In one of his letters, Seneca said that the path to becoming wise was acquiring one piece of wisdom every day—a quote, an idea, an insight, an answer to this or that question—"that will fortify you against poverty, against death, indeed against other misfortunes."
Notice the choice of the word will. Some day, misfortune will strike. A decision about the future will land on your desk. There will be a moral dilemma you didn't see coming. You will find yourself in a confusing situation or in the vicinity of a hidden opportunity.
In these moments—big or small—the wisdom you need will either be there…or it won't. The experience, the knowledge, the insights, the understanding will have been accumulated…or not. The work to fortify yourself will have been done…or it won't have been.
It's in those moments that we discover why you can't spell learned without earned. Wisdom is a lagging indicator of the work you did long ago. The fruit of the seed planted long ago. You can't reap what you haven't sown.
Every good decision, every right action, every wise response in a complicated situation has a prologue titled preparation. Nothing comes from nowhere. Everything is a lagging indicator of whether the work was done—or wasn't.
And nowhere is this more true than with wisdom.
Even if you are naturally gifted, even if you've already graduated from the best schools, even if you've read hundreds of books—still, Seneca writes, to become wise, "much toil remains; to confront it, you must yourself lavish all your waking hours, and all your efforts, if you wish the result to be accomplished."
Ryan Holiday's latest book Wisdom Takes Work—the fourth and final in the Stoic Virtues series—is not a book of wisdom but rather a book about that work.
It's filled with the example and insights of some of history's wisest people, and how we can follow in their footsteps. If you're ready to start—or to deepen your commitment to—that work, the book is available for preorder now!
Preorders make a huge difference for authors (and bookstores), and to make it worth your while, we've put together some awesome bonuses for you.
Please note that these bonuses are ONLY available to those who preorder the book. Once the book is officially released, these special offers will no longer be available.
The Spotify playlist Ryan listened to while writing the book
An invite to a philosophical dinner in Bastrop, TX with Ryan and special guests
Remember, these exclusive Daily Stoic bonuses will only be available during the preorder period. If you're planning to purchase Wisdom Takes Work anyway, we strongly encourage you to preorder now to ensure you receive all your potential bonuses.
We also have a limited number of signed, numbered first-editions you can grab here.
Don't wait until wisdom is needed to start building it.
Head to dailystoic.com/wisdom to get your copy and secure your preorder bonuses today!
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