Ryan Holiday: Do the Right Thing, Right Now| Stoic Practices For Your Daily Life

Michael Gervais (0:00)

Hey, Dr. Mike here. Before we jump into this week's episode, I'm here with gymnastics icon and five-time Olympic medalist, including the gold medal in the all-around, Nastia Lukin.

And we have a really exciting announcement to make.

Nastia Liukin (0:14)

Yes, we do. As I'm sure you know, the Olympics are right around the corner.

In this year, Mike and I will be hosting a daily series streamed directly from Paris, called The Game Inside the Games.

Michael Gervais (0:25)

We are so stoked. In this series, we'll unlock the psychology of pivotal, often unseen, moments during the games that can make or break an athlete's Olympic dream.

Nastia Liukin (0:36)

And we're going to give you an in-depth view of the Olympic journey, emphasizing the human behind the athlete, and what it takes to navigate one of the most pressure-packed, competitive environments in the world.

Michael Gervais (0:48)

It's going to be epic. To tune into the series and receive updates, make sure you're following Finding Mastery on your favorite podcast player, and subscribe to our newsletter at findingmastery.com forward slash newsletter.

Nastia Liukin (1:00)

See you in Paris for The Game Inside the Games. The Game Inside the Games.

Ryan Holiday (1:07)

People talk about radical candor, like it is important to be honest, but I think a lot of times people are seeking out these ideas because it's an excuse to be an asshole.

Stoicism was a philosophy of personal resilience and toughness and endurance and individuality, but it was also an ethical framework for living. And you can't just pick the first parts and ignore these other parts.

Michael Gervais (1:37)

Welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I am your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and training a high-performance psychologist. Our guest today is back for the third time. And with Ryan Holiday, each conversation seems to be a little bit better than the last.

For those who aren't familiar with Ryan, he's a best-selling author, host of the Daily Stoic podcast, and a thought leader who has become a leading advocate for modern stoicism. For years now, Ryan has been on a journey to reveal how the teachings of ancient stoic philosophers can integrate into our modern lives. We're here today to discuss his latest book, Right Thing Right Now, which emphasizes the virtue of justice. And he challenges us all to live ethically and authentically with purpose. Ryan's ability to turn ancient philosophical concepts into practical advice makes his work a unique asset for leaders and high performers in any field. In this episode, we discuss how the principles of stoicism support compassion and empathy, the importance of open dialogue, and the balance between authenticity and audience expectations.

I can't wait for you to hear Ryan's latest insights into living a purposeful, ethical life. So with that, let's dive right into this conversation with Ryan Holiday.

Ryan, I'm so stoked to have this conversation. It feels like it was just the other day that I was on your podcast on The Daily Stoic, talking about my new book, and it's really awesome to have you on our podcast here to talk about your new book, Right Thing Right Now. And so before we jump into like what you've been writing about and thinking about, last time that I was on your show, you released-

Ryan Holiday (3:23)

Yeah, you were sitting right here.

Michael Gervais (3:24)

Yeah, right in your studio. It was awesome. Like I love, it feels really warm and safe in your studio with all those books. It's really stimulating. So nice job on creating that feeling for your guests. But you know, like you released an eight minute clip on social. When I first saw that come through, I was like, eight minutes.

Like, how would anybody watch an eight minute clip on social? And then it was like jammed with discussions and comments.

And it was cool. I mean, basically it was me saying, hey, listen, stoicism is awesome, but I feel like it's left out compassion and emotion in the narrative here. And you said, oh, it's kind of what I'm writing about.

Ryan Holiday (4:02)

Yes.

Michael Gervais (4:04)

Why do you think, first of all, why do you think that that clip happened in the way it happened?

Ryan Holiday (4:09)

Well, you know what, one of the things I think was really good about it and that I think we should do more about it, we should do more on just generally as a society is you and I were talking and you said, hey, you know where I think you and I might disagree? And then we had a really nice discussion.

It turned out actually, as often happens, we agreed way more than we thought we did.