The Daily Stoic

When everyone else seems to be abandoning their standards, what keeps you from abandoning yours? Ryan talks with USA TODAY national correspondent Rick Jervis, author of The Devil Behind The Badge, about objectivity, integrity, and how professional ethics provide stability in the middle of chaos.

Listen to more of Ryan and Rick's conversation 👉 Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Read Rick Jervis' piece on the immigrant families detained by ICE: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/29/immigrant-families-conditions-detention-sick-kids/88405597007/

📚 Buy a copy of Rick Jervis’ book The Devil Behind The Badge at The Painted Porch: https://www.thepaintedporch.com/

Follow Rick on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rjervis5905/

🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/

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We often imagine that freedom means having more power, more money, or fewer people telling us what to do. But none of that makes us free if we cannot control ourselves.

💡 We designed our How To Read Epictetus (A Daily Stoic Guide) as a personal field guide —part book club, part masterclass, part daily practice. It’s designed to help you not just read the words of Epictetus, but live them—to turn his timeless wisdom into real change in your own life and the lives of those around you.

And if you get the guide before August 26th, you’ll receive a private invitation to an exclusive LIVE Q&A with Ryan Holiday, where he’ll go deep on all things Epictetus, Stoicism, and how to apply these ideas right now, in today’s world. Head to dailystoic.com/epictetuscourse to learn more and get your book, guide, and bundle today!

👉 Get How To Read Epictetus (A Daily Stoic Guide) & all other Daily Stoic courses for FREE when you join Daily Stoic Life | dailystoic.com/life
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With enough practice, Seneca said, he found he could think anywhere. He could find stillness and peace anywhere.

📚 Stillness Is The Key by Ryan Holiday

🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/

🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/

✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail
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Most people think about time as something they have plenty of until they suddenly don’t. But Seneca’s warning raises a more unsettling question: how much of your life are you giving away without even realizing it?

🎥 WATCH THIS EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAIuRQ_wyeM

🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/

🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/

✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's episode, Ryan and Steven Pressfield discuss one of Marcus Aurelius’ most striking lines: “Life is warfare and a journey far from home.” What begins with the epigraph to Steven’s new novel The Arcadian turns into a conversation about the hero’s journey, the ideas we carry with us for decades, and reincarnation.

📚 Grab signed copies of Steven’s books at The Painted Porch:
The Arcadian
Turning Pro
Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To Be
The War of Art
The Daily Pressfield
The Warrior Ethos
A Man At Arms
Gates of Fire
The Virtues of War

Steven Pressfield is an American author of historical fiction, non-fiction, and screenplays. Steven wrote for 27 years before he got his first novel published. During that time he worked 21 different jobs in eleven states. Steven taught school, drove tractor-trailers, worked in advertising and as a screenwriter in Hollywood. He worked on offshore oil rigs, and picked fruit as a migrant worker.

Follow Steven on Instagram | @steven_pressfield

Check out more of his work on his website: https://stevenpressfield.com/

🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/

🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/

🎥 VIDEO EPISODES| Watch the video episodes on The Daily Stoic YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DailyStoic/videos

✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

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