The Daily Stoic: 10 Habits That Made Marcus Aurelius Great

You walk the streets of Pompeii today and you see the same things you would see in any modern city: stands selling hot and cold food for busy people, nicer houses on the hill whose owners tired of street noise, stores jockeying for the busiest intersections, graffiti in public spaces. As the emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote, reflecting on the century before Pompeii was buried: "People doing the exact same things. Marrying, raising children, getting sick, dying, waging war, throwing parties, doing business, farming." Ryan Holiday, author and host of The Daily Stoic, uses this observation to frame the central argument of the episode: the fundamental human experience does not change, and neither does the struggle to live well within it.

The Emperor Who Fought to Be Good

Marcus Aurelius was the most powerful man in the world, but his life was anything but easy. Power was foisted upon him unexpectedly. He faced historic floods, a devastating plague, years of warfare, betrayal by a general in an attempted coup, and the death of multiple children. Holiday emphasizes a crucial point: "He wasn't just naturally wise, naturally courageous, naturally just, naturally disciplined. It was an effort for him as it is for all of us. It was a daily struggle."