Change Agents with Andy Stumpf

Changing the World Through Stoicism and Discipline (with Ryan Holiday)

Dec 10, 2025
Ryan Holiday, a bestselling author known for popularizing modern Stoicism, dives deep into resilience and discipline. He discusses his upcoming projects, including a biography on Jim Stockdale and how mental strategies can help transcend suffering. Ryan explores Stoicism's resurgence in unstable times, emphasizing stillness and personal responsibility in our tech-laden world. He also offers insights into applying Stoic practices in daily life and parenting, linking wisdom to continuous growth and experience.
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ANECDOTE

Stockdale's Prison Leadership

  • Admiral James Stockdale trained at survival school and later applied those lessons when shot down and imprisoned in North Vietnam.
  • He used leadership, forgiveness, and reintegration to prevent prisoners from spiraling after breaking under torture.
INSIGHT

Why Stoicism Is Resurgent

  • Stoicism resurges in chaotic times because it was designed for uncertainty and instability.
  • Ancient Stoics faced constant threat and unpredictability, so their tools fit modern disruption like pandemics and AI too.
INSIGHT

Phones Amplify Old Weaknesses

  • Technology increases information and distraction, but the core human tendency to seek distraction remains unchanged.
  • Stoics would view phones as modern tools that test our capacity for self-restraint rather than new human problems.
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