The Stoic Parent: 10 Commandments For Becoming A Better Parent

This is the recorded version of the The Stoic Parent! We would like to say thank you again for all of you who joined in on the live course back in June!

“When you need encouragement, think of the qualities the people around you have: this one’s energy, that one’s modesty, another’s generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging as when virtues are visibly embodied in the people around us, when we’re practically showered with them.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.48

Think about the most important, most daunting challenges you’ve faced in your life. A long entrance exam, a grave illness, an intimidating marathon, a difficult relationship. Think about the accomplishments you're most proud of. How did you achieve it? How did you endure the adversity? How did you succeed? 

It certainly wasn’t by winging it. 

We become our best, we do hard things, how? By seeking out experts, practicing and putting in the work, adapting ourselves to the reality of our circumstances, and doing everything we can to rise to the challenge. That’s how we come out of the other side better for what we went through.

This is a recipe for more than just success. 

Think about some of the great father figures of history and art. Think of Abraham Lincoln, Coach Taylor from Friday Night Lights, Lee from Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Antoninus Pius, the stepfather of Marcus Aurelius. Think of the great mother figures too: Mother Mary and Hannah in the Bible. Ma’ from Little House on the Prairie. Harriet Tubman. 

What do these people embody? Patience. Kindness. Love. Wisdom. Courage. Dependability. Positivity.

Just as in life there are models to learn from, so too in parenting. We must study them, figure out how they managed to do what they did. 

Because it’s not just luck or nature. It’s work. 

And how can you be like them? To be there for your kids like they were for theirs, along with so many millions of other people?

The Stoic Parent: 10 Commandments For Becoming A Better Parent  is designed to answer that very question, and to help you along the way, by giving you the tools and support you need to become the parent you want to be. 

Because it is absolutely possible to become a truly great parent. It just takes some clear rules. A bit of study. And a lot of practice. And a willingness to fail and learn from those failures. This isn’t rocket science. This is how you get good at anything. 

Yet for some reason, many of us don’t take this approach to parenting. As a culture we are expected to naturally know what to do with the most important task of our life. So we wing it. We fake it til we (hopefully) make it, and if we’re smart and attentive and humble--and lucky--we learn as we go. 

It doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t have to resign yourself to a reliance on some untapped natural instinct. You don’t have scratch and claw together a patchwork of unreliable advice every time you find yourself struggling to be patient, to be present, to be kind, courteous, positive and dependable.

It is possible to become a better parent. To become the type of parent that you’ve always wanted to be. That’s why we are relaunching The Stoic Parent: 10 Commandments For Becoming A Better Parent.

This relaunch of The Stoic Parent has 10 actionable, practical meditations and prescriptive commandments for becoming the best parent you can be. All pulled from the best of Stoic wisdom. Wisdom the Stoics have been meditating on for thousands of years. 

Parenting is something the Stoics spent a lot of time thinking about. Their strategies have gone on to develop countless leaders and everyday good people.

How did Marcus Aurelius become Marcus Aurelius? The “last good emperor” who acted with Wisdom, Justice, Courage, and Moderation? Who inspired millions through his actions?

The French philosopher Ernest Renan said “Marcus had a single master whom he revered above them all, and that was [his step-father] Antoninus… the most beautiful model of a perfect life.”

As in, Marcus was blessed with a great role model in his stepfather. A man to whom he dedicates much of the first chapter of Meditations. 

Successful parenting isn’t about perfection. We’re all going to make mistakes. The Stoics knew that too. 

So we need help. We need guidance. That is what the Stoics texts are here for. That is what we created this course to do. 

This course is for you if:

• You want to set a better example for your children to learn from
• You want to be more present with your child, even with more distractions than ever
• You know you can handle certain situations with your children better, without yelling
• You want to feel more confident and at peace as a parent
• You want strategies for becoming a better family, together
• You want to strengthen your relationship with your child 
• You want to further your study and commitment to becoming the best parent you can be
• You want to learn from the best practices of the Stoics from the past 2,000 years

Do you want to be a better parent?

Of course you do. 

Take the first step today by committing the next 2 weeks to becoming the best possible parent you can be. 

Each day you’ll receive an actionable Stoic commandment designed to help you become the best parent you can be. You’ll also get a fillable workbook to reflect on each commandment and create a plan to implement them into your daily parenting challenges. 

Sign up today and you’ll get:

• The 10 Stoic “Commandments” for becoming a better parent (over 18,000 words and updated articles and videos)
• Pages from Ryan Holiday's latest book, The Daily Dad, will be included in each day.
• Over two hours of inspiring audio files from bestselling author Ryan Holiday and parenting experts like Maya Quick and Brett McKay
• A workbook to engrain the lessons from each day’s commandments
• Extended reading suggestions for each commandment
• And more!

The things you teach your kids will shape their future. And their children’s future. So make sure you’re setting a good example. If your children were to write down what they learned from you on their deathbed, what would they write? You have the ability to shape that everyday. So start, now.