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Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom every day life.

Each one of these passages is based on the 2000 year old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more you can visit us at DailyStoic.com.

Are you really that special? It must have been pretty surreal to be Marcus Aurelius. You grow up as a regular kid and then one day you're emperor.

Suddenly you have the power to deify your adopted stepfather. You can make this human being you knew and loved into a god. This having the power to make someone a god as Marcus also did for his wife mean that you are a god. Certainly many Romans thought so.

It's the kind of power that can go to your head and that's what's so remarkable about Marcus Aurelius. He seemed to actively work to make sure that that didn't happen.

He talked about resisting the draw of imperialization. He practiced those contemptuous expressions that were designed to make the important trappings of power seem insignificant.

This cloak he said is just a regular cloak died with shellfish blood. That's how the Romans made the color purple. Look at how few people remember the names of the previous emperors he points out. Think about how quickly you will be forgotten.

This was the right thing to do because yes the emperors were famous. Yes they held enormous power and wealth. But were they really that special? At a quencome the Roman camp where Marcus Aurelius wrote large chunks of meditations.

Archaeologists have uncovered a larger than life limestone statue of an emperor in Atoga. At first glance it looks like the head was broken off.

But a closer inspection reveals that the head was designed to be replaceable. The statue was part of a shrine for the cult of the emperor. So they wanted to be able to swap the head out each time a new one took the throne.

That would humble you a bit wouldn't it? Sure you're special now but not forever. Not special enough to carve a permanent statue for anyway.

We should realize that we're all placeholders like Marcus. Sure we might have the fancy office now but eventually someone else will occupy it. Eventually the business will close up shop 2 and they will tear down the building and turn it into a parking lot. Sure you're the hot new artist or the trendiest influencer of the moment. But someone younger someone hungrier is coming right behind you.

Fortunes tend to last no more than a couple generations so yeah you're rich now but in a couple years it will all be gone. That's just life. We are all ephemeral in the big picture. It's not that knowing this makes everything worthless. It just means that nothing is worth inflating your ego about nothing justifies thinking you are better or more important than other people. We're all just passing through.

For the last year I've been hard at work on my newest book a way to tell the incredible story of the life of Marcus Aurelius. 2000 years ago Marcus Aurelius was plucked from obscurity to become the Emperor of Rome. What he did, who he was, what he learned, something we can all learn from.

And now that book is available in an illustrated form told for all ages. It's called The Boy Who Would Be King. It's by me Ryan Holliday. I wrote it in the depths of the pandemic not unlike the one Marcus Aurelius lived through the Antenine Plague.

This beautifully handcrafted book which I am so proud of is available for pre-order now. It's 100 pages published entirely by me and my company. It's printed here in the United States and it has some amazing color illustrations from the great Victor Uhaas.

And as a special bonus if you order the book now or before March 9th 2021 I'll give you the audiobook for free. I went all out recording this awesome audiobook. I can't wait for you to see it. We have a bunch of different voice over actors. There's an even a version of me reading with my kids.

Just check it out at store.dailystoke.com or got a daily stoke.com slash king. I can't wait for you to read this awesome timeless fable for all ages. I know it'll make a great gift and I know you and your family will get a lot out of it.

So check it out. The boy who would became available for pre-order now.

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