This Is The Most Valuable Real Estate In The World | Keeping "The News" In Check

The Daily Stoic

Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures

Education, 694393, Daily Stoic, Society & Culture, Stoic, Stoicism, Self-improvement, Business, Stoic Philosophy, Philosophy, Ryan Holiday

4.6 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We study philosophy to learn how to protect this real estate between our ears—and you could argue there's no better teacher than Epictetus.

💡 We designed our How To Read Epictetus (A Daily Stoic Guide) as a personal field guide —part book club, part masterclass, part daily practice. It’s designed to help you not just read the words of Epictetus, but live them—to turn his timeless wisdom into real change in your own life and the lives of those around you.

And if you get the guide before July 26th, you’ll receive a private invitation to an exclusive LIVE Q&A with Ryan Holiday, where he’ll go deep on all things Epictetus, Stoicism, and how to apply these ideas right now, in today’s world. Head to dailystoic.com/epictetuscourse to learn more and get your book, guide, and bundle today!

👉 Get How To Read Epictetus (A Daily Stoic Guide) & all other Daily Stoic courses for FREE when you join Daily Stoic Life | dailystoic.com/life

📚 Turn off the news and read these books instead:

Trust Me I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

The Image by Daniel Boorstin

The Brass Check by Upton Sinclair

📕 Grab a signed copy of The Daily Stoic Journal: 366 Days of Writing and Reflection on The Art of Living by Ryan Holiday

📖 Preorder the final book in Ryan Holiday's The Stoic Virtues Series: "Wisdom Takes Work": https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/wisdom-takes-work

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a stoic-inspired meditation
0:11.7	designed to help you find strength and insight and wisdom into everyday life.
0:18.8	Each one of these episodes is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of
0:24.2	history's greatest men and women to help you learn from them, to follow in their example,
0:33.0	and to start your day off with a little dose of courage and discipline and justice and wisdom.
0:40.3	For more, visit daily stoic.com.
0:58.6	People spend a lot of money to buy nice land.
1:00.6	They want to be in a good neighborhood with good schools.
1:01.8	They want to have a beautiful view.
1:10.2	Just look at what happened during the pandemic when people rush to outbid each other for houses outside of major cities because they wanted safety and space and a change of scenery.
1:12.2	For centuries, armies have clashed over territory, some of it valuable, some of it not, willing to pay in blood for control
1:17.2	over a piece of dirt. Meanwhile, some of the most valuable real estate in the world sits ignored.
1:23.2	What's that? Well, we referred to it in the girl who would be free is the empire between your ears.
1:28.4	How many people spend an enormous amount to keep up their estates but let their brain fall into disrepair?
1:33.6	How many of them protect their property, as Seneca said, but let people waste their time or influence their choices?
1:39.6	Yes, land is valuable. They aren't making any more of it after all. And yes, you want to have a roof
1:44.4	over your head. And yes, nations must protect their sovereign territory. But the Stoics remind us
1:49.4	that the greatest empire is within us, between our ears, inside that mushy muscle that is our
1:54.8	brain. You have inherited an incredibly valuable piece of property. Will you rule it and cultivate it? Will you rule over it?
2:04.2	Let's hope so. This is obviously the idea in The Girl Who Would Be Free, which is about Epictetus.
2:10.7	Epictetus having so much taken from him, having so little control, in some cases, even over his physical body,
2:16.2	that the greatest empire, the empire between his years is really all that's left. And that's what we've been exploring this July here at Daily Stoic. We're calling it Epictetus Month, a deep dive into the life, the lessons, and the legacy of this incredible teacher. And if you've been curious about Epictetus, well, then we would love for you to join us.
	...

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