Are We Able to Concentrate on Our Work Deeply, Though We Have Distractions Like Traffic Noise and Big Sounds?

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The author and his wife go for a walk every morning. He doesn't take his phone with him on the three-mile loop around their neighborhood. This is to create routine that puts you in head space, rather than like it's new york city where people are constantly bombarded by big sounds. The Stoic philosopher Epictetus wrote about how he dealt with noise outside his window in ancient Rome....

In this episode of Deep Questions we try something a little different: our first guest!

Bestselling author Ryan Holiday joins me to help answer reader questions, as well as more than a few queries from me. We cover a variety of topics, including his life as a writer living on a ranch, how he fosters discipline, the impact of our diminishing reading culture, and why everyone keeps trying to get me to move to Austin.

Be sure to check out Ryan's new book: LIVES OF THE STOICS (https://dailystoic.com/preorder).

To submit your own questions for the show, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.com.

You can submit audio questions at https://www.speakpipe.com/CalNewport

Thanks to listener Jay Kerstens for the intro music.