Persuasion Expert: "You Can Manipulate Yourself Into Doing Hard Things" | Jay Heinrichs (PT. 1)
The Daily Stoic
Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures
4.6 • 4.7K Ratings
🗓️ 5 November 2025
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
You’re not lazy, you’re just losing the debate in your own head. In today’s episode, Ryan talks with Jay Heinrichs, bestselling author of Thank You for Arguing and one of the world’s leading experts on rhetoric and persuasion. Jay has spent decades studying how we influence others, but in this conversation, he flips that lens inward to show how we can use the same tools to influence ourselves.
Ryan and Jay talk about the fascinating overlap between Stoicism and rhetoric, how Marcus Aurelius used rhetoric to his advantage, and why self-persuasion might actually be more powerful than raw willpower. They discuss the rhetorical tricks Jay used on himself and what the best tools are for getting unstuck.
Jay Heinrichs is a New York Times bestselling author of Thank You For Arguing and is a persuasion and conflict consultant. Middlebury College has named him a Professor of the Practice in Rhetoric and Oratory. Jay has conducted influence strategy and training for clients as varied as Kaiser Permanente, Harvard, the European Speechwriters Association, Southwest Airlines, and NASA. He has overseen the remake and staff recruiting of more than a dozen magazines.
Pick up a copy of Jay’s latest book Aristotle’s Guide to Self-Persuasion: How Ancient Rhetoric, Taylor Swift, and Your Own Soul Can Help You Change Your Life
Follow Jay on Instagram @JayHeinrichs and check out more of his work at www.jayheinrichs.com
🎟️ Come see Ryan Holiday LIVE: https://www.dailystoiclive.com/
🏛 The 2025 LIVE session of Stoicism 101: Ancient Philosophy For Your Actual Life starts November 10th. Don’t miss your chance to join us! Read on for more about the unique opportunities you get from joining the LIVE course.
📖 Wisdom Takes Work by Ryan Holiday is out NOW! Grab a copy here: https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/wisdom-takes-work
🎥 Watch the video episodes on The Daily Stoic YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DailyStoic/videos
🎙️ Follow The Daily Stoic Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoicpodcast
✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail
🏛 Get Stoic inspired books, medallions, and prints to remember these lessons at the Daily Stoic Store: https://store.dailystoic.com/
📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | If you're still overpaying for wireless, it's time to say yes to saying no. At MintMobil, |
| 0:06.5 | their favorite word is no, no contracts, no monthly bills, no overages, no hidden fees, no BS. And that's |
| 0:13.6 | why I said yes to making the switch and getting premium wireless for 15 bucks a month. Ditch overpriced |
| 0:19.5 | wireless and those jaw-dropping monthly bills, |
| 0:22.5 | unexpected overages, and hidden fees. |
| 0:24.8 | Plans start at just 15 bucks a month at Mint. |
| 0:27.8 | All plans come with high-speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered over the nation's |
| 0:32.9 | largest 5G network. |
| 0:35.0 | We actually just got a Mint Mobile plan for the office phone that we |
| 0:38.1 | used to post all the Daily Stoic Instagram's tweets and YouTube shorts. I'm signing up for stuff. |
| 0:43.3 | I have to put a phone number on there. I don't want them to call me personally. That's the |
| 0:46.4 | phone I use. The price is unbeatable and the service is exactly what you'd expect from any big |
| 0:51.3 | brands. Ready to say yes to saying no, make the switch at mintmobile.com slash stoic. |
| 0:57.0 | That's mintmobile.com slash stoic. |
| 0:59.7 | Up front payment of $45 required, equivalent to $15 per month. |
| 1:04.4 | Limited time, new customer offer it to the first three months only. |
| 1:08.5 | Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on an unlimited plan. Taxes and fees |
| 1:13.6 | apply. See MintMobile for detail. Your first great love story is free when you sign up for a free 30-day |
| 1:19.6 | trial at audible.co.uk.uk.wondery. That's audible.com.uk. Look, ads are annoying. They are to be avoided, if at all possible. |
| 1:32.7 | I understand as a content creator why they need to exist. That's why I don't begrudge them when they appear on the shows that I listen to. |
| 1:42.6 | But again, as a person who has to pay a podcast producer and has to pay for |
| 1:46.8 | equipment and for the studio and the building that the studio is in, it's a lot to keep something |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.