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Welcome to The Stoic Handbook Podcast · The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Stoic Handbook Podcast.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: My name is John Brooks and I will be your guide through these series of lessons and contemplations and meditations.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: I want to tell you a little bit about my mission with the Stoic Handbook and also a little bit about myself.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: So first of all, I want you to know that I'm not a guru or an infallible expert who knows everything there is to know about philosophy and history and stoicism and how to live a wise life.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: I am, like Seneca said, just a person recovering in the hospital who is sharing what has worked for me with my fellow patients.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: The Stoic Handbook is a place where I value experience over pure intellect, deep simplicity over shallow complexity, innovation over dogma, leading with example rather than theoretical frameworks, and being over simply knowing.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Since twenty fifteen I've been working full time on the philosophy and spirituality blog high existence.com, where I've created courses, written articles that have been read by millions of people, and facilitated retreats all over the world.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Throughout my life I've experienced a range of setbacks, traumas and tragedies, and I've always found Stoicism to be a guiding light in the darkest times.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: The Stoic Handbook started as a blog where I decided to deconstruct ancient wisdom into a way that was modern, updated, and practical.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: I feared that people would skim these ancient texts and not pick up all of the true gems of wisdom that were contained inside, because this is exactly what I did in my early years.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: After studying martial arts, in particular Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I learned that self-improvement and philosophical training is difficult.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Simply reading is not enough.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: One must also practice, drill, and spar to get the most out of their training.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: The Stoic Handbook blog, which is available on stoichandbook.co, is where I deconstruct ancient wisdom and illustrate it in a series of diagrams and flowcharts.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: And the Stoic Handbook Podcast, which is what you're listening to now, is where I elaborate and reflect and expand on both these blog posts, but also provide meditations, interviews, and more informal reflections on Stoicism, life, and self improvement.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very pleased that you're joining me for this experience.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: I publish around once a week.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, hit follow and I'll be in touch.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'll speak with you soon, fate permitting.