Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast. On Friday we do double duty not just reading our daily meditation, but also reading a passage from the Daily Stoic, my book, 366 meditations on wisdom,

perseverance in the art of living, which I wrote with my wonderful collaborator,

translator, and literary agent, Stephen Hanselman.

So today, it will give you a quick meditation from the Stoics

with some analysis from me, and then we'll send you out

into the world to turn these words in to works.

You don't want to rule the world.

It seems like it would be incredible to have that power to wield

that kind of influence to possess that kind of wealth. It seems fun, honestly.

But we talked about this recently. ruling the world is not great. The evidence bears this out. In lives of the Stoics,

we tell the story of a haunting meeting between Posidonius and Marius, when Marius during the seventh

Consul ship of Rome was on his deathbed. Marius during the seventh consulship of Rome was on his deathbed.

Marius was powerful but pathetic, his success having destroyed his soul, stripping him of happiness

and the possibility of peace.

Marcus Aurelius would have known this story. In meditations he takes pains to remind himself that the cost of becoming Alexander the Great is not worth it.

That few survive it. Power and wealth, these things change a person. Command is

lonely and isolating, disorienting, and corrosive. These are not environments

conducive to

virtue. They are not fantasies. They are nightmares. We are lucky that destiny has not made us

sovereigns even in modern times. Just ask King Charles what is childhood is like.

But we are still ambitious, still have dreams of extreme wealth and power and

influence, as if it actually serves the people who get it well, as if it doesn't

...