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The Stoic Vault: What I Built and Why · The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: I've been looking forward to this episode for a while.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: For the last couple of weeks, I've been talking a lot about the gap between knowing Stoicism and living it.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: About how the philosophy disappears when we need it most.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: And about what the Stoics actually meant by practice and how we've lost that.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of you reached out after those episodes and the messages have been overwhelming, honestly.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: People saying this is exactly what I've been experiencing.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: What do I do about it though?
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Today I want to answer that.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: I've built something, and it's called the Stoic Vault.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it might be what some of you have actually been looking for.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: In this episode, I'm going to tell you what it is and why I've made it.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: About two years ago, I hit a bit of a wall.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'd been teaching Stoicism for years at that point, writing about it, making podcasts about it, doing multiple live cohorts, lots of one-on-one work, and in general over a decade of work researching self-improvement and psychology and philosophy.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I knew the material well, but I was still losing my temper.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: I was still spiraling over difficult conversations.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: I was still lying awake at night, replaying conversations, knowing exactly what Marcus Aurelius would say, and yet somehow unable to apply it.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: I remember one night in particular I had an argument with my co-parent, something small, but it escalated somehow, like a snowball.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I said things I regretted.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: I said things that weren't motivated by virtue, by wisdom, and the conversation collapsed, usual, expected, yet I still did the thing I knew I shouldn't do.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Afterward I went and I did some work on my laptop and I sat there.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: I felt like a bit of a fraud, to be honest.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'd just recorded a podcast about emotional regulation, and I wondered, you know, to what extent can I regulate my own emotions when it mattered most?
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that night I started asking myself, what would actually help me get to the next level?
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Not more books because I had shelves full of them.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Not more content.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: I make content.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's really helpful up to a point.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: What I wanted was structure, a sort of dojo for the mind.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Something that would force me to practice not just once, but consistently, small exercises every week that I'd actually do, training ground.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I wanted accountability, someone or something that would keep me honest when my motivation would fade.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because everyone's motivation comes and goes.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I wanted guidance, real guidance, not just from a random internet forum where anyone can chime in and everyone's got an opinion on the internet, but a person who actually knows this stuff, who I could lean on, who I could ask when I got stuck.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I wanted it to be somewhat quiet.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'd joined Stoicism communities before, the groups and the servers.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Lots of memes and arguments, one-upmanship and who can create the biggest reaction, just more addiction to validation there.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: And it's fun to nerd out about which translation of the meditations is best, fine.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: But that's not training.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's just more noise.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted a focused space where people were actually doing the work.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I couldn't find it.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing like that existed, so I figured I should build it.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: And here's what the stoic vault is.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's a training ground.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's a quiet space where you can practice stoicism, not just read about it.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna walk you through what's inside now.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start with the courses.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: There are twelve audio courses at the launch.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Each one focuses on a very specific challenge, like anxiety or anger or overthinking, procrastination, difficult relationships, building focus, cultivating gratitude, building a morning routine.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: They're not lectures.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: They're short lessons that combines the perfect amount of theory with specific exercises.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Each course gives you something to do, a practice that you can apply that day immediately.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: So for example, my anxiety course doesn't just explain what the Stoic said about fear.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's useful, but it's not enough to actually change these patterns.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: It gives you protocols that you can use before any high stakes situation, like a meeting or a difficult conversation or a medical appointment, something concrete you can actually do.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: New courses are added every month.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And the courses are grouped into paths.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: So the idea is if you want to master a particular area, you do all the courses within that path.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Next, we have weekly practice.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Every Monday I post a new practice.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Something small, something specific, something that you can try that day.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: One week it might be a modified evening reflection, another week a controlled exposure exercise, another a gratitude practice with a certain stoic twist.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: You try it, you notice what happens, you share what you learned or where you got stuck.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: And over time, these small reps compound.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's how reflexes change, not through reading, but through repetition.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I also create a podcast version of the weekly practice so you can listen to it instead of read it if that's what you prefer.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: That is always contained within the practice thread.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Live sessions.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Once a month we're gonna gather for a live session, sixty to ninety minutes or sometimes more.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be part teaching, part guided practice, and part open Q ⁇ A and discussion.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I'll do a deep dive on a specific topic, sometimes we'll work through a practice together in real time.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we'll just talk.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: You can bring your situations and we can figure them out together.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: All the sessions are recorded, so if you can't make them live, you won't miss anything.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll build a nice catalogue of these live deep dive sessions.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Meditations, so guided audio meditations for real moments.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: When you're anxious before a presentation, when you can't sleep, when you've just had an argument and you need to reset.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: These aren't your generic relaxation tracks.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: They're stoic practices in audio form designed for the moments you actually need them.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Tools.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna have notion templates, PDFs, and AI journals.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Currently there's a hegemonicon journal, an AI stoic anger journal that walks you through how to process anger step by step.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: We have a morning superhuman journal that takes five minutes but sets you up for the day.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: We have different CBT journals, triple column techniques, evening practices, things you can use every day.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: And the way that I've built these journals is that they help you process your emotions and process your day, but they actually teach you things as well about yourself and about stoicism as you go.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, personal guidance.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is the part I'm most proud of.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's a space in the vault called questions and coaching, and you can post your situation, what's happening, what you're struggling with, what you've tried, and I respond personally, not a chatbot, not peer advice, me.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: There's also a space called Vault Voice Notes, where occasionally I will respond at length in a voice note for whatever you're going through.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: And if you like to keep things private, you can just message me directly on the Stoic Vault, and I can work with you there to help you figure it out.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: So this is what I wish I had.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: A teacher who actually responds.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: The Stoic Vault might not be for everyone.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: I would say that it is for you if you have read the books, but you struggle to apply the teachings when it matters, and if you felt that gap between knowing what Seneca would say and not being able to do it in the moment.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: If you want structure, if you want a rhythm of practice, not rather than a figure it out yourself kind of thing, but you want specific exercises, specific days, someone keeping you accountable, if you value depth over noise, if you want a quiet place to do the work, not a social media feed with ancient philosophy memes.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I would say it's not for you if you just want like a really quick fix, because stoicism isn't a hack, it's a practice.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want transformation without any effort, this isn't going to be the place.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's like showing up to a martial arts dojo and just saying, can you just download all your fighting skills into my brain and I don't have to train?
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: They'd say, Well, no, we can give you expert guidance and give you an optimal plan for you, but you still have to actually do what we tell you to do and do the practices and do the exercises.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I would say this is not for you if you want a super high activity social community.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: To be honest, I think that the community, when it opens up, is going to be thriving, but that's not an essential component of what the vault is.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's meant to be an intentionally calm place.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: We're here to train and we like to keep the chat focused on the important stuff.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not for you if you're not willing to do any inner work.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Reading is a lot easier than practicing.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to just consume more content, there's plenty of that that you can get for free.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: So here's what the Stoic Vault offers.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: Right now I'm opening the vault to founding members.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: The first 100 people who join get the founder's pricing.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's$10 a month or$99 a year.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's locked in for life as long as you're subscribed, and you'll never pay more.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: So to put that in perspective,$10 a month is less than a single book.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's less than one month of most meditation apps.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Even a year's worth of subscription on the Stoic Vault is less than one single therapy session.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: And for that, you get the courses, the weekly practices, the live sessions, the meditations, the tools, and the personal guidance from me.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: After 100 members, the price rises to$15 a month or$150 a year.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Still reasonable, but I want to reward the people who join early.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: And there's also a 14-day refund guarantee.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you tried the vault for two weeks and you explore the courses, you do a weekly practice, it's not right for you, you can just email me and I'll refund you.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: No questions, no awkwardness.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: I genuinely want people inside to want to be there.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: The vault doesn't work otherwise.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want anyone to feel trapped.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that's it.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's the Stoic Vault.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: And if this sounds like something you've been looking for, a place to actually practice, not to just read, I'd be glad to have you join and have you inside.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: You can go to stoicvault.com and I'll include the link in the show notes.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: And if it's not for you, no pressure.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Genuinely, the podcast is not going anywhere.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna keep making free content.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna keep showing up here.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: But if you've been feeling that gap, knowing the philosophy, wanting to live it, not quite able to bridge the two, this might be the structure that helps.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for listening and hopefully I'll see you inside.