This is the 10% Happier Podcast.

I'm Dan Harris.

Hello, my fellow suffering beings. How are we doing today? Today we're talking to a guy who has quickly become one of my favorite return guests.

Ryan Holiday, the stoic philosopher and uber prolific author on all things, stoicism.

Today we're talking about how to be wise or how to cultivate wisdom.

As you'll hear me joke to Ryan, wisdom is kind of a funny term because it's hard to define and often either ungraspable or totally confusing.

But actually, as Ryan talks about in his new book, which is called Wisdom Takes Work, there are tons of things you can do that will improve your life out of which wisdom may well emerge. So in this conversation, we talk about how to talk to the dead.

He'll explain what that means. The value of asking questions, including impertinent questions,

how to create a second brain, how to find a teacher for yourself, how to manage your ego and navigate your blind spots, how to get rid of mental junk, how to cool off your brain, how not to be a know-it-all, how to achieve focus through having a morning routine or any kind of routine, depending on what time of day works for you, how to seek out criticism, how to embrace complexity, how to learn

how to die, and much more. A little bit more on Ryan. Before we dive in here, Ryan Holiday has

written many, many, many bestselling books, including The Daily Stoic, The Obstacle is the Way,

ego is the enemy, and stillness is the key. He's got a popular podcast

called The Daily Stoic, and again, he's got a new book called Wisdom Takes Work. Real quick,

before we dive in here, don't forget to check out my new app. It's called 10% with Dan Harris,

and you can sign up at Danharis.com, the most egotistical web address in the world there's a free 14-day

trial if you want to check out the app before you buy it let me just tell you though we've got an

amazing and growing library of guided meditations from amazing teachers including people like

joseph goldstein we also do weekly live video meditation and Q&A sessions

so you can get your questions answered. And we've set it up so that you can connect with

your fellow meditators and create relationships so you don't feel so alone in this weird thing

called meditation. We'll get started with Ryan Holiday right after this.

When you're in that level up mindset for your business, it's wild how much the basic stuff matters, like how you talk to customers and keep your team on the same page.

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