You Have This Freedom (If You Take It)

0:00This year is going to be the 10-year anniversary, not just of the Daily Stoic book, but dailystoic.com. The email, the podcast, all that stuff. And I don't think we would be standing here 10 years later if it weren't for Shopify. Shopify has been the back end of so many things we've done, from the New Year New You challenges to the medallions to posters. Even right now, if you're going to buy a signed book from me, you're going to be checking out through Shopify at dailystoic.com. or if you're buying something from Daily Dad there, or if you come to the Painted Porch, we even use Shopify at point of sale in the store.

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1:04That's shopify.com slash stoic to start your free trial.

1:07Ryan Holiday: Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, designed to help bring those four key stoic virtues, courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom into the real world.

1:22Ryan Holiday: You have this freedom, if you take it. It's something simple to take for granted. It's free, it's easy, anyone can do it. Except not anyone. The emperor of Rome couldn't exactly just take a stroll through the city. There were safety concerns, after all. He could not enjoy an anonymous walk along the river or through the streets. He could not bump into friends or explore. It wasn't just unsafe, it wasn't feasible. He did not have control of his schedule or his time, pressed as he was with business and obligations. And so in this way, the most powerful man in the world lacked a freedom that we so readily take for granted.

2:04Ryan Holiday: Indeed, the closest Marcus Aurelius could have come was perhaps the emperor's shortcut, a hidden 300-yard passageway of zigzagging ramps that carried the emperor from the palace on the Palatine down to the Forum, safely separated from the streets of Rome, or the Palatine Stadium, a private walking track used only by the emperor. We, on the other hand, have this freedom, and what do we do with it? We sit on our phones. We sit at our desks. We drive even short distances. And in the process, we deprive ourselves of a bit of nature, a bit of exercise, a better sense of our neighborhood, and one of the most basic forms of movement available.

2:46Ryan Holiday: And that's crazy. Go take a walk.

2:59you