The Daily Stoic Book Summary

Book Summary

15 min

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Brief Summary

While we all seek out shortcuts to fast-track our paths to success, the classic philosophers of ancient times ardently caution us against taking the easy route. Instead, these prominent figures and heroes of their time believed that by living with intention, focusing on the task at hand, and remaining dedicated to a life of virtue, we can push back on our natural tendencies...and optimize our work to its full potential.

About the Author

Ryan Holiday was born in 1987 in Sacramento, California. After attending the University of California, Riverside, where he studied political science and creative writing, Holiday began his career as a writer for Tucker Max, a controversial writer and pop-culture icon.

Later, Holiday served as the Director of Marketing for American Apparel. He also worked for the New York Observer as a columnist and editor-at-large.

In addition to The Daily Stoic, Holiday has authored several books on the topics of stoicism, media manipulation, and even the lawsuit between the wrestler Hulk Hogan and Gawker Media.

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Stephen Hanselman has worked as a bookseller, publisher, and literary agent for more than three decades. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School, Hanselman received a master’s degree in theological studies before founding Divinitas Books, a New England direct mail bookstore for religious texts.

While Hanselman’s career in the publishing industry has included several pivotal roles, his longest affiliation was a 13-year tenure at HarperCollins, where he held several positions, including marketing manager, sales manager, sales director, director of product and market development, editorial director, and publisher of HarperSanFrancisco.

Currently, Hanselman works at LevelFiveMedia, which he founded in 2005.

The Daily Stoic is Hanselman’s first book.

Topics

Self Development Psychology

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The Daily Stoic

Key Insights

Drawing from the greats of classic philosophy, including Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, playwright Seneca the Younger, and slave-turned-teacher Epictetus, The Daily Stoic presents a variety of strategies for managing thoughts, seeking clarity, cultivating awareness, and applying logic and reason in your day-to-day life. Focusing on motivation rather than fear, authors Stephen Hanselman and Ryan Holiday introduce practical tips for improving your relationships, achieving your goals, and finding inner joy.

Seeking Clarity

Each day, we wake up and find ourselves pulled in a hundred different directions well before the morning haze has lifted. If we do not feel this way, we are the anomaly rather than the majority.

So, how can we best manage the lure of distraction in our day-to-day lives?

Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots, answers this question on a regular basis by succinctly telling his players, “Do your job.”

While this may sound obvious at first, the underlying message is that in order to be effective at any one task, you must reduce your focus to that activity alone. Then, when the first task is complete, you can move onto the second one. When you multi-task and split your attention, nothing is getting done to the full extent of your ability.

Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius believed in the importance of prioritization as well. He felt that each responsibility an individual took on should be treated as though it were their last task on Earth.

To activate this mindset, Aurelius suggested that people adopt personal mantras in order to stay productive and focused during challenging times. An example of a mantra he may have used is the following:

“I am capable of giving 100% of my attention to the task at hand, and, in doing so, I can be satisfied that I am creating my best work.”

In case mantras are not your thing, Aurelius also reminded his pupils that certain occurrences are within your control and others are not. It is important to know this distinction and only feed what you have the ability to change.

One actionable way to embrace your personal power in addition to mantras is by creating a daily schedule that includes the tasks you need to accomplish and nothing else.

Biases

While we like to think that each decision we make is carefully crafted in our minds before it is spoken aloud, this tends not to be the case.

Instead, as Malcolm Gladwell discusses in Blink, our brains are hard-wired to make choices quickly, based on past experiences. While it is certainly important to consider personal history in the decision-making process, in doing so, we end up incorporating our unconscious biases into the outcomes we create.

In order to mitigate the potential of unintended prejudice in our decisions, we must make a conscious effort to pause before we speak.

Pause.

And during this pause, we must ask ourselves two questions: