The Stoic Virtues Series

Fortune favours the bold. All great leaders of history have known this, and were successful because of the risks they dared to take. But today, so many of us are paralysed by fear. Drawing on ancient Stoic wisdom and examples across history and around the world, Ryan Holiday shows why courage is so important, and how to cultivate it in our own lives. Courage is not simply physical bravery but also doing the right thing and standing up for what you believe; it's creativity, generosity and perseverance. And it is the only way to live an extraordinary, fulfilled and effective life.

Almost every religion, spiritual practice, philosophy and person grapples with fear. The most repeated phrase in the Bible is “Be not afraid.” The ancient Greeks spoke of phobos, panic and terror. It is natural to feel fear, the Stoics believed, but it cannot rule you. Courage, then, is the ability to rise above fear, to do what’s right, to do what’s needed, to do what is true. And so it rests at the heart of the works of Marcus Aurelius, Aristotle, and CS Lewis, alongside temperance, justice, and wisdom.

To master anything, one must first master themselves–one’s emotions, one’s thoughts, one’s actions. Eisenhower famously said that freedom is really the opportunity to practice self-discipline. Cicero called the virtue of temperance the polish of life. Without boundaries and restraint, we risk not only failing to meet our full potential and jeopardizing what we have achieved, but we ensure misery and shame. In a world of temptation and excess, this ancient idea is more urgent than ever.

If we do what is right, everything else will follow: happiness, success, meaning, reputation, love. This is central to Stoic wisdom. The path isn't always easy, but it is essential, and the alternative - taking the easy route - leads only to cowardice and folly. In the third book in his bestselling Stoic Virtues series, Ryan Holiday explores the crucial role that integrity plays in every good life. From pillars of upright living like Ulysses S. Grant and Marcus Aurelius, to the cautionary tales of Napoleon and F. Scott Fitzgerald, this book shows us the power of owning our convictions.

In this fourth and final instalment of his bestselling Stoic Virtues series, Ryan Holiday reveals a method of self education that can be honed throughout our lives. Drawing on stories of the Stoics, the Buddha, and modern greats from Abraham Lincoln to Joan Didion, he shows how to cultivate wisdom through reading, contemplation and discernment. He teaches us how to think critically, listen intently and escape the traps of tribalism, certainty and self-righteousness. As the Stoics knew, all other virtues depend on wisdom. It takes work. But it's worth it.