Best Brandon Tumblin Podcasts (2024)

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#328 - The Appeal of Bitterness and Resentment in Pain 15:47

39m ago15:47

15:47

In this episode, I reflect on the concept of finding enjoyment in pain and suffering. Drawing from Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground, I explore the idea that complaining and moaning about pain can provide a strange sense of satisfaction. We'll delve into how people often spread their pain to others, appealing to bitterness and resentment. I'll di…

1
#327 - Being Harsh on Yourself 19:48

18d ago19:48

19:48

The episode explores the idea of being harsh with oneself as a means of self-improvement. It discusses the concept of sin and salvation from a Stoic perspective, emphasizing the importance of recognizing one's own faults and shortcomings. The episode highlights the contrast between the Stoic philosophy and the modern idea of self-acceptance and avo…

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#326 - The Importance of Challenges in Life 19:51

1M ago19:51

19:51

Join me in this episode as we explore the vital role challenges play in our personal growth journey. Discover how embracing challenges as opportunities can lead to profound self-discovery, resilience, and character development. I'll share insights on voluntary challenges and how they can bring meaning and fulfillment to our lives. Get ready to unlo…

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#325 - Patriotism as a Stoic 13:09

1M ago13:09

13:09

Pride is often seen as a negative trait, associated with excessive ego and hubris. However, there are different meanings and contexts for pride. Excessive pride stems from the belief that one is the center of the universe, while pride in one's work or country means upholding certain standards and values. Being a patriot means taking pride in one's …

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#324 - Now is Always the Exception 15:55

2M ago15:55

15:55

In this episode, I dive deep into the concept of procrastination and how it impacts our ability to live a fulfilling life. I emphasize the importance of embracing the present moment and acting with virtue. We all have a sense of what it means to live a good life, yet often struggle to consistently align our actions with those values. Drawing inspir…

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#323 - You're Gonna Be Fine 18:11

2M ago18:11

18:11

This episode explores the idea of living in the present moment and not worrying about the future. It emphasizes the Stoic philosophy of accepting and bearing whatever comes our way. I discuss how we often suffer more in imagination than in reality and how we can endure and manage difficult situations in the present moment. I also touch on the fear …

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#322 - The Only Way to Avoid Criticism 17:20

2M ago17:20

17:20

This episode explores the fear of criticism and the impact it has on people's lives. It emphasizes the idea that criticism is inevitable and that trying to avoid it by doing nothing is not a fulfilling way to live. This episode encourages listeners to be courageous and true to themselves, even if it means facing criticism. It also highlights the im…

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#321 - Extreme Ownership as a Stoic 17:55

2M ago17:55

17:55

In this episode, I discuss Jocko Willink's idea of Extreme Ownership, and whether or not it is a Stoic principle. This episode is also available on YouTube. Transcripts can be found on Substack: https://strongstoic.substack.com/ Find this episode on:https://linktr.ee/Strongstoic The Strong Stoic Podcast is a raw, honest, and unapologetically deep p…

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#320 - Being More Than A Hero (The Dark Knight) 19:20

2M ago19:20

19:20

From the time we first open our eyes and are able to perceive colours, we are fascinated with heroes. Children may not understand the philosophy or psychology of a hero, yet they can easily become encapsulated by the virtuous acts of other people. Batman happens to be one that many get drawn into. But Batman is no ordinary hero. In fact, one may be…

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#319 - How to Feel Stoic Joy 13:51

3M ago13:51

13:51

This episode explores the concept of joy in Stoicism and its relationship with Epicureanism. The host discusses how joy is often misunderstood in Stoic philosophy and clarifies that it is not about constant cheerfulness but rather about fully accepting and finding gratitude in every aspect of life. The episode also touches on the importance of prac…

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#318 - Confronting Self-Deception for Personal Growth 16:31

3M ago16:31

16:31

In this episode, Brandon explores the idea that we often lie to ourselves about why we act in certain toxic ways. He discusses how we attribute our emotions and reactions to external circumstances, when in reality, they are a result of our own choices. Brandon emphasizes the importance of accepting the tough realities of life and not using external…

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#317 - Sharon Lebell: Finding Agency in Life's Chaos 1:05:16

3M ago1:05:16

1:05:16

Sharon Lebell is a bestselling author, speaker, composer, and performing musician. She wrote The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness, which is a book I highly recommend. In this episode, Sharon and I discuss the adventures of our lives, how to deal with the pleasant times and unpleasant times, the difference …

1
Finding Happiness Amidst Suffering 21:54

3M ago21:54

21:54

There are two ways to access full episodes of Paradoxically Speaking: (1) Become a paid member of Brandon's Substack (https://strongstoic.substack.com/); (2) Become a paid member of Josh's Substack (https://perennial.substack.com/). By becoming a member of either of our Substacks, you'll gain full access to Paradoxically Speaking episodes. Summary …

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#316 - Chaos and Order in Daily Life 16:06

3M ago16:06

16:06

The concept of Chaos and Order is associated with Taoism. It’s rather simple: life is divided between Chaos and Order. Too much Chaos is bad, and too much Order is bad. This is a Stoic podcast, sure, but there is much that we can gain by understanding this concept. And there may actually be more overlap than you think. How can the concept of Chaos …

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#315 - Award-Winning Musician Mike Ryan | Music, Stoicism, & the Creative Process 1:35:44

4M ago1:35:44

1:35:44

Mike Ryan is an award-winning professional musician, songwriter, studio owner, and author from my home province of Nova Scotia (that’s up in Canada, eh). He also hosts a podcast, the Mike and Kristen Podcast, with his wife, Kristen Herrington, who appeared on the Strong Stoic last year on Episode #249. In this episode, Mike and I discuss music, and…

1
#314 - Managing Jealousy as a Stoic 17:06

4M ago17:06

17:06

Jealousy: we all feel it, have felt it, have grappled with it, and know that it’s toxic. There are arguments about whether anger is a useful emotion. The Stoics say “no” while many other philosophers say “sometimes”. Jealousy, however, is very rarely considered in a positive light at all. Hence, when we feel jealousy, it’s not usually because we wa…

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The Hero's Journey (Part II) 22:21

4M ago22:21

22:21

There are two ways to access full episodes of Paradoxically Speaking: (1) Become a paid member of Brandon's Substack (https://strongstoic.substack.com/); (2) Become a paid member of Josh's Substack (https://perennial.substack.com/). By becoming a member of either of our Substacks, you'll gain full access to Paradoxically Speaking episodes. The Hero…

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#313 - Olympic Skater Mark Tuitert: The Stoic Mindset 1:02:42

4M ago1:02:42

1:02:42

Mark is a gold-medal Olympic speed skater. He won gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He is also the author of The Stoic Mindset: Living the 10 Principles of Stoicism, which will be released in Canada and the USA on April 9th (yes, that’s today!). In this episode, we talk about balancing hard work with enjoying life, courage in performan…

1
#312 - On Wasted Time 21:02

4M ago21:02

21:02

Seneca’s very first chapter in Letters From a Stoic is titled “On the Use of Time”. Time is something that is very paradoxical in the sense that we never feel like we have enough, yet our lives are longer than anything else we will do. Put another way, our days are often long while our days are short. Another curious thing about time is that we all…

1
#311 - Trauma From A Stoic Perspective 14:40

5M ago14:40

14:40

A ship accumulates marine growth on its hull as it traverses through water. Some would suggest that our souls do a similar thing, accumulating trauma from the challenging and difficult circumstances that life puts us through. This is understandable on one end; we can all point to situations in our past that seem to still bother us in conscious and …

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The Hero's Journey 21:19

5M ago21:19

21:19

There are two ways to access full episodes of Paradoxically Speaking: (1) Become a paid member of Brandon's Substack (https://strongstoic.substack.com/); (2) Become a paid member of Josh's Substack (https://perennial.substack.com/). By becoming a member of either of our Substacks, you'll gain full access to Paradoxically Speaking episodes.] Summary…

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#310 - Changing Ourselves: What, Why, and How 16:41

5M ago16:41

16:41

We can’t improve if we don’t change. Self-development is change. Remember that we need to know three things to improve: where we are, where we want to go, and how to get there. Change is the very process by which we get from where we are to where we want to be. But change is hard. If it were easy, all of us would be Stoic sages, living in virtue an…

1
#309 - Stoic Luck and Providence 18:48

5M ago18:48

18:48

In this episode, I discuss the concept of luck in Stoicism and its portrayal in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. I explore the idea of biased fortune and providence, highlighting the difference between mere chance and acting appropriately. I also shares the story of the game of riddles between Bilbo and Gollum, emphasizing how Bilbo's actions and virtu…

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#308 - Following Your Passion 13:43

5M ago13:43

13:43

Everyone is encouraged today to “follow your passion”. What they mean by this is that you should pursue whatever fills you up. You should pursue whatever you are passionate about. Obviously, we are all passionate about different things - some love knitting, others football, and others again book reviews! Is this advice, though, to follow one’s pass…

1
Youth, Beauty, and Mortality 19:14

5M ago19:14

19:14

There are two ways to access full episodes of Paradoxically Speaking: (1) Become a paid member of Brandon's Substack (https://strongstoic.substack.com/); (2) Become a paid member of Josh's Substack (https://perennial.substack.com/). By becoming a member of either of our Substacks, you'll gain full access to Paradoxically Speaking episodes. Summary …

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#307 - Ryan A. Bush: Engineering Ourselves Towards a Better Life 59:53

5M ago59:53

59:53

Ryan is the Author of several books including Designing The Mind and Become Who You Are. He takes a design approach to structuring your thinking to help you approach your life in a more logical and rational way. In this conversation, Ryan and Brandon discuss the concept of psychitecture and the systematic approach to engineering ourselves. They exp…

1
#306 - What is a Stoic Sage? 12:44

6M ago12:44

12:44

In moments of reflection on what we are doing with our lives, the thought can creep up: Am I doing enough? Could I be doing more good in my life? The Stoics have their fair share of radical ideas, but one that may be tremendously useful in the contemplation of this question is that there is no such thing as the idea of doing “more good” in Stoicism…

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#305 - Katie Feltmate: Love in the Age of Quarantine 1:30:14

6M ago1:30:14

1:30:14

Katie Feltmate is a poet based in my home province of Nova Scotia. She believes in the writing process as a tool for healing and self-growth. In 2021, she released her first self-published poetry book, Love in the Age of Quarantine, which is about, in my words, transitioning from an abusive and toxic relationship to a more whole self. I found her b…

1
Transcending the Self 21:19

6M ago21:19

21:19

This conversation explores the themes of transcending the self and the importance of compassion and concern for others. It delves into the influence of beliefs and perspectives on connectedness and the challenges of balancing self-care and selflessness. The case studies of Mike Tyson and Arnold Schwarzenegger highlight the transformative power of v…

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#304 - Living in Tension With Nature 15:00

6M ago15:00

15:00

Stoicism teaches that living in harmony with nature leads to happiness and flourishing. This harmony is achieved through tension, similar to how a guitar string must be under tension to produce the right note. Taking responsibility for ourselves and our relationships is essential in living in harmony. Stoics must balance their personal nature, comm…

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#303 - How to Manage Fatigue (Physical, Mental, and Spiritual) 14:33

6M ago14:33

14:33

Merriam-Webster defines fatigue as “weariness or exhaustion from labour, exertion, or stress”. I’m sure this rings a bell with you, and most of us become fatigued from time to time. In fact, fatigue can be of various types – exhaustion from work, exercise, stress, and even spiritual. That’s right – we can become spiritually or philosophically fatig…

1
On Being a Friend to Yourself 20:13

7M ago20:13

20:13

There are two ways to access full episodes of Paradoxically Speaking: (1) Become a paid member of Brandon's Substack (https://strongstoic.substack.com/); (2) Become a paid member of Josh's Substack (https://perennial.substack.com/). By becoming a member of either of our Substacks, you'll gain full access to Paradoxically Speaking episodes. Summary …

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#302 - Kyle Smith: Goals, Consciousness, Healing, Daily Miracles 1:07:02

7M ago1:07:02

1:07:02

Kyle is a clarity consultant who coaches people to live spiritual yet practical lives, and the host of the Limitless Life Podcast. We met sometime in 2023, where I first appeared as a guest on his podcast. What I love about speaking with Kyle is his positive energy. He’s a great conversationalist with an ability to really be present – something we …

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#301 - Four Lessons from 300 Episodes 19:38

7M ago19:38

19:38

This is episode 301, which makes it the first episode after I hit the 300-episode mark. 300 episodes is about 150 hours of podcast content, which is about 6 days of steady listening (for those interested in binge-listening all of the episodes). I saw that Chris Williamson, the host of Modern Wisdom, does this thing every hundred episodes or so wher…

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#300 - Simon Drew: Modern Challenges, Prayer, & Finding Peace 1:09:01

7M ago1:09:01

1:09:01

Simon Drew is an alignment coach, poet, author, musician, photographer, and the founder of The Walled Garden Philosophical Society. He has a Bachelor of Music Performance and is most well known for his work with the Practical Stoic Podcast, which has since evolved into The Walled Garden. I’ve known Simon for a couple of years at this point. It is h…

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#299 - Designing Your Environment for Success 19:15

7M ago19:15

19:15

In Stoicism, externals are outside of your control, and hence, cannot ultimately give you eudaimonia. That is true; your environment, the people around you, etc. are ultimately not up to you, and are unable to grant your eudaimonia. However, that isn’t to say that externals don’t have any effect on us. Externals can and do make things easier or har…

1
#298 - 2023 Christmas Special 10:43

8M ago10:43

10:43

Merry Christmas, everyone! This episode is just a few words on the magic of Christmas, the importance of family, gratitude, love, generosity, and the child-like wonder we should all seek to maintain. Find this episode on:https://linktr.ee/Strongstoic The Strong Stoic Podcast is a raw, honest, and unapologetically deep podcast about philosophy and s…

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Life & Death: On Grieving 20:28

8M ago20:28

20:28

In this conversation, Brandon and Joshua discuss various aspects of life and how to navigate its challenges. They explore the concept of accepting life's events and finding faith and courage in the face of difficult circumstances. They also delve into the idea of being part of something bigger and finding harmony and alignment with the mysterious a…

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#297 - How to Become and Stay Resilient 20:34

8M ago20:34

20:34

If you’ve been around the Instagram / Joe Rogan / motivational block, you may have heard of David Goggins. Goggins is one of the most bad-ass people on the planet today. His signature line is “stay hard”. Most people think he’s crazy, running miles and miles while his kneecaps explode, but is he onto something that perhaps a lot of us are missing? …

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#296 - Finding Light in the Darkness 17:42

8M ago17:42

17:42

We can be sure of one thing: tragedy of some sort is always just around the corner. From job loss to injury to mortality, life is full of downs. However, people can be resilient. The human spirit can get through such trying times, but how? How do we find light in the darkness? And, perhaps even more importantly, how do we become a light for others?…

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Courage and the Good Life 20:14

8M ago20:14

20:14

Paradoxes exist nearly everywhere — even in the area of self-improvement. In the classic On Becoming a Person, psychologist Carl Rogers wrote, “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” When you encounter a paradox, remember that there is potential and opportunity within the tension. What does it mean to bec…

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#295 - Transcending Suffering (Stoicism, Buddhism, & Peterson) 19:44

8M ago19:44

19:44

The Buddhists say "life is suffering", but does this mean that we are destined to suffer? Perhaps what the Buddhists mean by "suffering" isn't exactly what we think of. Indeed, Stoicism claims that we need not suffer (spiritually) but that we can transcend the weight of this world through perspective and virtue. Dr. Jordan B. Peterson also has some…

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#294 - Who We're Supposed to Be 16:01

9M ago16:01

16:01

As we progress in life, we aim to find our true selves and nature. The Stoics tell us to live according to this nature. But how do we go about self-discovery? Who are we supposed to be? It isn't as simple as what we are perfect at, for we are perfect at nothing (even though it doesn't seem that way from the outside looking in). It also doesn't seem…

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What is Love? 21:08

9M ago21:08

21:08

There are two ways to access full episodes of Paradoxically Speaking: (1) Become a paid member of Brandon's Substack (https://strongstoic.substack.com/); (2) Become a paid member of Josh's Substack (https://perennial.substack.com/). By becoming a member of either of our Substacks, you'll gain full access to Paradoxically Speaking episodes. Paradoxe…

1
#293 - Dealing With Criticism 19:06

9M ago19:06

19:06

Feedback from the external world is how we learn about ourselves and grow. It is crucial to receive regular criticism; too little can remove our humility. Too much, on the other hand, can leave us crippled with low self-esteem. In the modern world, criticism can be found by simply engaging online... but is this the best way to get criticism? How do…

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#292 - When Life Gives You Lemons 19:12

9M ago19:12

19:12

Everyone knows the cliche "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". But cliches are cliches for a reason. Making the best of our situation is a core Stoic practice, but what does it mean in practice? Lemonade is surely better than just lemons, but how do we get from lemons to lemonade in our daily lives? Find this episode on:https://linktr.ee/St…

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Becoming Who You Are 20:14

9M ago20:14

20:14

There are two ways to access full episodes of Paradoxically Speaking: (1) Become a paid member of Brandon's Substack (https://strongstoic.substack.com/); (2) Become a paid member of Josh's Substack (https://perennial.substack.com/). By becoming a member of either of our Substacks, you'll gain full access to Paradoxically Speaking episodes. Paradoxe…

1
#291 - A Dog's Happiness 16:17

9M ago16:17

16:17

Every time you see a dog, they are thrilled. You could have left the room for 10 minutes only to return to a companion who's overwhelmed with joy to see you again! Dogs have a lot to teach us, but perhaps the biggest lesson we can learn is how quickly joy comes to them. They say a dog lives 7 years for every 1 year of a human life. Does that mean t…

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#290 - Getting Stuck in Life, and What to Do 17:07

9M ago17:07

17:07

When a dog is on a leash, they will wander around, driven by instinctual desires, until they slowly run out of leash. At this stage, most will lie down and be content with where they are. This just so happens to be a great analogy for life... with a caveat. We must be content with where we end up, but at the same time, we have something very powerf…

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#289 - Staying True Amidst Political Games 23:01

10M ago23:01

23:01

People play games their entire lives. Life is, in fact, a bit of a game! They range in genre - there are games we play as a kid, like soccer and Monopoly. There are also professional games, philosophical games and, perhaps unfortunately, political games. In this episode, I discuss how to deal with situations where others aren't playing by the rules…

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