The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday & Hanselman

“The only thing that isn’t worthless: to live this life out truthfully and rightly. And be patient with those who don’t.” Marcus Aurelius

Stoicism, an ancient Greek school of philosophy, a beautiful operating system for life. Philosophy is an attitude and a guiding principle of behaviour in life. In many ways philosophy is about asking questions, seeking truth so to live as best we can with greater ease. Principles that can improve wisdom, perseverance and the art of living.

Discover Your Why! Free Coaching Call Valued at $250

I believe that life is simple yet complex. I say this because there is not one formula nor is there one discipline of study that should be the basis of how we live our life. You can look at religion, history, philosophy, biology, psychology and science to give you answers but how well you live life will not be found in one particular area. There is no recipe for living a successful life but rather universal concepts.

Philosophy is one way to navigate the complexities of life and in understanding come to realise how simple life can actually be. The authors share insights and reflection on thoughts of three great Greek philosophers Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. There thoughts give sound reason not all backed by absolute truth but certainly in my eyes true enough and timeless in how we can find happiness in our existence in the modern world.

The book is easy to digest and as the authors suggest you can read one meditation each day every day of the year. The authors begin each chapter, each day depending on how you tackle this book, with a quote from one of the aforementioned Stoics and then provide reflection and thought including how it is relevant for today’s standard of living so that we can better ponder each thought ourselves. I enjoyed this style much like the Tao of Seneca by Tim Ferriss – you can review my reflection here.

Here is one thought from the book that I believe was a quote by Seneca that stated, “Do you really want to say that you did nothing today.” Simple yet really powerful thought comes from this line. What about your life. Would this really please you? Working without aim is like existing without living. It is not only wasteful but it is in sense suffering. This isn’t to say one mustn’t enjoy a moment as the moment. Nor should one deny life’s guilty pleasures, like walking without purpose or watching your favourite TV series. This existence is more alive when we have dreams to follow.

Life can be short when there is no meaning or purpose or oppositely it can be deep and profoundly meaningful depending of course on how we wisely use our time. If you reach the end of today saying “I did nothing today” and feeling pleased about this will you feel pleased when you reach the end of life with similar thought?

There is great wisdom to reflect upon in this work and I would highly recommend all that seek greater freedom, fulfilment, happiness in life. Philosophy puts shape to our existence. It helps create understanding, clarity and meaning that becomes the guidance we need to sail our ship on the journey of our existence. The concepts and thoughts are so profoundly insightful that it is difficult to digest more than one at a time. Be inspired!

Discover Your Why! Free Coaching Call Valued at $250

If this book sounds of interest you can purchase The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living here.

Please leave your thoughts, comments & questions below.

Peace, passion and purpose…

Other books of interest…