The Stoic Secrets to a Good Life (ft. Ryan Holiday)

There’s an ancient philosophy that could actually help you give fewer f*cks, and unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of it. Stoicism has been helping people manage their stress and anxiety for thousands of years and today, it’s more relevant than ever. @ryanholiday is the New York Times Bestselling author of multiple books on Stoicism. He believes that Stoicism is the framework that can help you be a normal person in an increasingly crazy world. Today’s episode dives into the life-altering benefits of following a philosophy that encourages you to focus on what you can control, and fuck the rest. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: Why Stoicism Resonates in the Social Media Age 00:02:01 What Do You Give Too Many Fucks About? 00:03:48 Control, Anxiety, and Why Stoicism Appealed to Ryan 00:05:29 The Unexpected Success of The Obstacle Is the Way 00:09:45 How Success Changed Ryan's Relationship with Stoicism 00:12:00 What Ryan Gives Too Few Fucks About: Presence and Relationships 00:14:06 The Pandemic Reset: Taking a Year Off and Choosing Family 00:18:39 Regret, Guilt, and Grieving the Life You Could Have Had 00:17:30 Ryan's Legendary Productivity and the Cost of Optimization 00:24:13 Carrying Your Own Weight and Making Amends 00:25:55 What Most People Give Too Many Fucks About 00:29:13 Inherited Assumptions and the Adapted Child 00:31:19 Marriage, Different Definitions, and Renegotiating Meaning 00:33:28 The Nuclear Family Trap and Unreasonable Expectations 00:35:35 What Most People Give Too Few Fucks About: Other People's Suffering 00:38:53 The Implementation Problem: Theory vs. Reality 00:42:20 The Need for Chaos: Why Some People Want to Watch the World Burn 00:44:30 The Long Game: Why Moral Progress Takes Sustained Commitment 00:47:29 Closing: Right Thing Right Now and Paying It Forward ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson