Hey, prime members. You can listen to the Daily Stoke Podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today.

Welcome to the Daily Stoke 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 DailyStoke.com.

You can do this. You can do this. Marcus Aurelius didn't believe he was suited to be emperor. In fact, when he received the news of Hadrian's plans to have Antoninus Pius adopt him and place him in turn in line for the throne,

Marcus broke down in tears. There was no one he revered more than Antoninus. How could he possibly live up to the task of following in these footsteps?

Today you would say that Marcus was struggling with what we call imposter syndrome. It's a very real thing that many of us wrestle with. Am I good enough? Can I do this? Are the people going to find out that I don't have what it takes?

Neil Gaiman talks about this in his famous commencement speech that any moment now they will discover you. It holds so many people back. It was so much time as if anyone is thinking about discovering you.

No, they're thinking about themselves. This came up on an episode of the DailyStoke podcast that we did with Stephen Pressfield, the author of one of my favorite books, The War of Art and Turning Pro.

He said, I don't think there really is such a thing as being an imposter. You're just on the spectrum of getting better and getting better.

But I do think that we're sort of led to a calling or something that we do. The trick to me is self-belief. It's just believing you're not an imposter. Who says you're an imposter?

That's the voice of resistance in your head trying to sabotage you. You're being called in some sort of a way like a dream. And you wouldn't be called to that if you weren't capable somehow of enacting it.

The night of his adoption after his breakdown about whether he was ready, Marcus Aurelius supposedly had a dream. In the dream he found that his shoulders were made of ivory. It was a sign. It was not an imposter. He could do it.

And guess what? He did do it better than anyone in history. Well, your shoulders are made of ivory too. As Stephen said, you wouldn't be called to do what you're doing if you weren't ready. You can't do this.

You're not an imposter. Do not be afraid. Do the work. Show us what you're capable of.

What makes Marcus great are his teachers and the early influences in his life. Roosticus and T'Ninus Pius. I mean, the whole opening section of meditations is him really acknowledging the people who were formative and helping him become a man that philosophy wanted him to become.

And that's the story I tell in my new book, The Boy Who Would Be King. It's an illustrated fable about the early years of Marcus Aurelius. How this little boy was selected from obscurity and ruled the world and did so without being corrupted by it. He really did become the man that philosophy wanted him to be.

And that book is now out. It's available everywhere. I've been working on this book for the last year. It came out of the pandemic for me. Something I've wanted to do for a really long time. You can check it out. Go to dailystoke.com slash king.

We can pick up the boy who would be king anywhere. Books are sold, including on Amazon. But if you buy it from us at dailystoke.com slash king, you get the audio book for free, which has me reading it and a bunch of the cool people. So check it out. The boy who would be king. And we should learn to lead like Marcus Aurelius. And we should try to not just make stoicism proud, but we should try to make the example of Marcus Aurelius proud.

And the prime members, you can listen to the daily stoke early and add free on Amazon music. Download the Amazon music app today, or you can listen early and add free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts.

Amazon Pickup is a convenient and secure way to collect your Amazon parcels from locations near you. Help keep gifts a surprise when you choose to pick up from an Amazon locker or counter. Passels can be picked up on your schedule, and you can rest assured knowing that your packages are kept safe and secure.

Plus there's no additional cost to use an Amazon locker or counter. Find a convenient pick up point near your home, work or the places you're already visit. Amazon Pickup is the worry free option for the times when home delivery isn't ideal.

To find your nearest pick up location or to learn more, go to amazon.co.uk slash Wondry. That's amazon.co.uk slash WON DERY.

...