These Add Up to Greatness

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0:59Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a Stoic-inspired meditation designed to help you find strength and insight and wisdom into everyday life. Each one of these episodes is based on the 2 ,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women, help you learn from them, to follow in their example, and to start your day off with a little dose of courage and discipline and justice and wisdom. For more, visit dailystoic.com.

1:50George Washington's favorite saying was that many mickles make a muckle. It's an old Scottish proverb that illustrates a truth that we all know. Things add up, even the little ones, even at the pace of one per day. That's what the Stoics believed too. They said it is the little things that add up to wisdom and virtue. What you read, who you study under, what you prioritize, how you treat someone, what your routine is like, the training that you undergo, what rules you follow, what habits you cultivate. Day to day, practiced over a lifetime, this is what creates greatness. This is what leads to a good life.

2:30Well-being is realized by small steps, Zeno would say, looking back at his life, but it is truly no small thing. And in one of his most famous letters to Lucilius, Seneca gives a pretty good prescription for the good life. Each day, he wrote, acquire something that will fortify you against poverty, against death, indeed against all other misfortunes. And after you have run over many thoughts, select one to be thoroughly digested each day. One quote a day, he was saying and sharing, that's the path to getting better and wiser and stronger and more resilient. And what excuse do you have for not meeting that goal, for not hitting that benchmark?

3:11It's within reach for all of us, no matter how busy or stressed or simple we are if we decide that it is. And actually, you know, one of the ways I do this as part of my practice is I have this Daily Stoic page a day calendar on my desk. This is today's quote. Remember that you are an actor in a play, Epictetus says, playing a character according to the will of the playwright. For this is your duty to perform well the character assigned to you. I just love this. So I keep it on my desk. I pull it off each day. I meditate on it. I put it in my little recycling bin and compost it. But the point is, it's helpful to have something to kick off each day.

3:51The next quote is, the universe has changed. Life is opinion. That's from Meditations 4.3. Actually, the quote each day corresponds to the quote in the Daily Stoic. Anyways, we've got them back in stock. People have loved these calendars. And just in time for the new year, they're available at store.dailystoic.com. I'll link in today's show notes. but one game per day, one thing to meditate or think on each day. If we can accomplish that, especially first thing in the morning, it's a great place to start. And I hope you check out the Daily Stoic page a day calendar.

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