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Welcome to the Daily Stoke. For each day, we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living good 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 DailyStoic.com.

You have the power to straighten your back. One of the most interesting themes in the history of Stoicism is just how the Stokes responded to tyrants and to adversity.

There was Kato refusing to just roll over and let Caesar destroy the Republic to which Kato had dedicated his life.

There was Thrasia, defying Nero. Nero can kill me, but he cannot harm me, he said. There was agrippinous, shrugging off exile, refusing to kneel to anyone who wanted him to.

There was Marcus Aurelius, who stayed in Rome even as it was ravaged by the plague, who served with great dedication even when his health failed in later years.

There was James Stockdale in that prison camp in Vietnam, unbreakable, defiant, dignified despite all his powerlessness.

This is what Stoicism is about. It's that iron backbone, that strength of conviction, that sense of duty and purpose that makes it impossible to do anything but stand up that will never accept less than it's due.

People with that power end up changing the world regardless of how entrenched or overwhelming their enemies are.

Martin Luther King Jr. captured it perfectly when he said, whenever men and women straighten their backs up, he said, they are going somewhere because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent.

That's the question for you today and for all of us fighting for something trying to make change. Are we going to straighten up and stand up or are we going to bend and give in?

Are we going to let them ride us or are we going to refuse to roll over? We have the power.

Let's use it. Hey everyone, we've seen how much you've loved the Daily Stoke challenges and so we released a new product that will help you challenge yourself all year round.

It's the Daily Stoke Challenge deck. It's got 30 days of challenges, physical cards, and an awesome box that will test your strength, your willpower and help you become better you.

Each challenge card comes with a great stoke quote and a cool picture. It's a great gift for the holidays for any time of the year. We know you're going to love it.

You can buy the Daily Stoke Challenge deck now at dailystoke.com slash store.

Hey, 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 Wondering Plus in Apple podcasts.

Entrepreneur Phil Knight started a company called Blue Ribbon Sports on the strength of what he called a crazy idea that American joggers needed better running shoes and that they pay top dollar to get them.

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, host of Wondering Show Business Movers. We tell the true stories of business leaders who risked it all, the critical moments that define their journey and the ideas that transform the way we live our lives.

In our latest series, Phil Knight sets out to build an empire by importing athletic shoes from overseas in Japan. But in 1971, a dispute with a Japanese manufacturer almost brings Blue Ribbon's growth to a screeching halt.

In this moment of crisis, Phil bets the future of his company on a big move. He creates an in-house brand and takes control of the production of his product. Following this bold new direction, Phil ultimately creates one of the most recognizable and successful companies in the world, Nike.

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