you enjoy.📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:Unbroken Tranquility And Unending Freedomhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-unbroken

If we want to break free from our old opinions, or at least confirm if they are still valid, we must be willing to accept that our way of seeing things might not be OK as it is.We must be willing to examine judgments, let go of long-held views, and potentially give up on an outdated version of ourselves.In this episode, we look at how Stoicism helps us do this.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:Amongst Friends All Things In Commonhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-amongst

“To live a good life: We have the potential for it,” writes Marcus Aurelius in his Meditations. “If we can learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference.”This good life is exactly what the ancient Stoics believed the practice of philosophy would allow us to pursue.In this episode, we look at how Stoicism can bring us internal clarity, the value of which far outweighs the pursuit of externals like material gain, wealth, reputation, and status.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:Amongst Friends All Things In Commonhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-amongst

Erick Cloward is the host of the popular Stoic Coffee Break podcast where every week he discusses how to live a more resilient and happy life using ancient Stoicism and modern wisdom.He's also a Leadership Coach and Speaker, as well as an author who’s just realised a new book called Stoicism 101.In this episode, I talk to Erick about his book, his Stoic background, the problem with Broicism, and more. I hope you enjoy.Erick's book can be found here:https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Stoicism-101/Erick-Cloward/Adams-101-Series/9781507223574👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:Will You Follow Or Be Dragged?https://open.substack.com/pub/whatisstoicism/p/micro-morning-meditation-will-you

There's an old Spanish proverb that says: "Don't speak unless you can improve on the silence."With such restraint comes a question: what should we redirect our attention toward at times when we judge that externalizing our thoughts isn’t necessary?In this episode, we look at how self-reflection can be a worthy alternative.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:Amongst Friends All Things In Commonhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-amongst

In this episode I talk to Benny Voncken, a writer, speaker, and practicing Stoic who's originally from the Netherlands.He's also the co-founder of an online Stoicism platform called Via Stoica, which offers personalized Stoic coaching services, an online Stoic community, live conversations on X, and their own Via Stoica podcast.I really enjoyed talking with Benny. In the conversation, he shares some of the difficulties he's been through that led to him taking Stoicism seriously as a philosophy of life and how he now uses that experience to help others in his work as a Stoic coach. I hope you enjoy the episode.📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO + EMAIL CONTENTCheck out What Is Stoicism? on Substack:https://whatisstoicism.substack.com