Everything Is Changing. Are You? | Stake Your Own Claim

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily Stoic — "Everything Is Changing. Are You? | Stake Your Own Claim"

Host: Ryan Holiday
Date: December 22, 2025

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1. Episode Overview

This episode of The Daily Stoic, hosted by Ryan Holiday, focuses on the constant nature of change and the importance of personal evolution, especially through the lens of Stoic philosophy. Holiday draws inspiration from Stoic thinkers such as Marcus Aurelius and Seneca, reflecting on how their insights can help listeners not only adapt to a changing world but challenge them to contribute their own ideas rather than simply quoting others. The episode also introduces the annual "New Year, New You Challenge" from The Daily Stoic.

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2. Main Themes & Key Discussion Points

A. Change is Constant—Are You Changing With It?

• Historical Perspective on Change

  • Ryan opens by addressing the feeling that the world is in perpetual upheaval: "Things falling apart, traditions crumbling, new technologies, new threats, new trends. Welcome to ancient Rome. Welcome to the past, the present and the future. It has always been this way." (01:00)
  • Marcus Aurelius experienced tumultuous times and recognized that change and crisis are persistent parts of existence.

• Stoic Response to Change

  • The Stoics remind us not to fear change, but to understand it as part of life: “If we want to survive and thrive in this moment we're in, we're going to need to keep on changing and evolving. It is the only way.” (02:19)
  • Ryan applies this to both macro issues (technology, climate, economics) and personal milestones (relationships, jobs, loss).

• Proactive Growth

  • Emphasizes starting the process of adapting and growing now, not waiting for circumstances to force it: “You are going to need to change. You are going to need to grow. You're going to need to adjust and adapt and evolve. So why don't you get started on that right now?” (02:49)

B. The Daily Stoic "New Year, New You Challenge"

• Introducing the Challenge
  • Ryan shares his tradition of challenging himself every new year and invites listeners to join the 21-day “New Year, New You Challenge.” (03:05)
  • He encourages signing up early to participate with a worldwide Stoic community.

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C. Stake Your Own Claim — Moving Beyond Quoting Others

• Seneca’s Challenge

  • The episode’s meditation centers on a quote from Seneca, urging listeners to develop original thoughts:

    “For it's disgraceful for an old person, or one in sight of old age to have only the knowledge carried in their notebooks. Zeno said this, but what do you say? Cleanthes said this. What do you say, how long will you be compelled by the claims of another? Take charge and stake your own claim, something posterity will carry in its notebook.” (05:49)

  • This is echoed by Emerson, who famously wrote, "I hate quotation. Tell me what you know." (06:51)

• Ryan’s Personal Learning

  • Ryan recounts a formative experience where feedback from a subject of his writing highlighted over-reliance on quotes, sharpening his focus on originality:

    “That lesson has stuck with me in all of my writings... I go through, and I go, where am I over relying on quotes here? Where can I get rid of them?” (07:22)

• Stoic Practice is Interactive

  • Argues that Stoicism is not just absorbing knowledge but also adding to it with one’s own reasoning and disagrements:

    “It’s not just downloading the information... It’s also putting your own spin on it. It’s disagreeing with them, it’s adding your own view. Stoicism should be better, different, added to as a result of you having studied and learned about it.” (08:43)

• Original Contributions

  • Cites examples from his own work, like linking Nietzsche’s concept of Amor Fati to Stoicism and compiling Stoic biographies:

    “I made arguments that some people disagree with. I made statements that I think are true, but again, not everyone agrees with. But they didn’t exist before. I put my own spin on it.” (09:40)

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3. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Facing Change:

  “We don’t need to be scared of change, the Stoics remind us, because we ourselves are products of change.”
  (02:00, Ryan Holiday)

• On Personal Growth:

  “Whether it’s big macro issues or stuff in your personal life…2026 is going to come at you fast, as every year does... It will bring challenges and it will demand changes. It will not take no for an answer.”
  (02:31, Ryan Holiday)

• On Original Thought:

  “Emerson said something like, ‘I hate quotation. Tell me what you know.’ And that lesson has stuck with me in all of my writings.”
  (07:07, Ryan Holiday)

• On Stoic Practice:

  “Stoicism should be better, different, added to as a result of you having studied and learned about it.”
  (08:56, Ryan Holiday)

• Encouraging Action:

  “Make your own contributions, put your own spin on it. Feel free to disagree, feel free to argue, feel free to push back, feel free to add.”
  (09:25, Ryan Holiday)

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4. Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:00] – The perpetual nature of change and the Stoic response
• [02:31] – Personal and societal challenges demanding adaptation
• [03:05] – Introduction to the "New Year, New You Challenge"
• [05:49] – Seneca’s quote on creating original work
• [06:51] – Emerson’s critique of quotations
• [07:22] – Ryan’s personal writing lesson about originality
• [08:43] – The interactive, dynamic nature of Stoic practice
• [09:40] – The necessity of personal contributions to philosophy

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5. Tone and Language

Ryan Holiday maintains a conversational, encouraging, and slightly philosophical tone throughout, seamlessly weaving personal anecdotes, ancient wisdom, and actionable advice. His language is direct yet reflective—a blend typical of his Stoic-inspired style.

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6. Conclusion

This episode urges listeners to not only prepare for the inevitable changes life brings but to actively grow and contribute, especially drawing from Stoic principles. The message is clear: do not simply parrot the wisdom of the past; instead, engage with it, challenge it, and add your own voice—for your own sake and for future generations.

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Transcript

[Ryan Holiday]

Foreign.

Welcome to the Daily Stoic podcast where each day we bring you a Stoic inspired meditation designed to help you find strength and insight and wisdom into everyday life. Each one of these episodes is based on the 2000 year old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. Help you learn from them, to follow in their example, and to start your day off with a little dose of courage and discipline and justice and wisdom. For more visit Dailystoic.com. Everything is changing.

Are you?

Things falling apart, Traditions crumbling, new technologies, new threats, new trends. Welcome to ancient Rome. Welcome to the past, the present and the future. It has always been this way. You understand change and flux constantly remake the world. Marcus Aurelius wrote in Meditations during an indisputably tumultuous period of history, just as the incessant progression of time remakes eternity. Things were confusing and difficult, sure, but he understood that things were always changing, always in crisis, always being disrupted, always becoming something new. The question then is not how do we stop this? The question is how are we going to change and adapt to it? We don't need to be scared of change, the Stoics remind us, because we ourselves are products of change. And if we want to survive and thrive in this moment we're in, we're going to need to keep on changing and evolving. It is the only way. Whether it's AI or economic instability or conflict or climate change, whether it's big macro issues or stuff in your personal life, a marriage coming to an end, a baby coming home from the hospital, a new job, the loss of a loved one, 2026 is going to come at you fast, as every year does. It will bring challenges and it will demand changes. It will not take no for an answer. You are going to need to change. You are going to need to grow. You're going to need to adjust and adapt and evolve. So why don't you get started on that right now? I start every single year with a bunch of changes, with a bunch of deliberate challenges. That is the daily stoic new year new you challenge, which is 21 days of stoic Inspired challenges that helps me become better at the start of every and 2026 is no different. We've been working hard on this thing for months and I'm really excited about it and I hope you will join me and thousands of other Stoics all over the world doing the Daily Stoic New Year New youw Challenge. It's gonna start on January 1st, but you can sign up right now and hopefully get ready to tackle a new year before it is here. I'd love to see you in there. You can sign up right [e-mail] challenge. It's gonna be awesome. But it starts here really soon. It's gonna so you got to sign.

Up before it's too late.

Dailystoic.com challenge I will see you in there.

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[Ryan Holiday]

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Stake your own claim. This is the December 22 entry in the Daily Stoic, and our quote today comes to us from Seneca. Moral letters 33 for it's disgraceful for an old person, or one in sight of old age to have only the knowledge carried in their notebooks. Zeno said this, but what do you say? Cleanthes said this. What do you say, how long will you be compelled by the claims of another? Take charge and stake your own claim, something posterity will carry in its notebook. Musing in his own notebook about the topic of immortality, Emerson complained about how writers dance around a difficult topic by relying on quotes. I hate quotation, he wrote, tell me what you know. I'm going to tell you a little backstory about that in a second. Seneca was throwing down the same gauntlet some 20 centuries before. It's easier to quote, to rely on the wise words of others, especially when people you're deferring to are such towering figures. It's harder and more intimidating to venture out on your own, to express your own thoughts. But how do you think those wise and true quotes from those towering figures were created in the first place? Your own experiences have value. You have accumulated your own wisdom too. Stake your claim. Put something down for the ages, in words and also in example. So I was maybe like, 20, 21 years old. I was writing for the college newspaper, and I'd written this review, and I published it and did okay. And then I actually heard from the person I was reviewing in it. You know, they gave me some feedback, and I said, hey, could we, like, get on the phone? I would really. I just want to grow as a writer. Can you give me some feedback? And they're going through it, and he was just pointing out all the quotes in it, and he gave me that Emerson quotation for the first time. He said, Emerson said something like, I hate quotation. Tell me what you know. And that lesson has stuck with me in all of my writings. Yes, I talk about the Stoics. My writing is influenced and is in many ways an attempt to introduce the Stoics to people. But one of the passes that I do on my own books, as I go through them, after I've written them, I write them. Just what do I want to say? What's my supporting arguments? How do I want to illustrate it? And then I go through, and I go, where am I over relying on quotes here? Where can I get rid of them? Where am I over arguing things or not telling you what I know, but telling you what someone else knows? Speaking of quotes, there's a rule I heard from Nassim Taleb where he actually said, you should only quote people when.

You disagree with them.

The point is, make your own arguments on your own merits. But I think this is a really important part of the Stoic practice. If you think about what Meditations was for Marcus, right? It's not him arguing Stoicism to the public. It's him arguing the Stoics to himself. So he does use quotes from time to time, but he's not really having to think that much about attribution and he's not really trying to think about publication or the audience at all. He's just thinking about what does he need to hear, what does he know to be true and what needs to be said, what does he need to be reminded of? And I think it's important that we understand that Stoicism, the study of Stoicism is not a one way street. It's not just downloading the information from the originals, from me, from other people, but it's also putting your own spin on it. It's disagreeing with them, it's adding your own view. Stoicism should be better, different, added to as a result of you having studied and learned about it. That doesn't mean you're all going to publish bestselling books or articles or videos. It's all going to be well known. But make your own contributions, put your own spin on it.

Feel free to disagree, feel free to.

Argue, feel free to push back, feel free to add. I feel like one of my contributions to Stoicism was the connection between Stoicism and Nietzsche, the idea of Amorfati. I brought that in also with the help of Robert Green, but I brought that together. That's it. A practice of Stoicism that did not exist before, or an explicit connection that did not fully exist before in lives of the Stoics. I put all the Stoics, their biographies, in one place in the Daily Stoic itself. I combined the Stoics in a way that they'd never been combined before. And I made arguments that some people disagree with. I made statements that I think are true, but again, not everyone agrees with. But they didn't exist before. I put my own spin on it. I put my own stamp on it. Which is what you and everyone listening needs to do. Not just with words. In fact, with words least of all, most of all with our actions, with what we do, with who we are.

Hey, it's Ryan. Thank you for listening to the Daily Stoic podcast. I just wanted to say we so appreciate it. We love serving you. It's amazing to us that over 30, 30 million people have downloaded these episodes in the couple years we've been doing it. It's an honor. Please spread the word, tell people about it. And this isn't to sell anything. I just wanted to say thank you.

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