The Daily Stoic: "Why Bert Kreischer Thinks He Needs a Stoic Coach"

Host: Ryan Holiday
Guest: Bert Kreischer
Date: January 31, 2026

Overview of the Episode

This episode features the second part of Ryan Holiday's interview with comedian and actor Bert Kreischer. The conversation revolves around Stoicism, navigating public opinion and criticism as a performer, personal success, sobriety, and the relentless drive that often comes with creative careers. Bert's candid reflections on vulnerability, self-discipline, and seeking fulfillment beyond external validation are at the heart of this engaging and humorous episode.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Desire for Stoic Coaching: Bert’s “Seneca”

• Timestamp 04:08–05:00
  • Bert expresses a wish for a wise advisor or sponsor (“a Seneca”) to help navigate his chaotic life:

    “I would love like a 70-year-old man…I’m really jealous of people who are in recovery who have sponsors. Like someone you call before you do something dumb…It would be wonderful to have a sponsor.” – Bert (04:16)

  • Both discuss the challenge of managing busy, high-achieving lives, and how addiction to “work” can mirror more obvious addictions.

2. Examining Burnout & the Addiction to Busyness

• Timestamp 05:00–06:13
  • Bert details his relentless touring schedule and longing for a reset, drawing parallels between his lifestyle and those in rehab:

    “Maybe that’s your addiction—work.” – Ryan (05:00)

  • The difficulty of scheduling true rest as a sign of underlying problems with overwork.

3. Sobriety, the Pandemic, and Life Changes

• Timestamp 06:42–08:26
  • Bert recounts the start of his pandemic sobriety and the unexpected mental clarity it brought:

    “Seven days in, I fell asleep in a hammock in my backyard…and I didn’t have any thoughts, I didn’t have any fears. It was the craziest fucking feeling…” – Bert (07:18)

  • Reflects on how not drinking changed his experience of daily life, sometimes resulting in strange dreams about drinking and unexpected joy in sobriety.

4. The Endurance of Shame & Pleasure

• Timestamp 08:26–11:16
  • Ryan shares a Seneca-inspired quote:

    “If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labor passes quickly, but the good endures. If you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures.” – Ryan (08:32)

  • Bert responds with honesty and humor, discussing addictive behaviors and how the fleeting nature of pleasure can leave lasting feelings of shame.
  • Bert opens up about his love for “closing the bar” and the contradictory motivation he finds in punishing himself with grueling workouts after a night of drinking.

5. The “Witching Hour” and Maintaining Playfulness

• Timestamp 11:16–15:26
  • Bert describes the daily challenge of the “5 o’clock witching hour” and the energy it brings, and how he manages it during sobriety by staying busy or giggling with his team.
  • Insights into his motivation for working out—sometimes harder when hungover as a method of self-punishment (“exercise bulimia”).

  • “I can wake up hungover as fuck, go to the gym, kill it. The endorphins that hit me, cold plunge sauna, are like through the roof. I feel better after that than I do waking up sober.” – Bert (11:05)

6. Journaling, Original Thoughts, and the Clarity of Sobriety

• Timestamp 12:35–13:59
  • Bert shares how he began journaling at 53 for clarity and more original thoughts.
  • Describes the expanded perspective that sobriety brings:

    “When you’re sober…my blinders are out here and I’m seeing the trees…I’m shooting videos to my daughters about, like, ‘I just want you to know how happy I am.’” – Bert (13:47)

7. Handling External Opinion & Metrics of Success

• Timestamp 16:23–28:35
  • Both discuss the challenges of releasing creative work into the world—Netflix rankings, reviews, and public response.
  • The mental negotiations and anxieties over where Bert’s show will land on Netflix’s “Top 10 Trending” list.
  • Ryan’s stoic approach:

    “I’m going to do my normal routine. As if…I don’t like news good or bad. And then that way, whether the news is good or bad, I’ve had a good morning.” – Ryan (19:14)

  • Bert candidly shares how good or bad news can disproportionately affect mood and productivity:

    “It’s almost like the gratitude disappears and I don’t have full grasp of how much that should mean to me.” – Bert (23:13)

  • Ryan’s framework for success: focusing on the process, craft, enjoyment, and self-improvement rather than public validation.

8. The Trap of Online Commentary and Letting Criticism Steal Your Joy

• Timestamp 24:35–26:42
  • Bert tells a story about reading one negative comment among thousands of positives, and how it ruined his day in his idyllic backyard:

    “I just couldn’t appreciate my backyard for this comment…I cannot allow someone who doesn’t know me and absolutely doesn’t like me…own a day of mine.” – Bert (25:22)

  • This becomes a breaking point: avoiding comments becomes an act of self-preservation.

9. Process Over Result: The Stoic Reframe

• Timestamp 26:42–29:04
  • Ryan walks Bert through a process-oriented self-inquiry:

    “Whether people like it or not is like the 15th layer of success.” – Ryan (27:24)

  • Bert and Ryan agree: while audience response matters, the true win is in the making and the growth.

10. Navigating Contradictory Feedback and Believing Your Experience

• Timestamp 31:26–36:40
  • Bert recounts the varying responses to his projects (“The Machine,” the Tom Brady Roast) and the emotional whiplash from success and critique.
  • The tumult between his own experience and external validation, including pressure from friends and the “Internet.”

    “Am I a delusional kid that goes, my experience trumps it?...That I stand by. I was in that room, not one person…told us we bombed.” – Bert (36:15)

  • This tension prompts Bert’s deeper interest in Stoicism.

11. The Reality of the Business, the Importance of Returning to the Work

• Timestamp 36:40–38:07
  • Both acknowledge the reality of audience reaction in show business:

    “If the book sells zero copies, that’s going to affect the advance next time…and then there probably won’t be a time after that.” – Ryan (36:47)

  • However, recovery from external judgment requires returning focus to the work and what’s within one’s control:

    “You got to get out of the ‘what do they think’ and back into the thing…as quickly as possible…the part that’s in your control, which is the act itself.” – Ryan (37:18)

12. Playfulness, Joy, and Stoic Play

• Timestamp 37:33–38:22

  • Bert’s aspiration:

    “My big force lately has been, pull out both sides, try to get rid of both sides and just stay playful in life…I want to giggle. And there’s like a sparkle in life, that if you can hold on to that, I think that’s my driving force.” – Bert (37:33)

  • A wholesome reminder from both: life and work should have moments of fun, regardless of outside pressures.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On mentorship and support:

  “I would love like…a 70-year-old man…someone you call before you do something dumb.” — Bert (04:16)

• On the cost of busyness:

  “But actually, you have no power because your calendar is in charge.” — Ryan (05:02)

• On the real nature of pleasure and work:

  “If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labor passes quickly, but the good endures. If you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures.” — Ryan (08:32)

• On negative comments ruining enjoyment of life:

  “I just couldn’t appreciate my backyard for this comment…I cannot allow someone who doesn’t know me…own a day of mine.” — Bert (25:22)

• On success by internal measures:

  “I already got 95% of what I’m going to wring out of this thing…all the parts out of it that were in my control.” — Ryan (27:24)

• On combating online feedback:

  “Am I a delusional kid that goes, my experience trumps it?... I was in that room, not one person told us we bombed.” — Bert (36:15)

• On preserving playfulness:

  “I want to stay playful. I want to giggle. And there’s like a sparkle in life…that’s my driving force in life.” — Bert (37:33)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 04:08 — Bert on wanting a Stoic “sponsor”
• 06:42 — Bert’s pandemic sobriety and life changes
• 08:32 — Seneca quote, shame vs. pleasure
• 13:47 — Bert on sobriety opening his vision
• 19:14 — Ryan on waiting to check news, maintaining discipline
• 24:35 — Bert’s story of a negative comment ruining his morning
• 27:24 — Ryan’s process-driven definition of success
• 31:26–36:40 — Bert on whiplash between public and personal experience
• 37:33 — Bert on playfulness and sparkle in life

Final Thoughts

The episode is a candid, funny, and deeply human exploration of how creative fulfillment, personal discipline, and Stoic principles can help someone like Bert Kreischer navigate fame and feedback. Both Ryan and Bert offer listeners practical wisdom on enjoying achievements, letting go of external judgments, and striving to maintain playfulness and presence—on and off the stage.

Recommended for:
Anyone searching for practical stoic wisdom, artists or creators wrestling with public opinion, or fans of Bert Kreischer’s disarming humor and honesty.