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We’re busy. We’re tired. We have so much to do. We had dreams once, sure, but they slowly deflated. The mortgage, the kids, the job, checking our phones, scrolling, watching TV, the hopeless stories on the news—that’s how we fill our days. It’s a slow downward spiral that Bruce Springsteen sang about in “Racing in the Street:”

If you’re not that guy, you at least know him or her. They’re a mainstay of the modern world. Overworked, overtired, and under-appreciated. Social media is to blame, right? The capitalist pigs are responsible, yeah? It’s because of the 24-hour news cycle.

Certainly none of those things help, but the truth is that this is a timeless problem. It goes back much further than Bruce or even this century. Because Seneca spoke about those guys, too. “How much time has been lost to groundless anguish,” he writes, “greedy desire, the charms of society; how little is left to you from your own store of time.” Wake up, he says. Stop sleepwalking. Stop giving away what you can never get back. That’s from his essay On the Shortness of Life (copies available at The Painted Porch), in which he tried to get the reader—as Bruce Springsteen does in his best songs—to “realize that you're dying before your time."

We only get one life. Once time ticks by, it never comes back. Yes, each of us will die. That’s a fact. But for the moment, we’re alive. Which is why we have to live. Which is why we have to protect our time, our dreams, our spirit. We can’t give it up piece by piece. We can’t start dying before our time.

We have to live. Now. While we still can.

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It was never meant to be seen by prying eyes. It certainly wasn’t meant to be published as a book. It was written in an antiquated, foreign language, full of ancient philosophy that, until recently, few had ever heard of. And the man doing the writing lived a life unimaginably different and distant from yours.

Then why bother reading a book like that? How could it possibly affect or improve your life?

Yet it is this book that Frederick the Great reportedly rode into battle with in his saddlebags, as did four-star General James Mattis, who carried it with him on deployments throughout the Middle East. It is this book that American presidents have read and raved about. It is this book that Robert Louis Stevenson, the great novelist, described as unlike any other. It is this book that Beatrice Webb, who helped to found the London School of Economics and created the concept of collective bargaining, called her “manual of devotion.” That actors and musicians and entrepreneurs are still reading today.

So why has Meditations by Marcus Aurelius endured and influenced across so many centuries? And what makes its ancient wisdom still relevant to the modern problems we face today?

Because in Meditations, Marcus attempts to answer those questions we all ask› ourselves at some point: What is the good life and how do I live it? How do I stop running from pain and misfortune and start dealing with my problems? How do I learn to treat other people better when they can be so petty, miserable, and annoying—and how do I learn to treat myself better, too?

Marcus answers these questions with great clarity and wisdom in Meditations. In fact, he gives us an entire “design for living,” writes Gregory Hays in his translation of the book. Marcus gives us a set of rules and guidelines to live our lives by, practical exercises that made him a better person and can make you one, too.

That's why people have read Meditations for the last two thousand years. That’s why it’s a favorite of presidents and prisoners, men and women, soldiers and activists, entrepreneurs and everyday people.

Just as Heraclitus says you can never step in the same river twice—because the river has changed and you have also changed—Meditations isn’t a book you read just once and understand. Because while it's easy to read, it’s the work of a lifetime to explore its vast depths. That’s what we’ve been working so hard to do here at Daily Stoic over the last decade—trying to make the wisdom of this enduring book more accessible and approachable to everyone.

We’ve spent thousands of hours with Marcus’s writings and the work of experts on Stoic philosophy to understand how we can use this wisdom to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.

That’s exactly why we created How To Read Meditations: A Daily Stoic Digital Guide, built for anyone who wants to go beyond reading Marcus’s words and actually live them. In 11 modules, you’ll go deeper into the text and learn takeaways you can apply to your life right away. It’s the companion we wish we’d had when we first started—part masterclass, part daily practice—designed to turn timeless wisdom into real change. And now, for Meditations Month, happening throughout the month of April to celebrate Marcus Aurelius's birthday (April 26th), we’re inviting you to work through it with us, alongside thousands of others around the world who are committed to living their lives with more intention and purpose.

Here’s the best way to get started: purchase the leatherbound edition of Meditations—a beautiful, heirloom-quality version of the book—and you’ll receive the digital guide, completely free. That includes all 11 modules, AND an invitation to a LIVE Q&A with Ryan Holiday, where he’ll take your questions on all things Meditations, Stoicism, and how to apply these ideas to your life right now, in today’s world.

Reading Marcus Aurelius can change your life, but only if you know how to read his work.

​Head here now to grab your Meditations book and guide bundle. Start living your life with more courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom by deepening your understanding of one of the most enduring books on life ever written. We’ll see you in there!

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There’s nothing wrong with success. There’s nothing wrong with power. There’s nothing wrong with living a nice life, with achievement or admiration.

Certainly many Stoics did precisely that. Seneca. Cato. Marcus Aurelius. They were important and well-known. They were admired. They were influential. But you know what? They should have shrugged all that off. They appreciate the success, but it wasn’t something they coveted. It may have impressed others, but it wasn’t how they defined themselves.

“The main thing, Binx,” Walter Wade says after receiving the most significant social honor in New Orleans in Walker Percy’s Stoicism-adjacent novel, The Moviegoer, “is to be humble, to make Golden Fleece and be humble about it.” It might have meant a lot to others, he was saying, but it didn’t mean anything to him.

That’s how we might assume Marcus Aurelius felt about a lot of what was thrown at him. In fact, one of the lines in Meditations (get the "How to Read Meditations" digital guide FREE when you purchase a leatherbound copy of Meditations this month only!) suggests as much, where he says he measures himself not by how many honors he’s received, but by how many he’s turned down. He didn’t make “Golden Fleece,” but did remind himself that the purple cloak of the emperor was nothing more than an ordinary one “dyed with shellfish blood.” Clearly, he still tried. Clearly, he was still active in the world. He just measured himself by his humility, by his indifference, more than he did by his achievement or status.

So must we. We can still try to climb the ladder of success. We can be powerful. We can live a nice life. The main thing is though, if you do this, be humble even so—humble even if you have achieved an impressive amount, even if you have done many impressive things.

P.S. April is Meditations Month here at Daily Stoic! This month only, get the How To Read Meditations (A Daily Stoic Digital Guide) for FREE when you buy our premium leatherbound edition of ​Meditations, unlocking access to the private community for Meditations discussion and an invitation to a LIVE Q&A call with Ryan Holiday when you purchase before April 26th. This is a rare opportunity to ask him your questions and go deep into the text that’s shaped his life more than any other—don't miss it!

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It should be the easiest book in the world to read.

It’s only a couple hundred pages and made up of short passages, making it easy to read in small increments. It’s written in a straightforward and accessible style without any complex philosophical jargon. And unlike most books, there’s no pretense, no performance, no intent to impress an audience.

It’s filled with topics that are universal and relevant—dealing with tough times, being nice to people, and waking up and getting to work even when you’d rather stay under the warm blankets.

And yet…

So many people struggle with and get frustrated by Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations…and they have ever since it was first discovered after the emperor’s death nearly twenty centuries ago. Just as we can imagine the first reader of Meditations trying to make sense of the private thoughts of this great man, people today have questions about where to start and what to take from it.

Which translation should I get? Should it be read cover-to-cover or is it better to approach it in bite-sized pieces? Do you read it once or multiple times? Did Marcus mean to come off so dark and dour? Why was Marcus writing? Is it important to know about Marcus’ circumstances and who he was writing for? Do you need to understand Stoicism to fully appreciate Meditations? What will I even get out of it?

And that’s exactly why we created How To Read Meditations: A Daily Stoic Digital Guide, built for anyone who wants to not only read and deeply reflect on Marcus’s words, but to actually live them. In 11 modules, you’ll go deeper into the text and gain tools you can apply to your life right away. It’s the companion we wish we’d had when we first started—part masterclass, part daily practice—designed to turn timeless wisdom into real change.

Now, for Meditations Month, we’re inviting you to work through it with us, alongside thousands of others around the world who are committed to living their lives with more intention and purpose.

The best way to get started? Purchase the leatherbound edition of Meditations and you’ll receive the How To Read Meditations: A Daily Stoic Digital Guide free, including all 11 modules, access to the private platform, and an invitation to a LIVE Q&A with Ryan Holiday.

​Head here now to grab your Meditations book and guide bundle and explore the rest of our Meditations Month collection.

Start living your life with more courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom by deepening your understanding of this timeless book.

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April is Meditations Month at Daily Stoic: Get our How To Read Meditations Digital Guide FREE when you buy the leatherbound edition of Meditations.

Our How To Read Meditations Digital Guide also unlocks access to our private community discussion and an invitation to a LIVE Q&A call with Ryan Holiday.

PASSAGE OF THE WEEK:

YOUTUBE TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK:

​The Stoic Path to Living Better Starts Here​

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This week on the Daily Stoic YouTube channel, Ryan takes us through the Stoic practice of Memento Mori—showing how you can actually change your life by thinking about death.

Subscribe to Daily Stoic YouTube

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PODCAST TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK:

​The Perspective Shift I Had in Australia (A Stoic Lesson)​

Why does everything feel so much worse when it’s happening close to you? In this episode, Ryan shares a simple shift he noticed while traveling in Australia that changed how he sees the news, stress, and everything happening around us.

🎙️ Listen to the full episode now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify​

Subscribe to Daily Stoic Podcast

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Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium—unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content coming soon at dailystoic.com/premium​

WHAT RYAN HOLIDAY IS READING:

— The Consolation of Philosophy by Ancius Boethius

​SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK:

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PASSAGE OF THE WEEK:

Read: They Don’t Know What’s Wrong​

YOUTUBE TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK:

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This week on the Daily Dad YouTube channel, Ryan shares practical, straightforward tips to help you become a better parent.

PODCAST TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK:

How do we get our kids to remember what we tell them? Find out on this episode of the Daily Dad Podcast.

Subscribe to Daily Dad Podcast

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WHAT RYAN HOLIDAY IS READING:

— The Consolation of Philosophy by Ancius Boethius

​SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK:

We don’t control what happens. We control what we see.
And if we live it long enough? Maybe they will, too.

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