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Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from The Stoic Challenge by William B. Irvine. Hope you enjoy!
William B. Irvine is a professor of philosophy at Wright State University. He’s also a fantastic (and prolific) writer. And… Unlike many of his academic, professor-of-philosophy peers, he is a practicing Stoic philosopher. In the words of Donald Robertson (another Stoic author and practitioner; see The Philosophy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), he is both a librarian AND a warrior of the mind. We featured another one of Professor Irvine’s great books on Stoicism called A Guide to the Good Life. I enjoyed that one quite a bit but I REALLY (!) enjoyed this one. Like, jumbo loved it. In fact, I’m going to put this one right at the top of our growing collection of books on Stoicism—along with the must-read classics by Aurelius (Meditations), Seneca (Letters from a Stoic, On the Shortness of Life), and Epictetus (Discourses, Enchiridion) plus the modern classics like Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way and The Daily Stoic. If you’re looking for “A Philosopher’s Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient,” I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. I HIGHLY recommend it.
Get The Stoic Challenge on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stoic-Challenge-Philosophers-Becoming-Resilient/dp/0393652491
Learn more about William B. Irvine: https://www.optimize.me/authors/william-b-irvine/
► RELATED RESOURCES:
Big Idea 1: SETBACK EXEMPLARS
- PN: A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/a-guide-to-the-good-life-william-irvine/
- +1: Warriors vs. Librarians | Let’s Not Just Catalogue these +1s, Let’s LIVE Them (#66) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/warriors-vs-librarians/
- PN: How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/how-to-think-like-a-roman-emperor-donald-robertson/
- +1: Self-Efficacy | The Science of Confidence (#111) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/self-efficacy/
- +1: What’s Your Excuse? | RISE UP! with Spartan Hero Kacey McCallister (#979) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/whats-your-excuse/
Big Idea 2: ANTIFRAGILITY
- Antifragile 101 | How to Use Everything to Fuel Your Heroic Growth → https://www.optimize.me/antifragility/
- +1: Antifragile | vs. Resilient vs. Fragile (#10) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/antifragile/
- +1: OMMS | The Hero’s Mantra (#41) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/omms/
- +1: The 1, 2, 3 of Antifragility | How to Operationalize OMMS (#1108) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-1-2-3-of-antifragility/
- +1: Styrofoam Weights | And Your Optimize Gym™ Membership (#407) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/styrofoam-weights/
- PN: The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-obstacle-is-the-way-ryan-holiday/
Big Idea 3: THE TEST
- #1: "Thank you, Stoic gods! Appreciate the chance to practice my Philosophy!" (#36) → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QywG42MXtY
- +1: Threat vs. Challenge | How to You Respond to Life’s Stressors? (It Matters!) (#336) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/threat-vs-challenge/
Big Idea 4: NEGATIVE VISUALIZATION
- +1: Stoic Negative Visualization | A Practice in the Ancient Art of Stoic Joy (#851) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/stoic-negative-visualization/
- +1: Memento Mori | Want to Live? Remember Death (#209) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/memento-mori/
- +1: Gratitude | Science Says: It Works! (#24) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/gratitude/
- +1: The #1 Obstacle to Gratitude | And Its Remedy (#1071) →
- +1: Science Says: Gratitude Works | Some EYE-POPPING Stats (#1068) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-1-obstacle-to-gratitude/
- +1: Taking Things FOR GRANTED vs. AS GRANTED | Let’s Choose Wisely (#1070) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/taking-things-for-granted-vs-as-granted/
Big Idea 5: LAZY BILL
- +1: Demons vs. Daimons | What to Feed Them (#919) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/demons-vs-daimons/
- +1: +1 or -1 = Destiny Math | What Must YOU be? (#1) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/destiny-math/
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