The Strong Stoic Podcast

Todd Leader is a social worker and community psychologist. He’s spent his over 20-year career leading service development and transformation, particularly in the areas of mental health, addictions, health promotions, and primary health care. This is Todd’s second time on the podcast, and in this episode, we talk about leadership: how to be a good leader, the importance of humility and criticism, and much more. Please welcome, Todd Leader. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Human beings inevitably become less and less grateful for the things that we have over time, even to the point where we can catch ourselves complaining about the smallest thing despite having mostly everything else perfect. It's a bit of a curious problem: why are we so consumed by the negative aspects of life when we have so much to be thankful for? From appreciating our work to being grateful for our shelter, food, water, loved ones, and everything else we experience daily, we tend to gravitate towards a state of ingratitude. But why is this the case? And how do we fight it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's common to have periods in your life when you lose faith. If you believe in a god, perhaps that loss of faith is the loss of belief in your god. For a Stoic, losing faith looks more like losing the belief that you are capable of becoming a virtuous person and that you have a place in the cosmos. These moments are tough... in fact, I think they are the toughest. But we crawl out of that dark place all of the time. So: how can we come back to the light? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Bertolotti is the host of the In Search of Wisdom Podcast and the Perennial Podcast where he talks about all kinds of ancient wisdom and engages in meaningful conversations with modern thinkers. He also manages the Perennial Leader Project, which includes these podcasts along with a weekly newsletter and blog posts. This episode is actually part 2 of Self-Love. In this episode, we do a brief recap of part 1 and then dive right into the dark! We talk about the shadow in-depth, including those moments where you lose faith, and then we make some conclusions on whether or not loving oneself is the hardest. Please welcome, Josh Bertolotti. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Life has a way of just flying by. Before you know it, you’re in a new place that you would have never thought you’d be. That place can be good or bad. What makes this happen over time is your habits. What are you practicing? Are you making an effort to be courageous? To think critically? To be rude? If you're not careful which train you get on, you may not like the destination. And unfortunately, you don't get the choice to not get on a train. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s often said that we need to "do our duty". Clearly, this means that we need to do our work. But most people struggle with that they should do in life. There are many choices, after all - you can be a welder, engineer, psychologist, or even a humble server at a restaurant. There are also those who think that the necessity to work is a force of oppression. In today's episode, I discuss what duty is, why it's necessary, and how to decide what your duty should be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Quinn Everett is a Team Canada Olympic Weightlifter competing in the 109kg+ weight class (so he’s a heavyweight!). He recently won gold in Canadian nationals for his fourth time in a row, and I’m proud to say that he’s from my home province of Nova Scotia. In this episode, we discuss building good habits, mental strength, and fortitude, being a rebel, and much more. I had a great time chatting with this guy, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Please welcome Quinn Everett. Find Quinn on:https://www.instagram.com/quangggg_/?hl=en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anger is an emotion that gets a lot of focus in philosophical circles. It's no secret that many people struggle with anger issues, and ancient philosophers like Aristotle, Plato, and the Stoics had strong opinions on the emotion. However, not all philosophers agree on anger. Some believe it is always a vice, while others believe it can, in fact, be virtuous. In this episode, I'll be presenting some of the ideas around anger and whether or not it's always a vice or if there's room for some anger in a virtuous lifestyle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may think of a lazy animal when you hear the word "sloth", but it's also a vice! That is, being a sloth is characteristic of bad character. It means what you probably think it means - being lazy - but can be more properly described as "neglecting one's duties". In the privileged world that we live in, it can be hard for us to appreciate the importance of work before play. In this episode, I discuss what being a sloth means, why it's a vice, and how we should be thinking about work and play. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh is the host of the In Search of Wisdom Podcast and the Perennial Podcast where he talks about all kinds of ancient wisdom and engages in meaningful conversations with modern thinkers. He also manages the Perennial Leader Project, which includes these podcasts along with a weekly newsletter and blog posts. Myself and Josh connected a while ago and we’ve done several collaborations together. In this episode, we talk about loving yourself – what it means, how to do it, whether it’s even possible, and whether you are the hardest person to love for yourself. Please welcome, Josh Bertolotti.Check out Josh at:https://www.perennialleader.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices