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Welcome to another episode of the Daily Stoic podcast. On Thursdays, we do double duty not just reading our daily meditation,

but also reading a passage from the book The Daily Stoic,

the Daily Stoic, 366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living, which I wrote my wonderful co-author and collaborator, Steve Enhancelman.

And so today, we'll give you a quick meditation from one of the stoics from Epititus Markis Relius, Seneca,

and some analysis for me, and then we send you out into the world to do your best to turn these words into works.

You are not as beloved as you think. It's easy to let self importance set in. Look at the car they sent for you. Look how big your offices. Look at all the people who report to you.

Look at the awards you've won. Look at the recognition you've gotten. You're a pillar of your community. You're the best in your field.

Marcus felt this poll. Seneca did to Cato and Poseidonius as well. How could they not? They were important. They were respected. They were a cut above the rest.

Ego was a natural temptation for them as it is for you, as it is for anyone in a position of leadership or influence, which is why we have to actively work against it to remind ourselves that we're not nearly so popular or special as we think.

What would people say if I die Napoleon once asked his staff as they fell over themselves with compliments and assurances of his indispensability, he corrected them. They would say,

Napoleon knew that as a conqueror, he rode the razor's edge. He knew that the mob he'd rode into office could ride him out just as quickly.

And more importantly, he knew that you have to look past the trappings of success. You have to ignore the flatterers and dismiss the sycophants if you want to have any chance of surviving your time at the top without spending all of it looking over your shoulder.

Marcus reminded himself that on his deathbed, there'd be people happy to see him go and it made him a better ruler as a result. Ego is the enemy pride. Go with before the fall. Self importance is a lie.

Prepare for the storm. This is the true athlete, the person in rigorous training against false impressions.

Remain firm you who suffer. Don't be kidnapped by your impressions. The struggle is great. The task divine to gain mastery, freedom, happiness and tranquility.

Epic Titus' discourse is 218. It's cool how that works, right? That's 218 in the discourses and today is February 18th.

Epic Titus used the metaphor of a storm saying that our impressions were not unlike extreme weather that can catch us and whirless about.

When we get worked up or passionate about an issue, we can relate to that. But let's think about the role of weather in modern times.

Today we have four casters and experts who can fairly accurately predict storm patterns.

Today we're defenseless against a hurricane only if we refuse to prepare or heed the warnings. If you don't have a plan, if we've never learned how to put up storm windows, we will be at the mercy of these external and internal elements.

We're still puny humans compared with 100 miles per hour winds, but we have the advantage of being able to prepare, being able to struggle against them in a new way.

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