Episode 004 Ryan Holiday

Summary

• Ryan Holiday encountered stoicism in college when he asked Dr. Drew Pinsky for book recommendations
• Marcus Aurelius wrote Meditations while he was emperor in his 30s and 40s
• Ryan Holiday read hundreds of books and found mentors to learn from in real life
• Philosophy is about solving the problems of life practically, not theoretically
• Stoicism is popular during times of difficulty and has had resurgences during the American Revolution, Industrial Revolution, Enlightenment, Renaissance, and Roman Empire decline
• Stoicism is an operating system for making better decisions in life.
• The trifecta of Stoicism includes Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca.
• Ryan Holiday leans towards Seneca and Marcus Aurelius for their practical advice and clear writing.
• Marcus Aurelius was the most powerful man on Earth and wrote notes to himself about being a good person and not taking advantage of his power.
• Epictetus is more lecturebased and religious, which is not as relevant to nonreligious people.
• Stoicism is not about feeling no pain or joy, but rather keeping an even keel and having optimism.
• Ryan Holiday discussed the importance of stoicism and how it is connected to being happy and fulfilled.
• He discussed how Seneca practiced poverty and enjoyed his wealth while he had it, but never felt like it was integral to his survival.
• Ryan discussed his mentors, Tucker Max and Robert Green, and how he connected with them.
• He discussed how mentorships don't have to be official relationships, and that anyone can be a mentor.
• He discussed how Jack Canfield helped him become a published author.
• He discussed how he used volunteering to meet people and take on more responsibility.
• Ryan Holiday is a 26 year old author who has written three books
• He has had mentors such as Jack Canfield and Ed Byrd
• He recommends people ask small, easy to answer questions of potential mentors, rather than asking them to commit to a formal mentorship
• He looks to historical figures such as Ulysses S. Grant, John D. Rockefeller, Richard Feynman, and Cyrus the Great for inspiration
• He also looks to fictional characters such as Sammy from What Makes Sammy Run? and Zorba from Zorba the Greek for cautionary tales
• He attributes his success to his parents, mentors, and having a head start on others
• Ryan Holiday dropped out of college at 19 and attributes much of his success to Stoicism
• He believes that obstacles are opportunities to prove oneself and that working hard is a part of being human
• He runs almost every day and does CrossFit two days a week and swims one day a week
• His recommended reading list includes: Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller by Ron Chernow, How to Live by Sarah Bakewell, The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King, Edison: A Biography by Matthew Josephson, and Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph Over Adversity
• His morning routine includes waking up between 7:30 and 8:00 and avoiding checking emails
• Wake up early to be more productive
• Eat the same breakfast every day
• Write a list of 57 tasks on an index card the night before
• Avoid meetings and phone calls as much as possible
• Use email instead of phone calls when possible
• Writing is not the scarce skill, having something interesting to say is
• Outline and sketch out ideas before writing
• Focus on bringing something new to the table
• Be honest and vulnerable in writing
• Ryan Holiday believes that Ken Burns is the best documentary maker and John McPhee is the best nonfiction writer.
• Holiday's goals for the year include getting married and focusing on internal goals such as reducing stress, being kind and forgiving, and being happy.
• Holiday's advice for becoming a writer is to live an interesting life and gain perspective and knowledge to pass along through writing.
• Holiday's first book, "Trust Me I'm Lying," was based on his experiences in marketing and his studies and experiences in a high pressure environment.
• Ryan Holiday believes that having lived and experienced the world is essential for communicating intangibles in fiction writing.
• George Plimpton popularized participatory journalism, where he would experience something and then write about it.
• Financial security is having enough money to buy what you want when you want it, but also keeping your tastes under control.
• Paul Graham's quote about keeping your identity small is relevant to financial success.
• Ryan Holiday believes that basic financial responsibility and management is important for making money go further.
• Happiness does not increase with income over $70,000.
• Warren Buffet's quote about being greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy is relevant.
• Ryan Holiday believes that it is important to not correlate financial success with worth as a person.
• When curating friends, it is important to keep toxic, unhealthy people out of your life.
• Ryan Holiday values people who make him laugh and who he can exist in the present moment with.
• His theme song or ring entrance music would be something from Iron Maiden.
• If he could change one thing about himself, it would be his voice.
• When he thinks of the word "successful," he thinks of John D. Rockefeller.
• If he could study a new subject with any expert in the world, he would study archaeology.
• His advice to his younger self would be to relax.
• He believes that dropping out of college is not a black and white decision and that it is important to take risks.
• He advises that people who should not drop out of college are those who do not know what they want to do and need the certification that college provides.
• Ryan Holiday recommends not dropping out of college unless there is an opportunity that can only be done outside of college.
• Ryan Holiday's favorite drinks are Topo Chico, soda water with lemon and lime, and cider.
• Ryan Holiday's favorite people to follow on Twitter are Fake Jeff Jarvis, Felix Salmon, and Maria Popova.
• Ryan Holiday's favorite websites are Feedly, TaNehisi Coates, Mark Cuban's blog, Reddit, and Brain Pickings.
• Ryan Holiday's favorite subReddits are "Stoicism," "Philosophy," "History Porn," "Ask Historians," "Today, I Learned," "First World Problems," and "Reddit Books."
• Ryan Holiday prefers dogs to cats and believes they make people better.
• Ryan Holiday's favorite book to give as a gift is Meditations and his second favorite is The War of Art.
• Ryan Holiday's favorite movie is Gladiator and he has yet to watch Shaun of the Dead.
• Ryan Holiday's celebrity crush is Nicolas Cage.
• Ryan Holiday's only cooking skill is making bacon.
• Ryan Holiday's circle of advisers would include three living people.
• Ryan Holiday has a circle of advisers and elders to help him with major decisions, including Robert Greene, Tim Ferriss, and his fiancee.
• His fiancee is particularly helpful in understanding his weaknesses and tendencies.
• People can find Ryan Holiday online at ryanholiday.net, @RyanHoliday on Twitter, and in his books The Obstacle is the Way, Trust Me, I'm Lying, and Growth Hacker Marketing.
• He also writes weekly for Thought Catalog and is the editoratlarge of the New York Observer.