17 Dec 2025 · 6 min
Brian Johnson uses Epictetus and metaphors like Laird Hamilton surfing massive waves to argue you should welcome life's hardships as training. When difficulty hits, say: This is what I've trained for.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic plus one. In our last plus one we spent some time riding appropriately big waves and reminded ourselves that when we're wisely surfing the beautiful oceans of life, we remember to enjoy the waves. Today we're going to bring my all time favorite teacher Epictetus back to the party to hear his take on the subject. But before we go there, let's pause for a moment and think about the great big wave surfer, Laird Hamilton. The guy is obsessed about finding the biggest possible waves he can find and then riding them. Why? Because that's how he knows he can see what he's made of and have the most fun. Crazy of course. And that's how he is fulfilling his idiosyncratic heroic destiny and inspiring all of us to do the same in our own unique ways as well. Side note, have you seen Finding Joe yet? Laird tells his story in it along with Tony Hawk, they talk about all the fear they felt pursuing their big hairy, audacious dreams. Watch the trailer we linked to it in the plus one full movie for free. Just Google YouTube. Finding Joe free. I happen to be in it with those guys and some other great teachers. Now let's talk about the ancient Stoic philosopher Epictetus. Epictetus, as we've discussed, was a former slave who taught the guys who taught the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. Every morning I invite his presence into my consciousness during my AM heroic meditation. Check out that plus one. And every morning he tells me pretty much the same thing. Practice your philosophy and remember the choice of Hercules as we've discussed. And check out the plus ones I just referenced. Hercules was one of the ancient Greek and Stoic philosophers favorite heroes. They liked to tell the story about Hercules before he was Hercules. We talk about it in our notes on how to Think like a Roman Emperor and a one called the Choice of Hercules. Again, all these are referenced. All these references are linked in the app. The Quick recap Young pre heroic Hercules is walking in a forest. He comes to a fork in the road at which point two goddesses approach him. One goddess rushes ahead of the other and she's overly made up and preening a bit as she tells him that if he follows her, his life will be easy and awesome. She says her name is Happiness, but she's lying. Her name is really Vice. Now the second goddess waits patiently. Then she steps forward. She has Socrates and these great teachers tell us a stern yet beautiful countenance and tells Hercules that if he follows her his life will be full of pain. And challenges. And as he strives to overcome those challenges in service to something bigger than himself, he will earn the respect and admiration of the gods. Her name, Arete. Hercules, of course, chose wisely. And Epictetus reminds me every morning that I need to make that choice of Hercules every day, especially today. A noble life worthy of the respect and admiration of the gods and ourselves is not supposed to be easy. Those challenges we face, those are the waves that give us a chance to flourish. Epictetus often reminds me of another thing. He tells me that if I complain about the inevitable challenges of life, then I'm kind of like the boxer who enters the ring only to walk out the moment he gets punched in the face. That, of course would make no sense. What did the boxer expect to do? Yin yoga with his opponent? Now let's quote the ancient stoic sage directly here, because it's so good, he tells us, and I've shared this before, but what is philosophy? Doesn't it simply mean preparing ourselves for what may come? Don't you understand? That really amounts to saying that if I would so prepare myself to endure, then let anything happen that will. Otherwise it would be like the boxer exiting the ring because he took some punches. Actually, he says, you can leave the ring without consequence, but what advantage comes from abandoning the pursuit of wisdom? So what should each of us say to every trial we face? This is what I've trained for. For this is my discipline. I love epicutifs. And I repeat, it's supposed to be challenging. And yet, I repeat, when we approach our inevitable challenges with the right mindset and consistent practices, life becomes a lot easier. And those waves and punches become a joyful part of the heroic, eudaimonic, noble, well lived life. Let's remember that today as we paddle out to our waves and step into the arena. That is our lives. Love you. Let's go. And P.S. speaking of stepping into the arena, check out this plus one on the Optimizer in the arena for some old school Teddy Roosevelt wisdom. Plus one plus one plus one. Get that other plus one in the app.
