Modern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World

Send us Fan MailWhat important truth do very few people agree with you on?In this episode of Modern Meditations, Bruce and JJ begin with Peter Thiel’s famous contrarian question: "What important truth do very few people agree with you on?" Then the conversation turns to a quieter problem: what do you do when you have already done everything you can?Drawing from Epictetus, a long wait for a bus, and the uncertainty surrounding a friend’s passport, Bruce explores a better question asked by Epictetus in the Enchiridion Book 10 for difficult moments:What faculty does this situation require from me?We then discuss  a framework for thinking about life in terms of stocks and flows—what we are trying to build, what scarce resources we are spending, and whether our attention, energy, time, and emotional capacity are actually serving the things we care about.Because more worry does not necessarily mean more love. More vigilance does not necessarily create more safety. And more effort does not always produce more progress.Sometimes wisdom means acting decisively.Sometimes it means courage, restraint, judgment, or patience.And sometimes the task is simply to become the world's best wait-er. 

Send us Fan MailAre you being a drama queen by writing your will prematurely? Or are you preparing well? How can you continue your life mission after life? Bruce got "Not Malaria" in Thailand and had a dramatic episode where he wrote his will and we discuss that.Then we go into how to continue choosing well when choices are limited. Epictetus gives us a great jumping off point in Enchiridion 9 to help us explore the idea of what is truly limited when choices are narrowed. We explore how to respond correctly when our choices are limited and where to direct and express those emotions in a healthy way that will leave us not embittered at others or reality. We leave off with what Seneca proffers us as the greatest reward for overcoming all things... Will it be a garland? Maybe a wreath or trumpet calls for silence in our name in a ceremonial proclamation? Spoiler: None of these! Also spoiler: It will be something far greater!

Send us Fan MailWhat if the  to peace isn't about controlling your life, but changing your relationship with reality?In this episode, we explore one of the most challenging ideas in Stoicism through a single line from Epictetus:"Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well."At first glance, it sounds like surrender. Lower your expectations. Stop caring. Accept mediocrity.But that's not what the Stoics meant.We'll explore the difference between giving up and giving your full effort without demanding a particular outcome. Along the way, we'll examine the psychology of control, the Stoic idea of "co-fated" events, and why your actions still matter—even if the future is ultimately outside your control.We'll also discuss:Why suffering often comes from resisting reality.The difference between acceptance and passivity.Locus of control, the illusion of control, and self-fulfilling prophecies.Marcus Aurelius on why labeling outcomes as "good" or "bad" leads to resentment.Practical examples from sports, everyday life, and my own experiences.The central idea is simple:Act as though everything depends on your effort. Accept that the outcome never did.When you stop demanding reality be different, you don't become passive—you become free.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Modern Meditations, we explore Chapter 7 of Epictetus’ Enchiridion, one of the most vivid and debated analogies in Stoicism.Using the image of a ship, a captain, and a shoreline full of distractions, Epictetus gives a framework for how to live while knowing everything can be taken from you at any moment. But what exactly is the “ship”? Is it death? Fate? Something else entirely?Justin and I break down competing interpretations, push the analogy to its limits, and wrestle with what it actually means to “be ready” when you’re called back. Along the way, we get into truffles, attachments, whether this idea is anti-stoic at its extreme, and what it looks like to live fully without wandering too far from what matters.This episode is about attention, detachment, and learning when to hold on and when to walk away without looking back.

Send us Fan MailIn this New Year’s special, we revisit On the Shortness of Life and come to a deeply encouraging conclusion:You’re not out of time, you’re just wasting it.We break down Seneca’s idea of the Preoccupied vs. the Thrifty Guardian, aka:the person who’s always waiting for something bettervs. the person who actually lives their lifeJustin shares the moment that left him crying in his car before work (don’t worry, he pulled it together and did great things), triggered by a song and the realization that:every relationship slowly fades… and sometimes you’re the one who left.We also introduce a powerful new life framework:The Home Depot Philosophy™Less thinking. More doing.That’s the power of the Home Depot.Along the way, we cover:why you lose the day waiting for the night, and the night fearing the morningwhy reading books is apparently controversial nowwhy Target might be a scam (and why we’re rooting for Walmart)and why your Instagram posts might just be… too poetic for the massesWe decode this (because Bruce's Instagram followers couldn't): fewer causes, more facesforget labels, remember namesWe wrap with the 2025 Aurelius Awards, where we highlight the highest ROI moments of the year. 

Send us Fan MailA horse can be proud of its own beauty. But if you’re proud of owning a beautiful horse, you’ve already confused what’s yours with what isn’t.In this episode, we break down Enchiridion 6 and the Stoic warning against borrowed pride, deriving self-worth from status, outcomes, or association. What is actually yours is far narrower. Your judgment, your choices, your discipline, your restraint.We bring in Gladiator as a case study. Maximus embodies owned excellence, character that survives the loss of everything external. Commodus represents borrowed identity, collapsing when applause fades.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we take on one of Epictetus’ most uncomfortable claims: you’re not disturbed by events, only by the opinions you bring to them. We unpack his three-tiered model of the mind (the untrained blames others, the novice blames himself, the wise blame no one) and follow the story of the Roman visitor who wants Epictetus to predict his future, only to be told that his fate depends entirely on the quality of his opinions. From the “seller of vegetables” roast to the danger of untested beliefs, we explore why every action—from where you work to why you play tennis—flows from the narratives you’ve never examined. Along the way, we perform an “opinion audit,” question the stories we tell about ourselves, and connect Stoic diagnosis to modern cognitive biases. By the end, you’ll see why Marcus says nothing fuels spiritual growth more than analyzing your impressions—and why the hardest thing to test in life is the certainty you already feel.And we also dive into the darkly charming world of Insane Clown Posse... 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Modern Meditations, Bruce and Justin turn a weekend of budget hotels, dollar rental cars, $12 orange juice, and marathon gels into a masterclass on Stoic expectations. Drawing on Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and M. Scott Peck, they explore how life’s annoyances, whether waiting in line, traffic tailgaters, or bitter cucumbers, become easier to bear when you anticipate difficulty instead of assuming bliss is normal. From the rugby coach’s snake parable to the Roman baths, the conversation blends humor and philosophy to show that while life is full of paper cuts, virtue lies in choosing tranquility over irritation.

Send us Fan MailWhat’s the difference between loving deeply and clinging desperately? Epictetus thought the line was thinner than we like to admit. In Enchiridion Chapter 3, he reminds us that every embrace is an embrace of a mortal, every favorite cup is already broken, and every attachment comes with an expiration date stamped by nature. Sounds grim? Not really. It’s actually a roadmap for how not to be crushed when life does what life always does: end, change, and surprise.In this episode, we talk Bigger vs. Badder—how Stoicism flips the script on what “strong” really means. We look at Anaxagoras’ deadpan reaction to his son’s death, Seneca’s hauntingly calm reminders, and even a 1958 love letter from John Steinbeck that could pass for Stoic counsel. Along the way, we wrestle with what it means to love in a way that frees us rather than chains us, and why negative visualization might be the most underrated gratitude practice out there.Of course, it’s not all heavy philosophy. Bruce tries out some Gen Alpha slang on Justin, and we test our own fragile-cup theory on the kinds of attachments we carry every day. If you’ve ever wondered how to hold on without holding too tightor how to lose without falling apart this one’s for you.

Send us Fan MailWhen Chris Martin paused a Coldplay concert to comment on a kiss-cam couple—“Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy”—he unintentionally exposed more than just awkward chemistry. Days later, both people were out of their jobs and their private lives had become public scandal. But the real story isn’t just the moment it’s what it reveals about desire, aversion, and what happens when we’re forced into the spotlight unprepared.This week, we unpack:The viral kiss-cam moment that spiraled into corporate resignations and meme fodderThomas Edison watching his lab burn to the ground and saying, “Go get your mother—they’ll never see a fire like this again”What Epictetus meant by aversion—and why most of our misery comes from trying to avoid things we can’t controlHow one email triggered Justin’s entire discomfort cycle… and how he reprogrammed it with Stoic habit designAnd a birthday shoutout to Modern MedicineWhether it’s a camera at a concert or a fire at your feet, Chapter 2 of The Enchiridion offers one clear rule: You suffer less when you stop running from what you fear.