The Most Beautiful Model Of A Perfect Life

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1:30Welcome to the weekend edition of the Daily Stoic Podcast. On Sundays, we take a deeper dive into these ancient topics with excerpts from the Stoic texts, audiobooks that we like here or recommend here at Daily Stoic, and other long-form wisdom that you can chew on on this relaxing weekend. We hope this helps shape your understanding of this philosophy, and most importantly, that you're able to apply it to your actual life. Thank you for listening.

2:13The most beautiful model of a perfect life. Happy Father's Day to all those who celebrate, by the way. And if you are looking to be a better parent or you know a parent in your life, not only is there the new Daily Dad book, which you can check out, but I send out a free parenting email. Do a free parenting podcast every single day at dailydad.com, which I hope you check out. Marcus Aurelius' father died when he was young. But then this young boy who was cursed by tragedy received a great gift, a gift that all children who have received it know to be one of the most incredible things in the world.

2:51a loving stepfather. Ernest Renan wrote that more than his teachers and tutors, Marcus had a single master whom he revered above them all, and that was Antoninus. All his adult life, Marcus strived to be the disciple of his adopted stepfather. While he lived, Marcus saw him, Renan said, as the most beautiful model of the perfect life. So what were the things that Marcus learned from Antoninus? Well, he learned the importance of compassion and hard work, persistence, since altruism, self-reliance, and cheerfulness. He learned about keeping an open mind and listening to anyone who could contribute.

3:28About taking responsibility and blame and also putting others at ease. About yielding the floor to experts and using their advice. Knowing when to push something or someone and when to back off. Being indifferent to superficial honors and treating people as they deserved to be treated. It's quite a list, isn't it? And these lessons, they impacted Marcus so deeply, he remembered them far into adulthood and recorded them for his own reference in what would become meditations. But most of all, what made these lessons so powerful was that they were embodied in Antoninus's actions rather than written on some tablet or scroll or in some philosophical treatise.

4:07There is no better way to learn than from a role model. There's no better way to judge our progress than in constant company with the person we would most like to be like someday. Again, if you're a parent to be or you enjoy the Daily Stoic email, I hope you subscribe to the Daily Dad newsletter. It's called Daily Dad because I'm a dad, but it's for parents of all types and stripes. It's one piece of timeless parenting wisdom delivered straight to your inbox every weekday morning. And the best of that email was also just turned into the Daily Dad, 366 meditations on parenting love and raising great kids.

4:44Thank you to all of you who pre-ordered it, put it on the bestseller list. It's already finding its own audience. You can grab a signed copy at store.dailydad.com. But happy Father's Day, everyone. And may we all strive to be as good a parent as Antoninus.

5:08You probably heard the headlines about all the different cuts to foreign aid and food benefits. This is having a profound impact on the world's poorest people and the world's poorest communities. But, you know, just hearing about that, that's not what stoicism is about. Stoicism is, to me, what you're going to do about it. And that's where GiveWell comes in. GiveWell is trusted by tens of thousands of donors each year because they provide free and independent research that helps you understand how to have a big impact. GiveWell has spent the last 18 years researching global health and poverty alleviation, and they direct funding to the highest impact opportunities.

5:47Over 150 ,000 donors have already trusted GiveWell to give more than$2.5 billion over the last several years, and research suggests that these donations will save over 300 ,000 lives. I myself am one of those donors. I donate to GiveWell every year. It means a lot to me. And you can find all their research and recommendations on their site for free. and thanks to the donors that sponsor this research, GiveWell doesn't take a cut from your tax-deductible donation to their recommended funds. And if this is your first gift through GiveWell, you can have your donation matched up to$100 before the end of the year or as long as matching funds last.

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6:41I learned from my adopted father. Compassion. Unwavering adherence to decisions once he'd reached them. Indifference to superficial honors. Hard work. Persistence. Listening to anyone who could contribute to the public good. His dogged determination to treat people as they deserved. a sense of when to push and when to back off putting a stop to the pursuit of boys his altruism not expecting his friends to keep him entertained at dinner or to travel with him unless they wanted to and anyone who had to stay behind to take care of something always found him the same when he returned his searching questions at meetings a kind of single-mindedness almost never content with first impressions or breaking off the discussion prematurely, his constancy to his friends, never getting fed up with them or playing favorites, self-reliance always, and cheerfulness, and his advanced planning well in advance, and his discreet attention to even minor things, his restrictions on acclamations and all attempts to flatter him, his constant devotion to the empire's needs, his stewardship of the treasury, his willingness to take responsibility and blame for both, his attitude to the gods, no superstitiousness, and his attitude to men, no demagoguery, no currying favor, no pandering, always sober, always steady, and never vulgar or prey to fads.

8:31The way he handled the material comforts that fortune had supplied him in such abundance, without arrogance and without apology. If they were there, he took advantage of them. If not, he didn't miss them. No one ever called him glib or shameless or pedantic. They saw him for what he was, a man tested by life, accomplished, unswayed by flattery, qualified to govern both himself and them. His respect for people who practiced philosophy, at least those who were sincere about it, but without denigrating the others or listening to them. His ability to feel at ease with people and put them at their ease without being pushy.

9:20His willingness to take adequate care of himself, not a hypochondriac or obsessed with his appearance, but not ignoring things either, with the result that he hardly ever needed medical attention or drugs or any sort of salve or ointment. This in particular, his willingness to yield the floor to experts in oratory, law, psychology, whatever, and to support them energetically so that each of them could fulfill his potential. That he respected tradition without needing to constantly congratulate himself for safeguarding our traditional values. Not prone to go off on tangents or pulled in all directions, but sticking with the same old places and the same old things.

10:10The way he could have one of his migraines and then go right back to what he was doing, fresh and at the top of his game.

10:24You hear that? That's not just a Toyota truck. That's the sound of no crowds. No alerts. No distractions. And no telling what you'll find next. You know, like a detour. So why would you ever take a tour when you could take a detour? Toyota Trucks.

10:57that he had so few secrets, only state secrets in fact, and not all that many of those. The way he kept public actions within reasonable bounds, games, building projects, distributions of money, and so on, because he looked to what needed doing, and not the credit to be gained from doing it. No bathing at strange hours No self-indulgent building projects No concern for food or the cut and color of his clothes Or having attractive slaves The robe from his farm at Lurium Most of the things at Lanuvium The way he accepted the customs agent's apology at Tusculum, etc. He never exhibited rudeness, lost control of himself or turned violent No one ever saw him sweat.

11:50Everything was to be approached logically and with due consideration, in a calm and orderly fashion, but decisively and with no loose ends. You could have said of him, as they say of Socrates, that he knew how to enjoy and abstain from things that most people find it hard to abstain from and all too easy to enjoy. Strength, perseverance, self-control in both areas. the mark of a soul in readiness, indomitable. Book 16. Escape imperialization, that indelible stain. It happens. Make sure you remain straightforward, upright, reverent, serious, unadorned, an ally of justice, pious, kind, affectionate, and doing your duty with a will.

12:47fight to be the person philosophy tried to make you revere the gods watch over human beings our lives are short the only rewards of our existence here are an unstained character and unselfish acts take Antoninus as your model always his energy in doing what was rational his steadiness in any situation his sense of reverence his calm expression, his gentleness, his modesty, his eagerness to grasp things, and how he never let things go before he was sure he had examined them thoroughly, understood them perfectly. The way he put up with unfair criticism without returning it. How he couldn't be hurried.

13:39How he wouldn't listen to informers. How reliable he was a judge of character and of actions. Not prone to backbiting or cowardice or jealousy or empty rhetoric. Content with the basics. In living quarters. Bedding. Clothes. Food. Servants. How hard he worked. How much he put up with. His ability to work straight through till dusk. Because of his simple diet, he didn't even need to relieve himself, except at set times. His constancy and reliability as a friend. His tolerance of people who openly questioned his views and his delight at seeing his ideas improved on. His piety without a trace of superstition.

14:30So that when your time comes, your conscience will be as clear as his.

14:43Thanks for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. Just a reminder, we've got signed copies of all my books in the Daily Stoic store. You can get them personalized. You can get them sent to a friend. The obstacle is the way. You go as the enemy. Stillness is the key. The leather-bound edition of the Daily Stoic. We have them all in the Daily Stoic store, which you can check out at store.dailystoic.com.

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