May 5, 2026
EP 050 Ancient Wisdom for Modern Entrepreneurs | Entrepreneurial Self Care That Works
Entrepreneurial self care isn't optional—it's the success mindset habit that separates remarkable success from burnout. In this episode, Tracy reveals the ancient practice that's saving modern founders from exhaustion and how to integrate it into your daily routine for sustainable productivity and authentic achievement. https://YourSuccessDNA.com This comprehensive episode reveals how Stoicism - the 2,300-year-old philosophy born from a shipwreck - has become the secret operating system behind today's most successful entrepreneurs. From Marcus Aurelius to Tim Ferriss, discover why ancient wisdom is solving modern business problems and how you can implement the same mental framework that helped a POW survive 7 years of torture. What if a 2,300-year-old philosophy was the secret weapon behind today's most successful entrepreneurs? In a world where 87.7% of entrepreneurs struggle with mental health, burnout rates are 60% higher than traditional employees, and stress levels run 2.5 times above average — the question isn't whether you need a mental framework, it's which one actually works. This video goes beyond the Instagram quotes and surface-level inspiration to deliver the complete architecture of Stoicism applied to modern business. By the end, you'll understand exactly why founders, CEOs, and visionary leaders are turning to this ancient operating system to navigate chaos, build resilience, and lead with clarity. From the painted porch of Athens to the boardrooms of today, Stoicism's influence spans Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus — three dramatically different men who mastered the same philosophy under radically different circumstances. In this deep dive, we break down how Stoic principles integrate into real entrepreneurial decision-making, emotional intelligence, leadership, and mental performance. Whether you're building your first business or scaling your tenth, this is the mindset framework designed for the actual conditions of entrepreneurship. Hit play and discover how Stoicism doesn't just help you survive the grind — it helps you master it.
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Stoicism began with a shipwreck.
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Twenty-three hundred years ago, a guy
named Z-Zeno of Citium got shipwrecked
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off the coast of Athens and lost
everything, his cargo, his wealth,
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his entire business, poof, gone.
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And you know what he said?
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"I made a prosperous voyage when I
suffered shipwreck." That moment of
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total loss became the birth of stoicism.
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And here's what's going to blow
your mind just a little bit.
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The same philosophy that helped a broke
merchant rebuild his life is now the
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secret operating system behind some
of the most successful entrepreneurs
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on this planet this very day.
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But here is what nobody is telling
you about stoicism in business.
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Eighty-seven point seven percent of
entrepreneurs struggle with at least
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one mental health issue or another.
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More than half of them experience anxiety.
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Sixty percent face a higher risk
of burnout compared to all my
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traditional employees out there.
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And according to Gallup, entrepreneurial
stress runs at about two point five times
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higher than the average corporate worker.
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These aren't small numbers,
ladies and gentlemen.
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These are actual conditions of
building something from nothing.
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So the question isn't whether
entrepreneurs need a mental framework
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for navigating chaos, obviously they do.
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The question is which one of those
mental frameworks actually works?
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And in the next twenty to twenty-five
minutes or so, I'm gonna show you why
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a philosophy born on a painted porch
in Athens is now the operating system
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behind some of the most successful
entrepreneurs on this planet.
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This is not motivational
fluff, ladies and gentlemen.
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This is precision engineering
for your entrepreneurial mind.
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Your Success DNA Podcast.
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Your success- Is in your DNA What is up?
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What is up?
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What the hell is up, my
fellow success seekers?
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Welcome back to another episode of
Your Success DNA, the podcast for my
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aspiring, wanna be better folk out
there, my aspiring entrepreneurs,
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and even my nine-to-five escapees.
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Each episode delivers mindset shifts,
habit upgrades, all mixed with a
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dose of rebellion so that you can
break free from convention to build
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not just a business, but a life
aligned with your version of success.
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And if you know someone who dreams of
ditching the grind but still makes time
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for a little self-help, a little personal
development, spice and salsa right there,
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go ahead and forward this episode to them.
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As I alluded to earlier, today we're
talking about the entrepreneurial mindset.
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We're gonna talk about applying stoicism
to business and why ancient wisdom is
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the modern entrepreneur's secret weapon.
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There's three things I
want you to come away with.
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I try to give you three things,
very important things to
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come away with every episode.
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First, we're diving into the complete
historical foundation of stoicism from
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Zeno of Citium's founding around 300 BC
to how Chrysippus systematized it into a
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comprehensive philosophical school that
would outlast almost every competing
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tradition of antiquity, and why its four
cardinal rules are the most relevant
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to business today than ever before.
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Second, as if that wasn't enough, I'm
revealing the explosive modern revival
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of stoicism in business, how sales of
Marcus Aurelius' Meditations climbed from
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sixteen thousand copies back in twenty
twelve to over a hundred thousand copies
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in twenty nineteen, and why Ryan Holiday
and his Daily Stoic brand have sold more
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than five million copies across forty
languages, and how NFL teams are using
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these principles To win championships.
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And then finally, last but not least,
third, we're exposing both the power
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and the criticism of modern stoicism
from Georgetown professors Nancy
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Sherman's warning about bro-icism to
how cognitive behavioral therapy was
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directly inspired by stoic principles,
and why this even freaking matters to
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you for your entrepreneurial journey, for
your, even your self-help journey, okay?
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But today, we're leaning into
our entrepreneurial side here.
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So here's something that's gonna
challenge everything you think you
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know about entrepreneurial success.
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The most successful entrepreneurs are
not the ones who avoid the problems,
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who dodge the BS that flies around.
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Nope.
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They are the ones who have learned
to love them, and that's not
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some toxic positivity bullshit.
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That's 2,000 years of battle-tested
philosophy that has been pressure
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tested by emperors, by prisoners of
war, and by founders of companies that
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you probably use every single day.
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You're, you're probably
using it right now, okay?
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So here's what I want you to...
I want you to picture this.
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It's September 9th, 1965.
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Navy pilot James Stockdale is
flying over North Vietnam in his A-4
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Skyhawk and gets hit by enemy fire.
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As his plane spirals down towards
the ground, he has maybe about 30
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seconds before impact, and in that
moment, facing capture, facing
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torture, facing possible death, you
know what he whispers to himself?
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"I'm leaving the world of technology and
entering the world of Epictetus." Yeah,
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Epictetus, a Greek philosopher who had
been enslaved and knew what it meant
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to have everything taken away from him.
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Stockdale spends the next seven and a
half years as a prisoner of war, tortured
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repeatedly, kept in solitary confinement.
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And he doesn't just survive, he organizes
resistance among the other prisoners
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using a code called BACK US, B-A-C-K-U-S.
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And that stands for don't bow, stay
off the air, admit no crimes, never
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kiss them goodbye, and unity over self.
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When author James Collins later asked him
about who didn't make it out, Stockdale's
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answer was a bit chilling, and he said,
quote, "The optimists, the ones who kept
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saying that they're gonna be home by
Christmas, then Easter, then Thanksgiving.
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They all died of a broken heart," unquote.
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Yeah.
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The lesson now known as the Stockdale
paradox is this, my friends.
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Confront the brutal reality of
your situation while maintaining
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unwavering faith that you will prevail.
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Yeah.
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It's the same insight that Viktor
Frankl arrived at inside those Nazi
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concentration camps, which he documented
in A Man's Search for Meaning.
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That's the last human freedom is
the ability to choose your response
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to any given set of circumstances.
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It's about the only freedom
you really have that they
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can never take away from you.
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Now, imagine you're sitting
in your apartment at 2:00 AM.
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You're staring at your laptop screen.
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Your startup is three months
from running out of cash.
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Your co-founder, yep, they
just bailed out on you.
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Your biggest client, yeah, they're
threatening to leave, and you're
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sitting there thinking, "Well, maybe
I should just go back to my corporate
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job." That moment right then, or
whatever version of that moment is
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for you, that is your North Vietnam.
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That is your spiraling down into a
crash moment, and how you respond to
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it will determine whether you become
the entrepreneur who builds something
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extraordinary or the one who gives up
three feet away from striking gold.
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Okay?
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So let me walk you through the complete
architecture of stoicism and how
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it applies to your entrepreneurial
journey We're gonna start off with
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the historic foundation and, and
a little bit of why this matters.
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It was founded around, like
I mentioned earlier, 300 BC
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by Zeno of Citium in Athens.
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Stoicism held a numerous influence
across Greece and the Roman
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Empire for about, what, 500 years?
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And it was later systematized by
Chrysippus, who formalized stoic
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logic and ethics into a comprehensive
philosophical school that would
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eventually outlast almost every other
competing tradition of antiquity.
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Its three greatest practitioners couldn't
have been more different from one another.
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Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor
of Rome, Seneca was a, a wealthy
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statesman and a playwright, and
Epictetus had been enslaved.
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Yet all three of them arrived
at the same core insight.
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The quality of your life depends not on
what happens to you on the outside, but
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how you respond to it on the inside.
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That insight rests on four cardinal
virtues that become your entrepreneurial
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foundation, and they are wisdom,
courage, temperance, and justice.
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Let me give you a little bit
more on each one of those.
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Wisdom is the ability
to see things clearly.
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In business, this means cutting straight
through the noise, understanding
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market realities, and making decisions
based on facts, not emotions.
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You got me?
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Okay.
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Courage, the willingness
to act despite fear.
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We're all afraid.
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Get over it.
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Every entrepreneur knows this feeling.
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Launching before you feel ready, having
difficult conversations with employees
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or investors, and pivoting when your
original plan just isn't pulling, right?
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It isn't doing what it's supposed to do.
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It's not working.
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And then temperance.
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This is the discipline
to moderate yourself.
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This is saying no to opportunities
that don't align with your vision.
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You have a vision, right?
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Managing your energy and resources and
avoiding the shiny object syndrome...
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Ooh, what was that over there?
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Yeah, avoiding the shiny object
syndrome that kills most startups
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and most beginning entrepreneurs.
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And finally, justice, the
commitment to doing right by others.
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Yeah, that ends up causing right by you.
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Building products that actually
serve other customers, serve other
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people, treating employees fairly,
and creating value rather than
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just focusing on extracting it.
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Yeah.
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Right?
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If you create the value and put it out
there, you will extract value in return.
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Trust me on that.
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For Stoics, practicing these
virtues was an abstract exercise.
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It was sufficient for a well-lived life.
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Yeah.
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For entrepreneurs, they're
sufficient for a well-built business.
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And you can think about this
beyond just entrepreneurship.
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You can talk about it
when inside relationship.
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Following those four principles is
sufficient for a well-built relationship,
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a well-built life outside of business.
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Now, at the heart of Stoicism sits what's
called the dichotomy of control, right?
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I want you to remember this one, dichotomy
of control, the explicit division
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between what is within your power
and what is not, and we've scratched
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this one on the surface a couple
of times across different episodes.
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Please go back and check those out.
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Epictetus put it simply.
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He said, "Some things are within
your control, and some things are
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not." Oh my God, how simple is that?
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Your effort is within your
control, what you do, right?
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What effort you put into things.
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Market conditions are
not within your control.
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Your response to a failed
launch is within your control.
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Whether a competitor undercuts your
pricing is not within your control.
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This single distinction, the, the
dichotomy of control, when you truly
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internalize it, it eliminates enormous
amounts of wasted energy, wasted
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anxiety, and reactive decision-making
in a whole realm of areas in
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your life and in your business.
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Premeditatio malorum, literally
the premeditation of evils.
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This isn't pessimism.
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It's strategic preparation.
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Tim Ferriss built this into
what he calls fear-setting.
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Instead of defining goals,
you define your fears.
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Stick with me here for a second.
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You visualize worst-case scenarios.
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You identify what you could do to prevent
them, and then you map out how you
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would recover if they happened anyway.
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You follow me?
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You, you picture those
worst case scenarios.
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You figure out, okay, here's some ways
I can prevent that from even happening,
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but anyway, I'm gonna go ahead and make a
recovery plan in case they happen anyway.
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Right?
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It sounds basic, but so
many people don't do this.
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Ferriss calls it the most powerful
exercise that he does, crediting it
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with his biggest business wins and his
most catastrophic mistakes averted.
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Amor fati.
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This is the love of fate.
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Marcus Aurelius wrote, "The mind
adapts and converts to its own
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purposes the obstacle to our acting.
The obstacles become the way."
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Interestingly, philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche later adopted amor fati
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as one of his own central concepts,
which tells you something about how
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far-reaching this stoic idea actually is.
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This isn't just passive acceptance and
rolling over and turning the other cheek.
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It's strategic engagement with
reality as it is, not as you wish
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it to be or as you wish it were.
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00:11:47,881 --> 00:11:51,881
The business world has noticed, ladies
and gentlemen, and the numbers do not lie.
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Sales of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations
climbed from 16,000 copies in 2012
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00:11:56,972 --> 00:11:59,854
to over 100,000 copies in 2019.
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During the first part of 2020, and we all
know what happened in the year of 2020,
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printed sales of Meditations jumped 28%.
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E-book sales of Seneca's Letters
from a Stoic surged 300% 6%.
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Yeah.
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00:12:13,095 --> 00:12:18,140
Stoicism related content saw a 400%
growth on certain online platforms.
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This is not a passing trend.
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This is a philosophical migration.
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How about that one, right?
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00:12:23,940 --> 00:12:29,377
Ryan Holiday, described by The Independent
as leading the charge for stoicism, has
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sold more than five million copies of
his book across more than 40 languages.
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00:12:34,550 --> 00:12:38,759
His Daily Stoic brand, which includes
books, a newsletter reaching, what,
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00:12:38,786 --> 00:12:41,740
hundreds of thousands of subscribers,
and a podcast, shout out to a
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00:12:41,740 --> 00:12:46,059
podcaster out there, this all has
become arguably the most influential
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00:12:46,059 --> 00:12:48,268
modern platform for stoic ideas.
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00:12:48,477 --> 00:12:53,177
His 2014 book, The Obstacle Is the
Way, became a manual not just for
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00:12:53,213 --> 00:12:55,440
entrepreneurs, but for NFL teams.
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The New England Patriots and the Seattle
Seahawks both invited Holiday to their
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headquarters to discuss the book's ideas.
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00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:08,695
His Stoic Virtue series, completed in
2025, with Wisdom Takes Work, stands as
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00:13:08,695 --> 00:13:13,895
one of the most commercially successful
philosophy projects in modern publishing
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00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:18,686
Tim Ferriss's TED Talk on stoicism and
fear setting has drawn millions of views
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00:13:18,686 --> 00:13:23,304
and remains one of the most watched TED
Talks on the subject of mental resilience.
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Maybe I'll knock it off someday.
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I don't know.
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00:13:24,949 --> 00:13:28,786
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of
Twitter, practices stoic-influenced
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routines of meditation and fasting.
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00:13:31,222 --> 00:13:35,777
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater
Associates, embraces memento mori,
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00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:40,795
the stoic reminder of mortality, as a
framework for prioritizing meaningful
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work over just material accumulation.
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00:13:43,495 --> 00:13:46,304
Yeah, lots of us need
to focus in that area.
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00:13:46,422 --> 00:13:50,731
Yvon Chouinard built Patagonia on a
principle that could have come straight-
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00:13:50,959 --> 00:13:56,150
From Marcus Aurelius himself, do no harm
and prioritize legacy over personal gain.
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00:13:56,422 --> 00:14:00,604
And in the tech and venture capital
world, Naval Ravikant, entrepreneur,
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00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:05,295
investor, and one of the most followed
voices in Silicon Valley, has spoken
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00:14:05,331 --> 00:14:10,668
extensively about Stoic and Stoic-adjacent
principles as the foundation of his
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00:14:10,668 --> 00:14:12,777
approach to both business and life.
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The Stoic thread running through
modern entrepreneurship, I
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00:14:16,422 --> 00:14:17,768
don't think it's an accident.
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00:14:17,804 --> 00:14:21,977
I think it's really prevalent
and having huge positive impacts.
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00:14:22,168 --> 00:14:25,949
Here's what makes this more than
just philosophical speculation.
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00:14:26,150 --> 00:14:29,077
Cognitive behavioral therapy, and you've
heard me mention this a few times in
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00:14:29,077 --> 00:14:33,031
the past four or five episodes, one of
the most evidence-based psychological
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00:14:33,031 --> 00:14:38,004
treatments in the world, was directly
modeled on Stoic principles by its
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00:14:38,004 --> 00:14:40,068
founders, Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis.
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00:14:40,231 --> 00:14:44,022
Both acknowledged that Stoic philosophers
shaped their core understanding, and
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00:14:44,022 --> 00:14:48,459
that it's the meaning of events, not the
events themselves, that affect people.
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Let me repeat that.
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It's, it's that important.
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It's the meaning of events, not the
events themselves, that affect people.
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00:14:55,722 --> 00:14:57,822
Beck made this explicit
in two thousand and seven.
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00:14:57,931 --> 00:15:02,831
Ellis built his, uh, rational emotive
behavior therapy, REBT, on the same
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00:15:02,831 --> 00:15:07,468
Stoic foundations, directly citing
Epictetus as a primary source.
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00:15:07,504 --> 00:15:11,922
The CBT Stoicism lineage
isn't just an accident.
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No, it's a two-thousand-year-old
insight that has survived
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00:15:16,513 --> 00:15:18,440
rigorous clinical testing.
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00:15:18,704 --> 00:15:22,359
When you practice Stoic principles,
you're not just following ancient wisdom,
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00:15:22,586 --> 00:15:24,513
dudes with gray hair, even bald dudes.
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00:15:24,731 --> 00:15:29,559
You are actually using techniques that
have been validated by modern psychology.
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00:15:29,704 --> 00:15:30,740
Yeah, check that off.
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There you go right there.
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And it's worth noting that
contemporary academics are
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taking this seriously as well.
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00:15:36,386 --> 00:15:41,031
Massimo Pigliucci, a professor of
philosophy at CUNY and the author of
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00:15:41,322 --> 00:15:45,522
How to Be a Stoic, has been one of
the most prominent voices arguing that
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00:15:45,522 --> 00:15:47,686
Stoicism isn't just pop self-help.
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00:15:47,804 --> 00:15:50,759
And you know how much I like pop
self-help, he says sarcastically.
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00:15:50,795 --> 00:15:56,513
It's a genuine, rigorous philosophical
practice with real intellectual depth.
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00:15:56,631 --> 00:15:58,568
Let that one sink in
for a moment, would you?
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00:15:58,759 --> 00:16:01,390
Now- Let's be, uh, let's
be really balanced here.
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00:16:01,536 --> 00:16:04,027
The criticism desi- deserves
a fair hearing, right?
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00:16:04,027 --> 00:16:07,072
I wanna ... I don't wanna be all,
you know, unicorns and rainbows here.
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00:16:07,263 --> 00:16:12,409
Georgetown professor Nancy Sherman has
warned that stoicism often attracts
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00:16:12,654 --> 00:16:15,027
hyper-masculine interpretations, right?
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00:16:15,209 --> 00:16:17,381
What some are calling bro-icism, right?
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00:16:17,645 --> 00:16:20,172
A version... And I think this
happens in everything, right?
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00:16:20,172 --> 00:16:24,836
There's always some, uh, far right or far
left fringe version of something good.
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00:16:24,890 --> 00:16:28,045
So you take something like stoicism,
and someone's gonna twist it and
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00:16:28,045 --> 00:16:30,045
swing it to one side or the other.
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00:16:30,045 --> 00:16:33,545
So anyway, like, like I was saying, what
some people are calling bro-icism, this
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00:16:33,545 --> 00:16:38,090
is a version that glorifies emotional
suppression and invulnerability.
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00:16:38,327 --> 00:16:38,481
Yeah.
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00:16:38,890 --> 00:16:40,581
We've talked about this here
a couple of times, right?
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00:16:40,945 --> 00:16:45,181
Sherman wrote her own book, Stoic Wisdom,
in direct response, and I think, I
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00:16:45,181 --> 00:16:46,881
think she's right to push back a bit.
308
00:16:47,154 --> 00:16:51,663
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of
Antifragile, made the same point but
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00:16:51,663 --> 00:16:52,909
came at it from a different angle.
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00:16:53,136 --> 00:16:57,381
His concept of antifragility, the
idea that some systems actually
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00:16:57,381 --> 00:17:01,909
get stronger under stress rather
than simply resisting it, is deeply
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00:17:01,909 --> 00:17:03,799
compatible with stoic thinking.
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00:17:03,799 --> 00:17:07,672
But Taleb insists the goal
isn't to become unemotional.
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00:17:07,909 --> 00:17:08,254
No.
315
00:17:08,454 --> 00:17:11,727
It's about replacing unhealthy
emotions with healthy ones.
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00:17:11,909 --> 00:17:12,745
Well, duh.
317
00:17:12,990 --> 00:17:17,345
You could call this the domestication
of emotion, not the elimination of
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00:17:17,481 --> 00:17:19,363
it, and I'm a big fan of this, right?
319
00:17:19,472 --> 00:17:23,627
I grew up in an, uh, three-generation
military household where men and
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00:17:23,627 --> 00:17:28,854
emotions were kind of separated a,
a lot, and I, I didn't like that.
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00:17:28,890 --> 00:17:32,681
But, of course, being raised that
way, it, it still impacts you.
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00:17:32,890 --> 00:17:38,004
I was In my late teens, early 20s, before
I f- saw my father cry for the first time.
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00:17:38,404 --> 00:17:42,477
So I began to embrace my
emotions over time and learned
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00:17:42,604 --> 00:17:43,677
to domesticate them, right?
325
00:17:43,677 --> 00:17:47,568
It was... Again, it's not about simply
getting rid of them, it's about learning
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00:17:47,568 --> 00:17:50,850
to understand them and replacing
unhealthy emotions with healthy ones.
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00:17:50,959 --> 00:17:54,304
Academics have also questioned
the commercialization of
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00:17:54,304 --> 00:17:55,586
stoicism, as they should.
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00:17:55,840 --> 00:18:00,659
At a 2016 Stoicon conference, yes, they
have Stoicons, attendees challenged
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00:18:00,659 --> 00:18:04,977
whether Holiday's best-selling approach
even qualifies as genuine stoicism.
331
00:18:05,313 --> 00:18:07,204
That tension, I think, is healthy.
332
00:18:07,377 --> 00:18:09,022
Anything should be debated, right?
333
00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:10,777
I have this opinion,
you have that opinion.
334
00:18:10,777 --> 00:18:11,759
Well, let's talk about it.
335
00:18:12,068 --> 00:18:14,331
Philosophy should be debated.
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00:18:14,468 --> 00:18:18,222
It, it, and it has been debated for
hundreds of years, thousands of years.
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00:18:18,431 --> 00:18:21,177
But here's what matters
for you as an entrepreneur.
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The core principles work.
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00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:24,459
Boom, there it is, a little
mic drop right there for you.
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00:18:24,868 --> 00:18:28,104
Whether you call it stoicism, whether
you call it cognitive behavioral
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00:18:28,104 --> 00:18:32,104
therapy, or whether you just call it
good business sense, the ability to
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00:18:32,104 --> 00:18:37,049
focus on what you can control, prepare
for obstacles, and find opportunity in
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00:18:37,049 --> 00:18:41,240
adversity is what separates successful
entrepreneurs from those that just
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00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:42,895
throw their hands up and say, "F it."
345
00:18:43,168 --> 00:18:43,486
Okay?
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00:18:43,604 --> 00:18:43,895
Okay.
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00:18:44,013 --> 00:18:48,095
And, and if this comprehensive breakdown
of entrepreneurs' mental operating system
348
00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:50,413
is hitting you right in the gut, good.
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00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,322
Then that means you need to get on the
Unleash Your Success DNA newsletter.
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00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:58,568
This is the exactly the same kind
of contrarian, historically grounded
351
00:18:58,568 --> 00:19:01,895
insight that I like to share every
week with inspiring entrepreneurs,
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00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:05,395
those who are, are devoted to getting
better and maybe even want to escape
353
00:19:05,395 --> 00:19:09,440
their nine-to-five, all of whom refuse
to accept surface-level business
354
00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:11,440
advice, surface-level pop self-help.
355
00:19:12,004 --> 00:19:16,422
Each issue, I, I strive to deliver
mindset shifts and habit upgrades,
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00:19:16,422 --> 00:19:19,813
again, with that little mix of rebellion
in there, all helping you break
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00:19:19,813 --> 00:19:23,449
free from convention so that you can
build not just a business, but a life
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00:19:23,449 --> 00:19:24,904
aligned with your version of success.
359
00:19:25,186 --> 00:19:29,504
No recycled tips, no motivational
hoo-ha or fluff, just the truths
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00:19:29,504 --> 00:19:32,777
about what it really takes to build
something meaningful, whether that's
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00:19:32,777 --> 00:19:36,031
a business, a life, a relationship,
whatever it is you're looking to build.
362
00:19:36,140 --> 00:19:40,577
Here's why this matters beyond
just handling life, business,
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00:19:40,659 --> 00:19:42,531
obstacles, and stress better.
364
00:19:43,018 --> 00:19:47,690
Research has found that despite working
longer hours, entrepreneurs with a
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00:19:47,690 --> 00:19:52,418
strong psychological framework are no
more likely to experience burnout than
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00:19:52,418 --> 00:19:55,699
are salaried employees, than are folks
doing corporate nine-to-five jobs.
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00:19:56,163 --> 00:20:00,345
Their risk really is actually
lower because of what researchers
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00:20:00,345 --> 00:20:04,890
call psychological unity, a great
sense of meaning, a great sense
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00:20:04,890 --> 00:20:06,736
of autonomy and satisfaction.
370
00:20:06,963 --> 00:20:09,254
Entrepreneurs, on average, are happier.
371
00:20:09,518 --> 00:20:14,154
The bigger paradigm here is that most
business education treats entrepreneurship
372
00:20:14,345 --> 00:20:16,045
like a technical skill, right?
373
00:20:16,100 --> 00:20:19,390
Learn the right tactics, follow the
right steps, and you will succeed.
374
00:20:19,654 --> 00:20:23,427
But that's not how it works, and many of
you are nodding, "No shit, Tracy. Totally
375
00:20:23,427 --> 00:20:27,699
not how it works." Entrepreneurship
is fundamentally a psychological game,
376
00:20:27,890 --> 00:20:31,600
which is one of the reasons why I started
this podcast so many years... 2007?
377
00:20:31,990 --> 00:20:32,727
Way back when.
378
00:20:32,927 --> 00:20:35,118
I was on my entrepreneurial
journey, and I realized this.
379
00:20:35,118 --> 00:20:36,663
It hit me like a ton of bricks.
380
00:20:36,963 --> 00:20:39,536
It's about making decisions
under uncertainty.
381
00:20:39,736 --> 00:20:41,227
It's about handling rejection.
382
00:20:41,327 --> 00:20:43,627
Whoa, I... That's one of my weak spots.
383
00:20:43,736 --> 00:20:47,354
It's about persisting through
failure, and it's about maintaining
384
00:20:47,354 --> 00:20:51,136
a vision when everyone else
around you thinks you're crazy.
385
00:20:51,399 --> 00:20:51,563
Yeah.
386
00:20:51,700 --> 00:20:52,527
And you know what?
387
00:20:52,627 --> 00:20:54,054
You might be, but that's okay.
388
00:20:54,227 --> 00:20:58,518
How many crazy people have created
some amazing products and tools and
389
00:20:58,518 --> 00:21:00,500
tips and techniques and civilizations?
390
00:21:00,500 --> 00:21:01,190
Who knows?
391
00:21:01,254 --> 00:21:03,118
I don't, I, I, I don't have
that research in front of me.
392
00:21:03,381 --> 00:21:06,063
Stoicism does not
promise you an easy path.
393
00:21:06,254 --> 00:21:10,763
Let's, let's be honest here, but it does
promise you a clear path, and while your
394
00:21:10,763 --> 00:21:14,627
competitors are out there burning out,
they're getting paralyzed by analysis,
395
00:21:14,763 --> 00:21:18,372
and they're giving up at the first sign
of trouble, you're gonna be operating
396
00:21:18,372 --> 00:21:21,609
from a place of unshakable mental clarity.
397
00:21:22,009 --> 00:21:27,090
23 years of human wisdom, pressure tested
by emperors, prisoners of war, and the
398
00:21:27,154 --> 00:21:28,727
founders of billion-dollar companies.
399
00:21:28,999 --> 00:21:31,036
That is the entrepreneur's mindset.
400
00:21:31,199 --> 00:21:35,063
That is the complete scope of
stoicism in modern business.
401
00:21:35,127 --> 00:21:38,681
Not a retreat from emotion, but
a framework for channeling it.
402
00:21:39,018 --> 00:21:44,454
Not passive acceptance, but a strategic
engagement with reality as it really is.
403
00:21:44,918 --> 00:21:47,354
Stoicism doesn't promise an
easy path, as I mentioned.
404
00:21:47,663 --> 00:21:52,672
Marcus Aurelius wrote, quote, "The mind
adapts and converts to its own purposes
405
00:21:52,963 --> 00:21:55,445
the obstacle to our acting," unquote.
406
00:21:55,990 --> 00:21:59,472
AKA, the obstacle becomes the way.
407
00:21:59,636 --> 00:22:01,645
There's a Mandalorian joke
in here somewhere, but I, I
408
00:22:01,645 --> 00:22:02,618
can't think of it right now.
409
00:22:02,654 --> 00:22:04,699
So here's your whiskered
wisdom for this episode.
410
00:22:04,699 --> 00:22:06,627
Here's your action step for tonight.
411
00:22:07,009 --> 00:22:10,290
Before you go to bed, practice
a modern version of Marcus
412
00:22:10,290 --> 00:22:12,127
Aurelius's evening reflection.
413
00:22:12,363 --> 00:22:16,218
Write down three things that
challenged you in your business today.
414
00:22:16,663 --> 00:22:18,227
And if you can't think of
something from today, think
415
00:22:18,227 --> 00:22:19,372
about something from yesterday.
416
00:22:19,627 --> 00:22:22,354
And for each one of those, each
one of those three that you wrote
417
00:22:22,354 --> 00:22:24,436
down, ask yourself these questions.
418
00:22:24,581 --> 00:22:26,818
What did this teach me about myself?
419
00:22:27,272 --> 00:22:29,727
What did this teach me about my business?
420
00:22:29,872 --> 00:22:34,900
And how can I use this experience to
become a stronger entrepreneur tomorrow?
421
00:22:35,172 --> 00:22:37,136
You're not just solving
business problems here.
422
00:22:37,381 --> 00:22:41,354
You're building a mental framework
that will carry you through every
423
00:22:41,427 --> 00:22:45,390
damn challenge your entrepreneurial
journey is going to throw at you.
424
00:22:45,590 --> 00:22:47,336
And it is gonna throw some shit at you.
425
00:22:47,636 --> 00:22:48,718
Let's just be honest.
426
00:22:48,854 --> 00:22:51,554
You gotta be ready to wipe
the caca off your face.
427
00:22:51,727 --> 00:22:54,618
And that's the difference between
entrepreneurs who build something
428
00:22:54,618 --> 00:22:58,618
lasting and those who give up when
things just get a little hard.
429
00:22:58,745 --> 00:23:02,599
Listen, Marcus Aurelius didn't write
his meditations because he was having
430
00:23:02,599 --> 00:23:05,027
an easy time as the emperor of Rome.
431
00:23:05,090 --> 00:23:07,754
He wrote them because he
was dealing with shit.
432
00:23:08,063 --> 00:23:09,127
He was dealing with plagues.
433
00:23:09,409 --> 00:23:10,481
He was dealing with wars.
434
00:23:10,699 --> 00:23:13,790
He was dealing with betrayals
and the constant pressure
435
00:23:14,045 --> 00:23:15,490
of just leading an empire.
436
00:23:15,690 --> 00:23:19,827
Seneca didn't develop his philosophy
while lounging around in luxury.
437
00:23:20,063 --> 00:23:24,209
He developed it while navigating
the deadly politics of Nero's court.
438
00:23:24,454 --> 00:23:28,872
Epictetus didn't teach resistance
from a position of comfort.
439
00:23:29,072 --> 00:23:34,081
No, he taught it as someone who had
been enslaved and knew what it meant to
440
00:23:34,081 --> 00:23:37,109
have every damn thing he had taken away.
441
00:23:37,427 --> 00:23:39,254
These aren't armchair philosophers here.
442
00:23:39,336 --> 00:23:42,136
No, these are real-world practitioners.
443
00:23:42,363 --> 00:23:46,699
They developed these ideas under
pressure in the real world when the
444
00:23:46,699 --> 00:23:49,600
stakes were literally life and death.
445
00:23:49,836 --> 00:23:53,390
And that's exactly why they work for
entrepreneurs like you and like me.
446
00:23:53,472 --> 00:23:56,690
The question isn't whether this
philosophy is relevant to your business.
447
00:23:56,899 --> 00:24:00,554
The question is, is how much
longer can you afford to operate
448
00:24:00,554 --> 00:24:01,936
your business without it?
449
00:24:02,136 --> 00:24:02,318
Hmm?
450
00:24:02,699 --> 00:24:02,981
Yeah.
451
00:24:03,218 --> 00:24:04,036
Let that one sink in.
452
00:24:04,327 --> 00:24:06,909
Your business challenges,
they are not unique.
453
00:24:07,254 --> 00:24:10,663
I don't care if you're creating something
brand new no one's ever seen before.
454
00:24:10,890 --> 00:24:14,418
The feelings you're experiencing,
the doubts, the fear, the overwhelm,
455
00:24:14,536 --> 00:24:19,300
entrepreneurs have been dealing with the
same damn emotions for thousands of years.
456
00:24:19,490 --> 00:24:23,700
The difference is now you have a framework
that has been battle tested by some of
457
00:24:23,745 --> 00:24:29,372
the most successful people in history,
validated by modern psychology, and
458
00:24:29,372 --> 00:24:31,763
proven in the trenches of modern business.
459
00:24:31,972 --> 00:24:33,154
You don't need more validation.
460
00:24:33,181 --> 00:24:33,936
You got it all.
461
00:24:34,100 --> 00:24:34,999
I just proved it to you.
462
00:24:35,281 --> 00:24:36,536
You need better philosophy.
463
00:24:36,763 --> 00:24:38,227
You don't need more tactics.
464
00:24:38,436 --> 00:24:39,318
You need better thinking.
465
00:24:39,581 --> 00:24:41,709
And you do not need an easier plan.
466
00:24:42,027 --> 00:24:43,063
You need a stronger mind.
467
00:24:43,654 --> 00:24:45,499
Think successfully and take action.
00:00:00,136 --> 00:00:02,336
Stoicism began with a shipwreck.
2
00:00:02,554 --> 00:00:07,363
Twenty-three hundred years ago, a guy
named Z-Zeno of Citium got shipwrecked
3
00:00:07,409 --> 00:00:11,627
off the coast of Athens and lost
everything, his cargo, his wealth,
4
00:00:11,881 --> 00:00:13,963
his entire business, poof, gone.
5
00:00:14,299 --> 00:00:15,109
And you know what he said?
6
00:00:15,309 --> 00:00:19,290
"I made a prosperous voyage when I
suffered shipwreck." That moment of
7
00:00:19,363 --> 00:00:22,018
total loss became the birth of stoicism.
8
00:00:22,045 --> 00:00:24,236
And here's what's going to blow
your mind just a little bit.
9
00:00:24,236 --> 00:00:28,636
The same philosophy that helped a broke
merchant rebuild his life is now the
10
00:00:28,636 --> 00:00:33,227
secret operating system behind some
of the most successful entrepreneurs
11
00:00:33,481 --> 00:00:35,236
on this planet this very day.
12
00:00:35,381 --> 00:00:38,809
But here is what nobody is telling
you about stoicism in business.
13
00:00:39,036 --> 00:00:42,918
Eighty-seven point seven percent of
entrepreneurs struggle with at least
14
00:00:42,954 --> 00:00:45,690
one mental health issue or another.
15
00:00:45,927 --> 00:00:48,654
More than half of them experience anxiety.
16
00:00:48,754 --> 00:00:52,454
Sixty percent face a higher risk
of burnout compared to all my
17
00:00:52,454 --> 00:00:53,972
traditional employees out there.
18
00:00:54,727 --> 00:01:00,345
And according to Gallup, entrepreneurial
stress runs at about two point five times
19
00:01:00,345 --> 00:01:03,527
higher than the average corporate worker.
20
00:01:03,590 --> 00:01:05,354
These aren't small numbers,
ladies and gentlemen.
21
00:01:05,627 --> 00:01:09,590
These are actual conditions of
building something from nothing.
22
00:01:09,890 --> 00:01:12,772
So the question isn't whether
entrepreneurs need a mental framework
23
00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,172
for navigating chaos, obviously they do.
24
00:01:15,172 --> 00:01:19,690
The question is which one of those
mental frameworks actually works?
25
00:01:19,954 --> 00:01:23,309
And in the next twenty to twenty-five
minutes or so, I'm gonna show you why
26
00:01:23,590 --> 00:01:28,381
a philosophy born on a painted porch
in Athens is now the operating system
27
00:01:28,381 --> 00:01:31,672
behind some of the most successful
entrepreneurs on this planet.
28
00:01:31,909 --> 00:01:34,081
This is not motivational
fluff, ladies and gentlemen.
29
00:01:34,327 --> 00:01:37,700
This is precision engineering
for your entrepreneurial mind.
30
00:01:39,109 --> 00:01:40,709
Your Success DNA Podcast.
31
00:01:40,963 --> 00:01:43,699
Your success- Is in your DNA What is up?
32
00:01:43,745 --> 00:01:44,127
What is up?
33
00:01:44,181 --> 00:01:46,009
What the hell is up, my
fellow success seekers?
34
00:01:46,009 --> 00:01:49,690
Welcome back to another episode of
Your Success DNA, the podcast for my
35
00:01:49,690 --> 00:01:53,572
aspiring, wanna be better folk out
there, my aspiring entrepreneurs,
36
00:01:53,918 --> 00:01:55,499
and even my nine-to-five escapees.
37
00:01:55,799 --> 00:01:59,509
Each episode delivers mindset shifts,
habit upgrades, all mixed with a
38
00:01:59,509 --> 00:02:03,045
dose of rebellion so that you can
break free from convention to build
39
00:02:03,045 --> 00:02:07,072
not just a business, but a life
aligned with your version of success.
40
00:02:07,072 --> 00:02:10,172
And if you know someone who dreams of
ditching the grind but still makes time
41
00:02:10,172 --> 00:02:13,354
for a little self-help, a little personal
development, spice and salsa right there,
42
00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:15,154
go ahead and forward this episode to them.
43
00:02:15,363 --> 00:02:18,409
As I alluded to earlier, today we're
talking about the entrepreneurial mindset.
44
00:02:18,409 --> 00:02:22,872
We're gonna talk about applying stoicism
to business and why ancient wisdom is
45
00:02:22,872 --> 00:02:24,818
the modern entrepreneur's secret weapon.
46
00:02:24,818 --> 00:02:26,518
There's three things I
want you to come away with.
47
00:02:26,518 --> 00:02:28,581
I try to give you three things,
very important things to
48
00:02:28,581 --> 00:02:29,881
come away with every episode.
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00:02:29,881 --> 00:02:34,554
First, we're diving into the complete
historical foundation of stoicism from
50
00:02:34,554 --> 00:02:40,509
Zeno of Citium's founding around 300 BC
to how Chrysippus systematized it into a
51
00:02:40,509 --> 00:02:45,045
comprehensive philosophical school that
would outlast almost every competing
52
00:02:45,045 --> 00:02:50,609
tradition of antiquity, and why its four
cardinal rules are the most relevant
53
00:02:50,609 --> 00:02:52,863
to business today than ever before.
54
00:02:52,863 --> 00:02:56,954
Second, as if that wasn't enough, I'm
revealing the explosive modern revival
55
00:02:56,954 --> 00:03:01,472
of stoicism in business, how sales of
Marcus Aurelius' Meditations climbed from
56
00:03:01,681 --> 00:03:05,390
sixteen thousand copies back in twenty
twelve to over a hundred thousand copies
57
00:03:05,436 --> 00:03:10,463
in twenty nineteen, and why Ryan Holiday
and his Daily Stoic brand have sold more
58
00:03:10,463 --> 00:03:15,690
than five million copies across forty
languages, and how NFL teams are using
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00:03:15,690 --> 00:03:17,781
these principles To win championships.
60
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And then finally, last but not least,
third, we're exposing both the power
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00:03:22,099 --> 00:03:26,609
and the criticism of modern stoicism
from Georgetown professors Nancy
62
00:03:26,609 --> 00:03:31,527
Sherman's warning about bro-icism to
how cognitive behavioral therapy was
63
00:03:31,527 --> 00:03:36,536
directly inspired by stoic principles,
and why this even freaking matters to
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you for your entrepreneurial journey, for
your, even your self-help journey, okay?
65
00:03:40,254 --> 00:03:42,599
But today, we're leaning into
our entrepreneurial side here.
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So here's something that's gonna
challenge everything you think you
67
00:03:46,354 --> 00:03:48,172
know about entrepreneurial success.
68
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The most successful entrepreneurs are
not the ones who avoid the problems,
69
00:03:52,218 --> 00:03:54,272
who dodge the BS that flies around.
70
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Nope.
71
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They are the ones who have learned
to love them, and that's not
72
00:03:58,436 --> 00:04:00,818
some toxic positivity bullshit.
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That's 2,000 years of battle-tested
philosophy that has been pressure
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00:04:05,081 --> 00:04:09,527
tested by emperors, by prisoners of
war, and by founders of companies that
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00:04:09,527 --> 00:04:11,745
you probably use every single day.
76
00:04:11,809 --> 00:04:13,427
You're, you're probably
using it right now, okay?
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00:04:13,690 --> 00:04:15,599
So here's what I want you to...
I want you to picture this.
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00:04:16,009 --> 00:04:17,900
It's September 9th, 1965.
79
00:04:18,218 --> 00:04:22,527
Navy pilot James Stockdale is
flying over North Vietnam in his A-4
80
00:04:22,527 --> 00:04:25,063
Skyhawk and gets hit by enemy fire.
81
00:04:25,363 --> 00:04:30,018
As his plane spirals down towards
the ground, he has maybe about 30
82
00:04:30,018 --> 00:04:34,209
seconds before impact, and in that
moment, facing capture, facing
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00:04:34,209 --> 00:04:37,500
torture, facing possible death, you
know what he whispers to himself?
84
00:04:37,890 --> 00:04:44,063
"I'm leaving the world of technology and
entering the world of Epictetus." Yeah,
85
00:04:44,327 --> 00:04:48,981
Epictetus, a Greek philosopher who had
been enslaved and knew what it meant
86
00:04:48,981 --> 00:04:51,200
to have everything taken away from him.
87
00:04:51,445 --> 00:04:55,554
Stockdale spends the next seven and a
half years as a prisoner of war, tortured
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00:04:55,554 --> 00:04:57,909
repeatedly, kept in solitary confinement.
89
00:04:58,018 --> 00:05:02,790
And he doesn't just survive, he organizes
resistance among the other prisoners
90
00:05:02,999 --> 00:05:06,081
using a code called BACK US, B-A-C-K-U-S.
91
00:05:06,290 --> 00:05:12,545
And that stands for don't bow, stay
off the air, admit no crimes, never
92
00:05:12,627 --> 00:05:15,527
kiss them goodbye, and unity over self.
93
00:05:15,809 --> 00:05:20,336
When author James Collins later asked him
about who didn't make it out, Stockdale's
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00:05:20,418 --> 00:05:25,909
answer was a bit chilling, and he said,
quote, "The optimists, the ones who kept
95
00:05:25,909 --> 00:05:29,800
saying that they're gonna be home by
Christmas, then Easter, then Thanksgiving.
96
00:05:30,109 --> 00:05:32,545
They all died of a broken heart," unquote.
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00:05:32,763 --> 00:05:32,909
Yeah.
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The lesson now known as the Stockdale
paradox is this, my friends.
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00:05:37,681 --> 00:05:41,900
Confront the brutal reality of
your situation while maintaining
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00:05:42,072 --> 00:05:45,327
unwavering faith that you will prevail.
101
00:05:45,740 --> 00:05:45,859
Yeah.
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00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,804
It's the same insight that Viktor
Frankl arrived at inside those Nazi
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00:05:49,804 --> 00:05:53,559
concentration camps, which he documented
in A Man's Search for Meaning.
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00:05:53,904 --> 00:05:58,531
That's the last human freedom is
the ability to choose your response
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00:05:58,531 --> 00:06:00,313
to any given set of circumstances.
106
00:06:00,477 --> 00:06:02,695
It's about the only freedom
you really have that they
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00:06:02,695 --> 00:06:03,677
can never take away from you.
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00:06:03,677 --> 00:06:06,549
Now, imagine you're sitting
in your apartment at 2:00 AM.
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You're staring at your laptop screen.
110
00:06:08,586 --> 00:06:11,168
Your startup is three months
from running out of cash.
111
00:06:11,395 --> 00:06:13,704
Your co-founder, yep, they
just bailed out on you.
112
00:06:14,031 --> 00:06:16,668
Your biggest client, yeah, they're
threatening to leave, and you're
113
00:06:16,668 --> 00:06:19,549
sitting there thinking, "Well, maybe
I should just go back to my corporate
114
00:06:19,549 --> 00:06:23,213
job." That moment right then, or
whatever version of that moment is
115
00:06:23,213 --> 00:06:25,431
for you, that is your North Vietnam.
116
00:06:25,759 --> 00:06:29,913
That is your spiraling down into a
crash moment, and how you respond to
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00:06:29,913 --> 00:06:33,349
it will determine whether you become
the entrepreneur who builds something
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00:06:33,349 --> 00:06:38,722
extraordinary or the one who gives up
three feet away from striking gold.
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00:06:38,940 --> 00:06:39,104
Okay?
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00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:43,431
So let me walk you through the complete
architecture of stoicism and how
121
00:06:43,431 --> 00:06:46,713
it applies to your entrepreneurial
journey We're gonna start off with
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00:06:46,713 --> 00:06:49,331
the historic foundation and, and
a little bit of why this matters.
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00:06:49,468 --> 00:06:52,086
It was founded around, like
I mentioned earlier, 300 BC
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00:06:52,086 --> 00:06:54,240
by Zeno of Citium in Athens.
125
00:06:54,350 --> 00:06:58,831
Stoicism held a numerous influence
across Greece and the Roman
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00:06:58,831 --> 00:07:01,340
Empire for about, what, 500 years?
127
00:07:01,431 --> 00:07:06,168
And it was later systematized by
Chrysippus, who formalized stoic
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00:07:06,168 --> 00:07:10,322
logic and ethics into a comprehensive
philosophical school that would
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00:07:10,322 --> 00:07:15,004
eventually outlast almost every other
competing tradition of antiquity.
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00:07:15,159 --> 00:07:19,495
Its three greatest practitioners couldn't
have been more different from one another.
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00:07:19,540 --> 00:07:23,331
Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor
of Rome, Seneca was a, a wealthy
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00:07:23,331 --> 00:07:27,177
statesman and a playwright, and
Epictetus had been enslaved.
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00:07:27,413 --> 00:07:30,904
Yet all three of them arrived
at the same core insight.
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The quality of your life depends not on
what happens to you on the outside, but
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00:07:35,731 --> 00:07:37,940
how you respond to it on the inside.
136
00:07:38,349 --> 00:07:43,386
That insight rests on four cardinal
virtues that become your entrepreneurial
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00:07:43,486 --> 00:07:47,722
foundation, and they are wisdom,
courage, temperance, and justice.
138
00:07:47,722 --> 00:07:49,868
Let me give you a little bit
more on each one of those.
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00:07:49,950 --> 00:07:52,086
Wisdom is the ability
to see things clearly.
140
00:07:52,331 --> 00:07:55,822
In business, this means cutting straight
through the noise, understanding
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00:07:55,822 --> 00:07:59,977
market realities, and making decisions
based on facts, not emotions.
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00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:00,677
You got me?
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00:08:00,822 --> 00:08:01,095
Okay.
144
00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:04,822
Courage, the willingness
to act despite fear.
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00:08:05,077 --> 00:08:05,913
We're all afraid.
146
00:08:06,195 --> 00:08:06,831
Get over it.
147
00:08:06,859 --> 00:08:09,013
Every entrepreneur knows this feeling.
148
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Launching before you feel ready, having
difficult conversations with employees
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00:08:13,650 --> 00:08:18,440
or investors, and pivoting when your
original plan just isn't pulling, right?
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00:08:18,468 --> 00:08:20,086
It isn't doing what it's supposed to do.
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00:08:20,086 --> 00:08:20,695
It's not working.
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00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:21,859
And then temperance.
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This is the discipline
to moderate yourself.
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This is saying no to opportunities
that don't align with your vision.
155
00:08:28,904 --> 00:08:29,740
You have a vision, right?
156
00:08:29,877 --> 00:08:34,340
Managing your energy and resources and
avoiding the shiny object syndrome...
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00:08:34,368 --> 00:08:35,213
Ooh, what was that over there?
158
00:08:35,449 --> 00:08:40,022
Yeah, avoiding the shiny object
syndrome that kills most startups
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00:08:40,050 --> 00:08:41,468
and most beginning entrepreneurs.
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And finally, justice, the
commitment to doing right by others.
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00:08:45,986 --> 00:08:48,068
Yeah, that ends up causing right by you.
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00:08:48,068 --> 00:08:51,631
Building products that actually
serve other customers, serve other
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00:08:51,631 --> 00:08:55,859
people, treating employees fairly,
and creating value rather than
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00:08:55,859 --> 00:08:57,877
just focusing on extracting it.
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Yeah.
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Right?
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00:08:59,145 --> 00:09:03,272
If you create the value and put it out
there, you will extract value in return.
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00:09:03,309 --> 00:09:04,109
Trust me on that.
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00:09:04,109 --> 00:09:08,436
For Stoics, practicing these
virtues was an abstract exercise.
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It was sufficient for a well-lived life.
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00:09:11,690 --> 00:09:11,818
Yeah.
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00:09:12,199 --> 00:09:16,172
For entrepreneurs, they're
sufficient for a well-built business.
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And you can think about this
beyond just entrepreneurship.
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You can talk about it
when inside relationship.
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00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:25,390
Following those four principles is
sufficient for a well-built relationship,
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00:09:25,445 --> 00:09:27,818
a well-built life outside of business.
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Now, at the heart of Stoicism sits what's
called the dichotomy of control, right?
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I want you to remember this one, dichotomy
of control, the explicit division
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00:09:37,154 --> 00:09:40,409
between what is within your power
and what is not, and we've scratched
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00:09:40,409 --> 00:09:43,481
this one on the surface a couple
of times across different episodes.
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Please go back and check those out.
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00:09:44,827 --> 00:09:46,227
Epictetus put it simply.
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He said, "Some things are within
your control, and some things are
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not." Oh my God, how simple is that?
185
00:09:51,618 --> 00:09:54,845
Your effort is within your
control, what you do, right?
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00:09:54,945 --> 00:09:56,227
What effort you put into things.
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00:09:56,390 --> 00:09:59,127
Market conditions are
not within your control.
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00:09:59,300 --> 00:10:02,445
Your response to a failed
launch is within your control.
189
00:10:02,536 --> 00:10:06,181
Whether a competitor undercuts your
pricing is not within your control.
190
00:10:06,290 --> 00:10:10,681
This single distinction, the, the
dichotomy of control, when you truly
191
00:10:10,681 --> 00:10:15,118
internalize it, it eliminates enormous
amounts of wasted energy, wasted
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00:10:15,118 --> 00:10:20,381
anxiety, and reactive decision-making
in a whole realm of areas in
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00:10:20,381 --> 00:10:21,390
your life and in your business.
194
00:10:21,772 --> 00:10:26,354
Premeditatio malorum, literally
the premeditation of evils.
195
00:10:26,436 --> 00:10:27,445
This isn't pessimism.
196
00:10:27,636 --> 00:10:29,718
It's strategic preparation.
197
00:10:29,754 --> 00:10:32,890
Tim Ferriss built this into
what he calls fear-setting.
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00:10:33,072 --> 00:10:36,236
Instead of defining goals,
you define your fears.
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00:10:36,454 --> 00:10:37,354
Stick with me here for a second.
200
00:10:37,527 --> 00:10:39,663
You visualize worst-case scenarios.
201
00:10:39,845 --> 00:10:44,545
You identify what you could do to prevent
them, and then you map out how you
202
00:10:44,545 --> 00:10:46,899
would recover if they happened anyway.
203
00:10:47,218 --> 00:10:47,654
You follow me?
204
00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:50,118
You, you picture those
worst case scenarios.
205
00:10:50,281 --> 00:10:53,136
You figure out, okay, here's some ways
I can prevent that from even happening,
206
00:10:53,390 --> 00:10:58,127
but anyway, I'm gonna go ahead and make a
recovery plan in case they happen anyway.
207
00:10:58,190 --> 00:10:58,336
Right?
208
00:10:58,381 --> 00:11:00,763
It sounds basic, but so
many people don't do this.
209
00:11:00,763 --> 00:11:04,936
Ferriss calls it the most powerful
exercise that he does, crediting it
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00:11:05,100 --> 00:11:09,681
with his biggest business wins and his
most catastrophic mistakes averted.
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00:11:10,045 --> 00:11:11,199
Amor fati.
212
00:11:11,445 --> 00:11:13,509
This is the love of fate.
213
00:11:13,690 --> 00:11:17,809
Marcus Aurelius wrote, "The mind
adapts and converts to its own
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00:11:17,809 --> 00:11:23,281
purposes the obstacle to our acting.
The obstacles become the way."
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Interestingly, philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche later adopted amor fati
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as one of his own central concepts,
which tells you something about how
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00:11:33,336 --> 00:11:36,363
far-reaching this stoic idea actually is.
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00:11:36,445 --> 00:11:41,027
This isn't just passive acceptance and
rolling over and turning the other cheek.
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00:11:41,199 --> 00:11:46,000
It's strategic engagement with
reality as it is, not as you wish
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it to be or as you wish it were.
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The business world has noticed, ladies
and gentlemen, and the numbers do not lie.
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00:11:52,036 --> 00:11:56,581
Sales of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations
climbed from 16,000 copies in 2012
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to over 100,000 copies in 2019.
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During the first part of 2020, and we all
know what happened in the year of 2020,
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printed sales of Meditations jumped 28%.
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E-book sales of Seneca's Letters
from a Stoic surged 300% 6%.
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Yeah.
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Stoicism related content saw a 400%
growth on certain online platforms.
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This is not a passing trend.
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This is a philosophical migration.
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How about that one, right?
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00:12:23,940 --> 00:12:29,377
Ryan Holiday, described by The Independent
as leading the charge for stoicism, has
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sold more than five million copies of
his book across more than 40 languages.
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His Daily Stoic brand, which includes
books, a newsletter reaching, what,
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00:12:38,786 --> 00:12:41,740
hundreds of thousands of subscribers,
and a podcast, shout out to a
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00:12:41,740 --> 00:12:46,059
podcaster out there, this all has
become arguably the most influential
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modern platform for stoic ideas.
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00:12:48,477 --> 00:12:53,177
His 2014 book, The Obstacle Is the
Way, became a manual not just for
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00:12:53,213 --> 00:12:55,440
entrepreneurs, but for NFL teams.
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The New England Patriots and the Seattle
Seahawks both invited Holiday to their
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headquarters to discuss the book's ideas.
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00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:08,695
His Stoic Virtue series, completed in
2025, with Wisdom Takes Work, stands as
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one of the most commercially successful
philosophy projects in modern publishing
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00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:18,686
Tim Ferriss's TED Talk on stoicism and
fear setting has drawn millions of views
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00:13:18,686 --> 00:13:23,304
and remains one of the most watched TED
Talks on the subject of mental resilience.
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Maybe I'll knock it off someday.
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I don't know.
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00:13:24,949 --> 00:13:28,786
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of
Twitter, practices stoic-influenced
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routines of meditation and fasting.
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00:13:31,222 --> 00:13:35,777
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater
Associates, embraces memento mori,
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00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:40,795
the stoic reminder of mortality, as a
framework for prioritizing meaningful
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work over just material accumulation.
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00:13:43,495 --> 00:13:46,304
Yeah, lots of us need
to focus in that area.
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00:13:46,422 --> 00:13:50,731
Yvon Chouinard built Patagonia on a
principle that could have come straight-
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00:13:50,959 --> 00:13:56,150
From Marcus Aurelius himself, do no harm
and prioritize legacy over personal gain.
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00:13:56,422 --> 00:14:00,604
And in the tech and venture capital
world, Naval Ravikant, entrepreneur,
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00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:05,295
investor, and one of the most followed
voices in Silicon Valley, has spoken
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00:14:05,331 --> 00:14:10,668
extensively about Stoic and Stoic-adjacent
principles as the foundation of his
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00:14:10,668 --> 00:14:12,777
approach to both business and life.
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The Stoic thread running through
modern entrepreneurship, I
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00:14:16,422 --> 00:14:17,768
don't think it's an accident.
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00:14:17,804 --> 00:14:21,977
I think it's really prevalent
and having huge positive impacts.
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Here's what makes this more than
just philosophical speculation.
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00:14:26,150 --> 00:14:29,077
Cognitive behavioral therapy, and you've
heard me mention this a few times in
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00:14:29,077 --> 00:14:33,031
the past four or five episodes, one of
the most evidence-based psychological
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00:14:33,031 --> 00:14:38,004
treatments in the world, was directly
modeled on Stoic principles by its
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00:14:38,004 --> 00:14:40,068
founders, Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis.
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00:14:40,231 --> 00:14:44,022
Both acknowledged that Stoic philosophers
shaped their core understanding, and
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that it's the meaning of events, not the
events themselves, that affect people.
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Let me repeat that.
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It's, it's that important.
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It's the meaning of events, not the
events themselves, that affect people.
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00:14:55,722 --> 00:14:57,822
Beck made this explicit
in two thousand and seven.
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00:14:57,931 --> 00:15:02,831
Ellis built his, uh, rational emotive
behavior therapy, REBT, on the same
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Stoic foundations, directly citing
Epictetus as a primary source.
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The CBT Stoicism lineage
isn't just an accident.
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No, it's a two-thousand-year-old
insight that has survived
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00:15:16,513 --> 00:15:18,440
rigorous clinical testing.
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00:15:18,704 --> 00:15:22,359
When you practice Stoic principles,
you're not just following ancient wisdom,
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00:15:22,586 --> 00:15:24,513
dudes with gray hair, even bald dudes.
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00:15:24,731 --> 00:15:29,559
You are actually using techniques that
have been validated by modern psychology.
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Yeah, check that off.
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There you go right there.
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And it's worth noting that
contemporary academics are
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taking this seriously as well.
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00:15:36,386 --> 00:15:41,031
Massimo Pigliucci, a professor of
philosophy at CUNY and the author of
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00:15:41,322 --> 00:15:45,522
How to Be a Stoic, has been one of
the most prominent voices arguing that
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00:15:45,522 --> 00:15:47,686
Stoicism isn't just pop self-help.
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00:15:47,804 --> 00:15:50,759
And you know how much I like pop
self-help, he says sarcastically.
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00:15:50,795 --> 00:15:56,513
It's a genuine, rigorous philosophical
practice with real intellectual depth.
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00:15:56,631 --> 00:15:58,568
Let that one sink in
for a moment, would you?
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00:15:58,759 --> 00:16:01,390
Now- Let's be, uh, let's
be really balanced here.
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00:16:01,536 --> 00:16:04,027
The criticism desi- deserves
a fair hearing, right?
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00:16:04,027 --> 00:16:07,072
I wanna ... I don't wanna be all,
you know, unicorns and rainbows here.
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00:16:07,263 --> 00:16:12,409
Georgetown professor Nancy Sherman has
warned that stoicism often attracts
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00:16:12,654 --> 00:16:15,027
hyper-masculine interpretations, right?
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00:16:15,209 --> 00:16:17,381
What some are calling bro-icism, right?
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00:16:17,645 --> 00:16:20,172
A version... And I think this
happens in everything, right?
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00:16:20,172 --> 00:16:24,836
There's always some, uh, far right or far
left fringe version of something good.
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00:16:24,890 --> 00:16:28,045
So you take something like stoicism,
and someone's gonna twist it and
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00:16:28,045 --> 00:16:30,045
swing it to one side or the other.
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00:16:30,045 --> 00:16:33,545
So anyway, like, like I was saying, what
some people are calling bro-icism, this
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00:16:33,545 --> 00:16:38,090
is a version that glorifies emotional
suppression and invulnerability.
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00:16:38,327 --> 00:16:38,481
Yeah.
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00:16:38,890 --> 00:16:40,581
We've talked about this here
a couple of times, right?
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00:16:40,945 --> 00:16:45,181
Sherman wrote her own book, Stoic Wisdom,
in direct response, and I think, I
307
00:16:45,181 --> 00:16:46,881
think she's right to push back a bit.
308
00:16:47,154 --> 00:16:51,663
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of
Antifragile, made the same point but
309
00:16:51,663 --> 00:16:52,909
came at it from a different angle.
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00:16:53,136 --> 00:16:57,381
His concept of antifragility, the
idea that some systems actually
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00:16:57,381 --> 00:17:01,909
get stronger under stress rather
than simply resisting it, is deeply
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00:17:01,909 --> 00:17:03,799
compatible with stoic thinking.
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00:17:03,799 --> 00:17:07,672
But Taleb insists the goal
isn't to become unemotional.
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00:17:07,909 --> 00:17:08,254
No.
315
00:17:08,454 --> 00:17:11,727
It's about replacing unhealthy
emotions with healthy ones.
316
00:17:11,909 --> 00:17:12,745
Well, duh.
317
00:17:12,990 --> 00:17:17,345
You could call this the domestication
of emotion, not the elimination of
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00:17:17,481 --> 00:17:19,363
it, and I'm a big fan of this, right?
319
00:17:19,472 --> 00:17:23,627
I grew up in an, uh, three-generation
military household where men and
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00:17:23,627 --> 00:17:28,854
emotions were kind of separated a,
a lot, and I, I didn't like that.
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00:17:28,890 --> 00:17:32,681
But, of course, being raised that
way, it, it still impacts you.
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00:17:32,890 --> 00:17:38,004
I was In my late teens, early 20s, before
I f- saw my father cry for the first time.
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00:17:38,404 --> 00:17:42,477
So I began to embrace my
emotions over time and learned
324
00:17:42,604 --> 00:17:43,677
to domesticate them, right?
325
00:17:43,677 --> 00:17:47,568
It was... Again, it's not about simply
getting rid of them, it's about learning
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00:17:47,568 --> 00:17:50,850
to understand them and replacing
unhealthy emotions with healthy ones.
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00:17:50,959 --> 00:17:54,304
Academics have also questioned
the commercialization of
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00:17:54,304 --> 00:17:55,586
stoicism, as they should.
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00:17:55,840 --> 00:18:00,659
At a 2016 Stoicon conference, yes, they
have Stoicons, attendees challenged
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00:18:00,659 --> 00:18:04,977
whether Holiday's best-selling approach
even qualifies as genuine stoicism.
331
00:18:05,313 --> 00:18:07,204
That tension, I think, is healthy.
332
00:18:07,377 --> 00:18:09,022
Anything should be debated, right?
333
00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:10,777
I have this opinion,
you have that opinion.
334
00:18:10,777 --> 00:18:11,759
Well, let's talk about it.
335
00:18:12,068 --> 00:18:14,331
Philosophy should be debated.
336
00:18:14,468 --> 00:18:18,222
It, it, and it has been debated for
hundreds of years, thousands of years.
337
00:18:18,431 --> 00:18:21,177
But here's what matters
for you as an entrepreneur.
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00:18:21,313 --> 00:18:22,340
The core principles work.
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00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:24,459
Boom, there it is, a little
mic drop right there for you.
340
00:18:24,868 --> 00:18:28,104
Whether you call it stoicism, whether
you call it cognitive behavioral
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00:18:28,104 --> 00:18:32,104
therapy, or whether you just call it
good business sense, the ability to
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00:18:32,104 --> 00:18:37,049
focus on what you can control, prepare
for obstacles, and find opportunity in
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00:18:37,049 --> 00:18:41,240
adversity is what separates successful
entrepreneurs from those that just
344
00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:42,895
throw their hands up and say, "F it."
345
00:18:43,168 --> 00:18:43,486
Okay?
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00:18:43,604 --> 00:18:43,895
Okay.
347
00:18:44,013 --> 00:18:48,095
And, and if this comprehensive breakdown
of entrepreneurs' mental operating system
348
00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:50,413
is hitting you right in the gut, good.
349
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,322
Then that means you need to get on the
Unleash Your Success DNA newsletter.
350
00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:58,568
This is the exactly the same kind
of contrarian, historically grounded
351
00:18:58,568 --> 00:19:01,895
insight that I like to share every
week with inspiring entrepreneurs,
352
00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:05,395
those who are, are devoted to getting
better and maybe even want to escape
353
00:19:05,395 --> 00:19:09,440
their nine-to-five, all of whom refuse
to accept surface-level business
354
00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:11,440
advice, surface-level pop self-help.
355
00:19:12,004 --> 00:19:16,422
Each issue, I, I strive to deliver
mindset shifts and habit upgrades,
356
00:19:16,422 --> 00:19:19,813
again, with that little mix of rebellion
in there, all helping you break
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00:19:19,813 --> 00:19:23,449
free from convention so that you can
build not just a business, but a life
358
00:19:23,449 --> 00:19:24,904
aligned with your version of success.
359
00:19:25,186 --> 00:19:29,504
No recycled tips, no motivational
hoo-ha or fluff, just the truths
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00:19:29,504 --> 00:19:32,777
about what it really takes to build
something meaningful, whether that's
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00:19:32,777 --> 00:19:36,031
a business, a life, a relationship,
whatever it is you're looking to build.
362
00:19:36,140 --> 00:19:40,577
Here's why this matters beyond
just handling life, business,
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00:19:40,659 --> 00:19:42,531
obstacles, and stress better.
364
00:19:43,018 --> 00:19:47,690
Research has found that despite working
longer hours, entrepreneurs with a
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00:19:47,690 --> 00:19:52,418
strong psychological framework are no
more likely to experience burnout than
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00:19:52,418 --> 00:19:55,699
are salaried employees, than are folks
doing corporate nine-to-five jobs.
367
00:19:56,163 --> 00:20:00,345
Their risk really is actually
lower because of what researchers
368
00:20:00,345 --> 00:20:04,890
call psychological unity, a great
sense of meaning, a great sense
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00:20:04,890 --> 00:20:06,736
of autonomy and satisfaction.
370
00:20:06,963 --> 00:20:09,254
Entrepreneurs, on average, are happier.
371
00:20:09,518 --> 00:20:14,154
The bigger paradigm here is that most
business education treats entrepreneurship
372
00:20:14,345 --> 00:20:16,045
like a technical skill, right?
373
00:20:16,100 --> 00:20:19,390
Learn the right tactics, follow the
right steps, and you will succeed.
374
00:20:19,654 --> 00:20:23,427
But that's not how it works, and many of
you are nodding, "No shit, Tracy. Totally
375
00:20:23,427 --> 00:20:27,699
not how it works." Entrepreneurship
is fundamentally a psychological game,
376
00:20:27,890 --> 00:20:31,600
which is one of the reasons why I started
this podcast so many years... 2007?
377
00:20:31,990 --> 00:20:32,727
Way back when.
378
00:20:32,927 --> 00:20:35,118
I was on my entrepreneurial
journey, and I realized this.
379
00:20:35,118 --> 00:20:36,663
It hit me like a ton of bricks.
380
00:20:36,963 --> 00:20:39,536
It's about making decisions
under uncertainty.
381
00:20:39,736 --> 00:20:41,227
It's about handling rejection.
382
00:20:41,327 --> 00:20:43,627
Whoa, I... That's one of my weak spots.
383
00:20:43,736 --> 00:20:47,354
It's about persisting through
failure, and it's about maintaining
384
00:20:47,354 --> 00:20:51,136
a vision when everyone else
around you thinks you're crazy.
385
00:20:51,399 --> 00:20:51,563
Yeah.
386
00:20:51,700 --> 00:20:52,527
And you know what?
387
00:20:52,627 --> 00:20:54,054
You might be, but that's okay.
388
00:20:54,227 --> 00:20:58,518
How many crazy people have created
some amazing products and tools and
389
00:20:58,518 --> 00:21:00,500
tips and techniques and civilizations?
390
00:21:00,500 --> 00:21:01,190
Who knows?
391
00:21:01,254 --> 00:21:03,118
I don't, I, I, I don't have
that research in front of me.
392
00:21:03,381 --> 00:21:06,063
Stoicism does not
promise you an easy path.
393
00:21:06,254 --> 00:21:10,763
Let's, let's be honest here, but it does
promise you a clear path, and while your
394
00:21:10,763 --> 00:21:14,627
competitors are out there burning out,
they're getting paralyzed by analysis,
395
00:21:14,763 --> 00:21:18,372
and they're giving up at the first sign
of trouble, you're gonna be operating
396
00:21:18,372 --> 00:21:21,609
from a place of unshakable mental clarity.
397
00:21:22,009 --> 00:21:27,090
23 years of human wisdom, pressure tested
by emperors, prisoners of war, and the
398
00:21:27,154 --> 00:21:28,727
founders of billion-dollar companies.
399
00:21:28,999 --> 00:21:31,036
That is the entrepreneur's mindset.
400
00:21:31,199 --> 00:21:35,063
That is the complete scope of
stoicism in modern business.
401
00:21:35,127 --> 00:21:38,681
Not a retreat from emotion, but
a framework for channeling it.
402
00:21:39,018 --> 00:21:44,454
Not passive acceptance, but a strategic
engagement with reality as it really is.
403
00:21:44,918 --> 00:21:47,354
Stoicism doesn't promise an
easy path, as I mentioned.
404
00:21:47,663 --> 00:21:52,672
Marcus Aurelius wrote, quote, "The mind
adapts and converts to its own purposes
405
00:21:52,963 --> 00:21:55,445
the obstacle to our acting," unquote.
406
00:21:55,990 --> 00:21:59,472
AKA, the obstacle becomes the way.
407
00:21:59,636 --> 00:22:01,645
There's a Mandalorian joke
in here somewhere, but I, I
408
00:22:01,645 --> 00:22:02,618
can't think of it right now.
409
00:22:02,654 --> 00:22:04,699
So here's your whiskered
wisdom for this episode.
410
00:22:04,699 --> 00:22:06,627
Here's your action step for tonight.
411
00:22:07,009 --> 00:22:10,290
Before you go to bed, practice
a modern version of Marcus
412
00:22:10,290 --> 00:22:12,127
Aurelius's evening reflection.
413
00:22:12,363 --> 00:22:16,218
Write down three things that
challenged you in your business today.
414
00:22:16,663 --> 00:22:18,227
And if you can't think of
something from today, think
415
00:22:18,227 --> 00:22:19,372
about something from yesterday.
416
00:22:19,627 --> 00:22:22,354
And for each one of those, each
one of those three that you wrote
417
00:22:22,354 --> 00:22:24,436
down, ask yourself these questions.
418
00:22:24,581 --> 00:22:26,818
What did this teach me about myself?
419
00:22:27,272 --> 00:22:29,727
What did this teach me about my business?
420
00:22:29,872 --> 00:22:34,900
And how can I use this experience to
become a stronger entrepreneur tomorrow?
421
00:22:35,172 --> 00:22:37,136
You're not just solving
business problems here.
422
00:22:37,381 --> 00:22:41,354
You're building a mental framework
that will carry you through every
423
00:22:41,427 --> 00:22:45,390
damn challenge your entrepreneurial
journey is going to throw at you.
424
00:22:45,590 --> 00:22:47,336
And it is gonna throw some shit at you.
425
00:22:47,636 --> 00:22:48,718
Let's just be honest.
426
00:22:48,854 --> 00:22:51,554
You gotta be ready to wipe
the caca off your face.
427
00:22:51,727 --> 00:22:54,618
And that's the difference between
entrepreneurs who build something
428
00:22:54,618 --> 00:22:58,618
lasting and those who give up when
things just get a little hard.
429
00:22:58,745 --> 00:23:02,599
Listen, Marcus Aurelius didn't write
his meditations because he was having
430
00:23:02,599 --> 00:23:05,027
an easy time as the emperor of Rome.
431
00:23:05,090 --> 00:23:07,754
He wrote them because he
was dealing with shit.
432
00:23:08,063 --> 00:23:09,127
He was dealing with plagues.
433
00:23:09,409 --> 00:23:10,481
He was dealing with wars.
434
00:23:10,699 --> 00:23:13,790
He was dealing with betrayals
and the constant pressure
435
00:23:14,045 --> 00:23:15,490
of just leading an empire.
436
00:23:15,690 --> 00:23:19,827
Seneca didn't develop his philosophy
while lounging around in luxury.
437
00:23:20,063 --> 00:23:24,209
He developed it while navigating
the deadly politics of Nero's court.
438
00:23:24,454 --> 00:23:28,872
Epictetus didn't teach resistance
from a position of comfort.
439
00:23:29,072 --> 00:23:34,081
No, he taught it as someone who had
been enslaved and knew what it meant to
440
00:23:34,081 --> 00:23:37,109
have every damn thing he had taken away.
441
00:23:37,427 --> 00:23:39,254
These aren't armchair philosophers here.
442
00:23:39,336 --> 00:23:42,136
No, these are real-world practitioners.
443
00:23:42,363 --> 00:23:46,699
They developed these ideas under
pressure in the real world when the
444
00:23:46,699 --> 00:23:49,600
stakes were literally life and death.
445
00:23:49,836 --> 00:23:53,390
And that's exactly why they work for
entrepreneurs like you and like me.
446
00:23:53,472 --> 00:23:56,690
The question isn't whether this
philosophy is relevant to your business.
447
00:23:56,899 --> 00:24:00,554
The question is, is how much
longer can you afford to operate
448
00:24:00,554 --> 00:24:01,936
your business without it?
449
00:24:02,136 --> 00:24:02,318
Hmm?
450
00:24:02,699 --> 00:24:02,981
Yeah.
451
00:24:03,218 --> 00:24:04,036
Let that one sink in.
452
00:24:04,327 --> 00:24:06,909
Your business challenges,
they are not unique.
453
00:24:07,254 --> 00:24:10,663
I don't care if you're creating something
brand new no one's ever seen before.
454
00:24:10,890 --> 00:24:14,418
The feelings you're experiencing,
the doubts, the fear, the overwhelm,
455
00:24:14,536 --> 00:24:19,300
entrepreneurs have been dealing with the
same damn emotions for thousands of years.
456
00:24:19,490 --> 00:24:23,700
The difference is now you have a framework
that has been battle tested by some of
457
00:24:23,745 --> 00:24:29,372
the most successful people in history,
validated by modern psychology, and
458
00:24:29,372 --> 00:24:31,763
proven in the trenches of modern business.
459
00:24:31,972 --> 00:24:33,154
You don't need more validation.
460
00:24:33,181 --> 00:24:33,936
You got it all.
461
00:24:34,100 --> 00:24:34,999
I just proved it to you.
462
00:24:35,281 --> 00:24:36,536
You need better philosophy.
463
00:24:36,763 --> 00:24:38,227
You don't need more tactics.
464
00:24:38,436 --> 00:24:39,318
You need better thinking.
465
00:24:39,581 --> 00:24:41,709
And you do not need an easier plan.
466
00:24:42,027 --> 00:24:43,063
You need a stronger mind.
467
00:24:43,654 --> 00:24:45,499
Think successfully and take action.
