They’re Not Thinking About You At All

0:00When we opened the bookstore, we have Tracy's down the street. One of the things that happens when you have a business is like you get all these people that are trying to sell you these different products and services. Oh, this is the right platform. This is the right tool. This is what you should use. Most of it's not good. Most of it's a scam. Most of it doesn't help. But the most important choice we made with the Painted Porch, other than physically where we were, was using Shopify. We have used Shopify for over a decade, first with Daily Stoic, now with the Painted Porch. It's a choice we've never regretted.

0:33It's a major part of the business and we wouldn't have succeeded without it. They've grown with us over the years. We've grown with them for almost 10 years now. It's great. And we're not the only ones using it. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses and brands all over the world. They do 10 % of the e-commerce in the U.S., from household names to Gymshark and Allbirds to little brands just getting started and little things in between like Daily Stoic. Everything is all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. And if you get stuck, Shopify is always around to share advice with their award-winning 24-7 customer service, which we have used many times at Daily Stoic and with The Painted Porch.

1:18It's time to turn those what-ifs in to sales with Shopify today. Sign up for your$1 per month trial today at shopify.com slash stoic. Go to shopify.com slash stoic, shopify.com slash stoic. Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, designed to help bring those four key stoic virtues, courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom into the real world.

1:52They're not thinking about you at all. They're awful. They're frustrating. They need to be stopped. These are the people that take up so much space in our head. We stew about them. We fret about them. We plot against them. There's a memorable scene in Mad Men where a young copywriter, Michael Ginsberg, clearly bothered by Don Draper's reputation and presence, tries to get under his skin. In an elevator, he says, I feel bad for you. Don Draper doesn't take the bait. He just looks at him and says, I don't think about you at all. Even though Don Draper is the iconic hero of that show, he is exactly the kind of broken and selfish person that ends up consuming far too much of our mental and emotional energy, as Nero surely did for Seneca or Caesar and Cicero did for Cato.

2:40We can't let these people take more from us than they already do. We can't let them take our joy and our focus and our time. We have to remember that in most cases there's nothing personal in what they do, and to take it personally is to add to our suffering. We might as well stew about the weather or a flat tire. We should remind ourselves again and again they don't deserve that kind of space in our heads. Let them be who they are. You be who you are. Save your energy for what matters.

3:42We'll see you next time. or shop now at DTToyotaChicago.com. For well-qualified buyers, see dealer for details. Offer expires April 30th, 2026.