Stoic Interview: Daniel
Riley
Daniel Riley is a
personal development blogger with a fervent interest in productivity,
health and philosophy. It is this latter area that brought us to this
interview. Daniel has not only embraced Stoic philosophy in his life,
but also went on to create Stoic Store UK, a website that offers
people handy little reminder objects that he hopes will help them to
deepen their experience of the philosophy, and ultimately, benefit
their lives.
In this interview we
cover how Daniel was first exposed to Stoic ideas, which book he
found most helpful in bringing those ideas into his everyday life,
and why he thinks a dose of Stoicism answers a need for the modern
world.
***
Casey: You
created the Stoic Store UK website, and on your personal development
website, you have a number of posts about how a variety of Stoic
ideas have helped you with life. When were you first exposed to the
Stoic philosophy and what were the elements of life that you thought
it might improve for you?
Daniel: I was
first introduced to Stoicism on the Tim Ferriss podcast. I had been
fascinated by Tim and his work for a while, and the fact that he
continuously recommended the philosophy as a tool to navigate modern
life was enough for me to check it out. I absolutely loved all
aspects of it, particularly its practical nature. I was generally
interested in all areas of development then and there wasn’t a
particular area that I hoped that Stoicism would improve. Luckily, I
discovered that it is a tide that raises all boats anyway.
Casey: Ryan
Holiday’s The Daily Stoic is a book that you give great
credit to for helping to change your life. Why do you think a book
that takes the ‘daily reflection’ approach to change proved to be
so useful for you, and what steps, if any, did you take to make sure
that you kept the concept for the day alive in your mind or
experience?
Daniel: The
daily reflection approach is so effective, in my opinion, because it
gives very small bits of wisdom for you to chew over at a time. I
think some of the longer format content out there on Stoicism is
great, but if it is read like a regular book and not mulled over for
some time with regular reflection intervals, then many of the
concepts and points are just read for momentary mental enjoyment and
lost in the crowd. They don’t change anything in our actual lives,
which we sometimes forget is the purpose of these sorts of books.
I actually still found
it quite difficult to assimilate the Stoic ideas into my everyday
life. Trying to remember them as thoughts or memories throughout the
day I found to be quite disruptive and counter-productive. I was
reading about inner peace but I was constantly disrupting my own
inner peace trying hard to remember what Marcus Aurelius said about
inner peace.
One of the reasons that
I created Stoic Store UK and physical products was to solve this
conundrum that I feel that many philosophy-enthusiasts face. A quick
glance at a coin on your desk or a ring on your finger can bring that
‘a-ha’ remembrance, rather than trying to remember longer quotes
or anything like that.
Casey: In an
Indiehackers post, you explained that the Memento Mori (“Remember
that you must die”) coin was the first that you designed when you
created the Stoic Store UK in early 2020. This was due, you said, to
the notion of Memento Mori having had the biggest impact on your
life. How did your attitude to life change when you fully digested
this notion, and was it a ‘lightening bolt’ type moment or did it
take much pondering to bring it about?
Daniel: It was
certainly a lot of pondering and exposure to the concept that helped
it to become a regular part of my life. Even now I keep my Memento
Mori coin on my desk everyday. In my experience, the reminder needs
to be constant due to the fact that the whole of our lives - from the
plans we make, to the holidays we plan, to the schedule we have - all
assume that we are going to be here for a long time. That, of course,
is never guaranteed and we can quickly slip into the assumption and
all of the negative fallout from that.
Perhaps more powerful
for me was the concept of Memento Mori not applied to my own life,
but to the lives of others. I am lucky enough to have an amazing
family and incredible friends. Remembering that every time I see them
might be the last time I see them helps me to try and make every
interaction more direct, present and ultimately, loving.
 |
A few of the available products on The Stoic Store UK |
Casey: Since the
release of your first coin, Stoic Store UK has expanded into all
kinds of Stoic reminders and material, from medallions and t-shirts,
to a Stoic teachings pack of exercise cards. In your own experience,
and from what you’ve seen with your web store, how much of a thirst
is there for Stoic wisdom in this current day and age, and on another
level, in your opinion, how much would society benefit by embracing
some of Stoicism’s concepts?
Daniel: I think
that Stoicism is certainly becoming more popular as there are many
more books being written about the philosophy, promotion of it from
public figures and from people’s own experience, they generally
find some amount of value in it.
I believe that the
‘thirst for Stoicism’ comes from a deeper thirst for some sort of
meaning to our modern day lives, and it seems that in a lot of cases
the Stoic philosophy resonates more deeply with people than
alternatives for this thirst. Much of our culture is obsessed with
materialism, gaining more stuff, and the plane on which many people
live is extremely superficial. What I have found with other people
interested in Stoicism as well as with my own experience, there comes
a point where this superficiality no longer satisfies. There is a
pull towards the deeper meanings of life, the bigger questions that
need to be asked, and I think Stoicism does a great job in trying to
tackle some of these questions.
I think society would
hugely benefit from embracing some of Stoicism’s concepts. It is
one of the most practical, down-to-earth philosophies that there is
and its focus is on action, rather than on theory and hypothesis
which often don’t create much change.
***
Thanks to Daniel for
taking the time to answer my questions.
You can read more from
Daniel at his personal development website, at his Medium, and you can find some
lovely Stoic products at Stoic Store UK.