Author Name: Ryan Holiday

The private diaries of one of Rome's greatest emperors, the personal letters of Rome's finest playwright and wisest political decision-maker, and the lectures of an influential teacher who was once a slave and then exiled—all these astonishing documents have survived for two millennia, defying all odds.
What do they say? Do those mysterious ancient pages contain anything relevant to contemporary life? It turns out the answer is yes! They contain some of the greatest wisdom in human history.
Together, these documents form the foundation of what is known as Greek philosophy, an ancient philosophy that was once one of the most popular civic systems in the West, followed by the rich and the poor, the powerful and the struggling alike, in their pursuit of a good life. However, over the centuries, knowledge through this type of thinking, once essential to many, began to disappear from the scene.
For most serious seekers of wisdom, Greek philosophy is neither obscure nor incomprehensible. There is no word more deeply tainted by the language than “philosopher.” For the average person, this vibrant, action-driven, and belief-changing way of life has come to be reduced to “emotionless.” Thanks to the fact that the mere mention of the word philosophy sends most people into a tizzy and boredom, “Greek philosophy” appears, on the face of it, to be the last thing anyone would ever want to learn, let alone need in their daily lives.
What a sad fate for a philosophy that one of its most persistent critics, Arthur Schopenhauer, described as: “the highest point one can reach using one’s logical faculty.”
Our goal in writing this book is to restore Greek philosophy to its rightful place as a tool for achieving self-mastery, perseverance, and wisdom: something one uses to live a wonderful life rather than as the domain of academic research.
There is no doubt that many of the greatest minds in history not only absorbed Greek philosophy as it was, but delved into it: George Washington, Walt Whitman, Frederick the Great, Eugene de la Croix, Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson, Matthew Arnold, Ambrose Bierce, Theodore Roosevelt, William Alexander Percy, Ralph Waldo Emerson—each of whom read, studied, quoted, or admired it.
The followers of ancient Greek philosophy were not trivial. The names you will come across in this book—Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Seneca—all belong, in order, to a Roman emperor who was once a slave but triumphed and became an influential lecturer and friend of the Emperor Hadrian, a famous playwright and political advisor. There are followers of Greek philosophy such as Cato the Younger, a seasoned politician; Zeno, a major merchant (like many of its followers); Cleanthes, a former boxer who worked as a water-carrier to raise money for his studies; Chrysippus, whose works are all lost but whose estimated 700 books are written, and who trained as a long-distance runner; Poseidonius, an ambassador; Musonius Rufus, a teacher; and many more.
Today (especially since the publication of *Obstacles to Success*), Greek philosophy has found a diverse new audience, ranging from the coaching staffs of the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, to rapper LL Cool J, broadcaster Michelle Tafoya, and other professional athletes, CEOs, hedge fund managers, artists, administrators, and public figures.
What did these great men and women find in Greek philosophy that many others have not?
Although academic studies often dismiss Greek philosophy as an outdated discipline, influential people in this world have discovered that it provides them with the strength and power they need in their difficult lives. When journalist and Civil War veteran Ambrose Bierce advised a young writer that studying Greek philosophy would teach him “how to be important in the world,” or when painter Eugene de la Croix (best known for his painting Liberty Leading the People) called Greek philosophy “his comfort,” they were speaking from experience. So was the abolitionist Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who commanded the First All-Black Regiment in the American Civil War and produced one of the finest translations of Epictetus ever written. So was the Southern planter and writer William Alexander Percy, who led rescue efforts during the Great Flood of 1927 and who had a unique point of reference when he said of Greek philosophy, “When it is out, it soon shines again.” So did the great author and investor Tim Ferriss when he referred to Greek philosophy as the ideal “personal operating system” (and other high-profile executives, such as Jonathan Newhouse, CEO of Condé Nast International, agreed).