Over the past several years, we've explored in the Stoic Virtues series each of the virtues—courage, temperance, justice, wisdom—and how to apply these ancient ideals in our modern world.
With the upcoming release of Wisdom Takes Work, the fourth and final book of the series, we wanted to offer something special, something we’ve never done before…
Wisdom is not a destination. It’s a method—a practice, a lifelong commitment to learning, questioning, and improving. It’s acquiring knowledge from mentors, studying history, and immersing yourself in books. It’s stepping outside your comfort zone and engaging in deep conversations. It’s acknowledging mistakes, challenging preconceptions, and embracing humility. Most of all, it’s always fighting to remain a student, no matter how old or accomplished we are.
In a recent video on theDaily Stoic YouTube channel, Ryan Holiday shares Stoic lessons from his recent family vacation to the birthplace of Stoicism in Ancient Greece:
“Marcus Aurelius comes to Greece to see the ruins, to see the place where it happened a long time ago. He is turning to the past. This is civilization after civilization, generation after generation. But now, we compress it all into this one period. As if each one of those people wasn’t living in the newest time that had ever existed. The past is happening now. We are living in the past…We are living through history—always.”
In a recent episode of The Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan Holiday speaks with historian and author James Romm on why walking away from a tyrant’s court is much harder than it looks and the timeless trap that ensnared some of history’s greatest minds:
“The philosopher has ideal notions of what politics is about as a republic. The republic enshrines those ideals in the highest way. But when you hit the ground, you hit the ground splattering—things don’t work out so neatly.”
Your Language Journey Starts Here—With Massive Savings
Beat the end-of-summer blues with a habit that lasts. Babbel’s bite-size lessons fit effortlessly into your routine, building language skills that stick. In just three weeks, start having real conversations and expand your world beyond familiar circles.
Lifetime access to 14 languages is only $199—the best deal of the year—giving you the freedom to learn on your own terms. One lesson at a time, master the art of steady, lasting progress.
