Stoic Virtues: Guard Against Genius Traps

Resources

Books

• "The Obstacle Is the Way" by Ryan Holiday - Mentioned as the book that introduced the host to Ryan Holiday's work, and highly annotated by the host.
• "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius - Ryan Holiday discovered this book as an undergraduate, which sparked his interest in Stoicism.
• "The 48 Laws of Power" by Robert Greene - Ryan Holiday worked for Robert Greene and honed his writing and research skills through this experience.
• "Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator" by Ryan Holiday - Ryan Holiday's first book, which was an exposé of marketing and public relations.
• "The Daily Stoic" - This is a series of books by Ryan Holiday, launched as an email list and later a book, providing daily entries on Stoicism.
• Biography of Montaigne by Stefan Zweig - Recommended by Ryan Holiday as a book about remaining human in a time of inhumanity, written by Stefan Zweig while fleeing the Nazis, about the philosopher Montaigne.

Videos & Documentaries

• Documentary about American Apparel - Mentioned in the context of Ryan Holiday's time as Director of Marketing at American Apparel, noting the decline of the company.

Research & Studies

• Alcoholics Anonymous style intervention - Mentioned as an intervention staged by some of Elon Musk's friends when he was considering dumping all his money into SpaceX, highlighting a point where he might have needed to listen to others.

Tools & Software

• Superhuman - Mentioned as a tool that changes the game for productivity by integrating AI into existing workflows like email and documents.
• Grammarly - Mentioned as a component of Superhuman.
• Coda - Mentioned as a component of Superhuman.
• Superhuman Mail - Mentioned as a component of Superhuman.

Articles & Papers

• Wall Street Journal op-ed - Mentioned in the context of people performing pontification and performance, writing ideas that are then published without pushback.

People Mentioned

• Lincoln - Referenced as an example of a great leader who assembled a "team of rivals" rather than "yes men."
• Marcus Aurelius - Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher whose work, particularly "Meditations," profoundly influenced Ryan Holiday.
• Robert Greene - Bestselling author and Ryan Holiday's mentor, who taught him research and writing skills.
• Michael Bastick - Friend of the host who introduced him to Ryan Holiday's book "The Obstacle Is the Way."
• Zeno - Founder of Stoicism, who talked about the distinct yet inseparable nature of the virtues.
• Elon Musk - Referenced as an example of a brilliant person who can break their brain, serving as a cautionary tale about genius, inputs degrading, and believing oneself to be a genius.
• Napoleon - Mentioned as an example of a leader who, after repeated successes, might struggle to accept advice.
• Dove - Referenced as a controversial genius at American Apparel, illustrating what happens when leaders don't take care of themselves or surround themselves with sycophants.
• Peter Thiel - Ryan Holiday wrote a book about him, and he's mentioned in the context of tech leaders becoming gurus and not hearing pushback.
• Martin Luther King - His meeting with Andrew Young is used as an example of the importance of having someone point out when an idea is crazy, even among true believers.
• Andrew Young - Subordinate to Martin Luther King Jr., who was told he didn't do his job in a meeting by not pointing out when their ideas were crazy.
• Montaigne - French philosopher discussed in Ryan Holiday's "Wisdom" book, known for asking questions and being influenced by the Stoics.
• Stefan Zweig - Great novelist who wrote a biography of Montaigne while fleeing the Nazis, highlighting the theme of remaining human in inhumane times.
• Tom Brady - Mentioned in relation to the New England Patriots and their use of "The Obstacle Is the Way."
• Bill Belichick - Mentioned in relation to the New England Patriots and their use of "The Obstacle Is the Way."
• Mike Lombardi - Former front office member for the Patriots who read and shared "The Obstacle Is the Way."
• Andy McKay - Performance coach mentioned as an early adopter of "The Obstacle Is the Way" in professional sports.

Organizations & Institutions

• Y Combinator - Mentioned in the context of founders hitting Series A and facing compliance bottlenecks for enterprise deals.
• AWS - Mentioned as a solution for startups needing SOC 2 compliance, allowing them to inherit compliance rather than build it from scratch.
• Superbase - Startup that used the AWS playbook to unlock enterprise customers.
• Substack - Startup that used the AWS playbook to unlock enterprise customers.
• IBM - Mentioned as a company that helps AI access data wherever it lives to change how businesses operate.
• American Apparel - Company where Ryan Holiday was Director of Marketing, described as a marketing machine in its prime.
• MySpace - Mentioned as a past employer of Ryan Holiday.
• New England Patriots - Professional sports team whose members read and were influenced by "The Obstacle Is the Way."
• Mariners - Professional baseball team mentioned in relation to performance coach Andy McKay.
• Seahawks - Professional sports team mentioned as receiving "The Obstacle Is the Way" from Mike Lombardi after the Patriots beat them.
• ESPN - Media outlet that produced profiles featuring books like "The Obstacle Is the Way" in people's offices.
• Capital One Business - Mentioned in sponsor segments as a resource for small businesses, offering credit cards and rewards.
• Project Management Institute (PMI) - Mentioned as an organization that helps teams gain skills to collaborate and deliver, turning strategy into results.
• Justworks - Mentioned in a sponsor segment as a human resources platform that helps companies scale by handling payroll, benefits, and compliance.

Courses & Educational Resources

• Daily Stoic Newsletter/Podcast - Ryan Holiday's platform for sharing Stoic philosophy daily.

Websites & Online Resources

• Masters of Scale YouTube Channel - Where conversations from the podcast can be found.
• Starts With AWS - Mentioned in relation to AWS credits and a free SOC 2 consult for startups.
• CapitalOne.com/BusinessCards - URL provided for learning more about Capital One Business credit cards.
• PMI.org - URL provided for finding answers from the Project Management Institute.
• Superhuman.com/podcast - URL provided for learning more about Superhuman.
• MastersofScale.com - Website where the transcript and newsletter can be found.

Other Resources

• SOC 2 Report - A compliance report mentioned as a bottleneck for big enterprise deals, which AWS helps startups overcome.
• AWS Credits - Offered to startups as part of the AWS program.
• Free SOC 2 Consult - Offered to startups as part of the AWS program.
• Page-a-day books - Ryan Holiday was familiar with this format, which inspired the idea for the Daily Stoic.
• The Daily Drucker - A page-a-day book published by Harper Collins, mentioned as an example of a successful book in this format.
• Soviet rocket manuals - Mentioned as something Elon Musk read to figure out the SpaceX business.
• Twitter - Mentioned in the context of Elon Musk's potential purchase.
• The Reformation and Counter Reformation - Historical periods during which Montaigne was writing, providing context for his work.
• The Global Financial System - Mentioned in the context of rules and regulations developed to prevent conflicts of interest and disclosures.
• The Rule of Law - Mentioned as a technology that helps govern actions, particularly in the financial system.
• Board of Directors - Mentioned as a mechanism companies have to ensure leaders are challenged.
• Team of Rivals vs. Team of Yes Men - A concept discussed in relation to leadership, with Lincoln as an example of assembling a team of rivals.