Daily Stoic · Productivity · Personal Development · United States
American author and founder of Daily Stoic, which sells email-based Stoicism courses and challenges from $25 to $149 and a Daily Stoic Life membership at $299 for the first year.
Ryan Holiday is an American author who writes about Stoic philosophy and runs Daily Stoic, a newsletter, podcast and online store built around it. According to his Wikipedia entry, he was born in 1987 in Sacramento County, California, and left the University of California, Riverside at 19. His own website says he then worked in marketing, including at American Apparel, founded the creative agency Brass Check, and advised clients such as Google and TASER; the Wikipedia entry records that he left American Apparel in October 2014.
His first books dealt with media and marketing: Trust Me, I'm Lying (2012), Growth Hacker Marketing, Perennial Seller and Conspiracy (2018). His Stoicism titles include The Obstacle Is the Way (2014), Ego Is the Enemy, The Daily Stoic (with Stephen Hanselman), Stillness Is the Key, Lives of the Stoics and the Stoic Virtues series, whose final volume, Wisdom Takes Work, was published by Portfolio on October 21, 2025. His website states that his books have sold more than 2 million copies in thirty languages; no independent sales figure has been located. He also owns The Painted Porch Bookshop in Bastrop, Texas, which he opened with his wife after construction began in March 2020.
He publishes mainly through the Daily Stoic YouTube channel, which showed 2.06 million subscribers when read on September 13, 2026, and The Daily Stoic podcast. Instagram and TikTok follower counts were not recorded because they could not be read reliably.
What he sells, beyond books, is a catalog of digital courses on the Daily Stoic Store. They are delivered mainly by daily email, with recorded video sessions, Q&As and access to a community platform. Prices listed on September 13, 2026 range from $25 (Alive Time Challenge) to $149 (The Daily Stoic Leadership Challenge, marked down from $179); several were live cohorts now sold as recordings, and the store states that all courses are non-refundable. The Daily Stoic Life membership costs $299 for the first year and renews at $149 a year, and includes all courses, a private community on Mighty Networks, live Q&As and a printed book. He also tours as a speaker: the Daily Stoic Live page lists keynote dates in New Zealand, Australia and the United States for October to December, without ticket prices on the page itself.
On his reputation: his work has received mainstream coverage, including a May 30, 2022 interview on WBUR's Here & Now in which host Robin Young raised academic criticism of monetizing Stoic philosophy; Holiday answered that his readers support him directly and that nobody takes on debt to study with him. No FTC action under his name or under Daily Stoic was found in a search of ftc.gov on September 13, 2026. His business registrations could not be checked on OpenCorporates, which blocked automated access on that date.
Not confirmed: the number of course buyers or Daily Stoic Life members (not published), the legal entity that operates the store, and ticket prices for the live tour.
Objective facts about their offer, taken from public sources. We don't rate the quality of the programs or the results you may get.
2 without a public price
6 official channels
Massive audience
Facts checked on Sep 14, 2026.
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| Program | Type | Published price | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Stoic Life Membership Annual membership that includes every Daily Stoic course and challenge, a private Mighty Networks community, live Q&As, extra email meditations and a hardcover book. $299 for the first year, then $149 per year. | Community | $299 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| The Daily Stoic Leadership Challenge: Ancient Wisdom For Modern Leaders Nine-week course with 63 daily emails, recorded video deep dives with guest leaders, Q&A recordings and community access. Recorded version of the September 2023 cohort. Listed at $149, marked down from $179. | Course | $149 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| The Wealthy Stoic: A Daily Stoic Guide To Being Rich, Free, and Happy Nine-week recorded course on money and Stoic philosophy: more than 35 emails, three deep dives with guests including Morgan Housel and Cal Newport, Q&A recordings and community access. Listed at $99, marked down from $150. | Course | $99 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Habits For Success, Habits For Happiness: A Daily Stoic Challenge (2026) Six-week Daily Stoic challenge on building habits. | Course | $99 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Read to Lead: A Daily Stoic Reading Challenge (2026) Daily Stoic reading challenge. | Course | $99 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Slay Your Stress: A Daily Stoic 20 Day Challenge Twenty-day challenge on managing stress with Stoic practices. | Course | $99 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| The Stoic Parent: 10 Commandments For Becoming A Better Parent Digital course on parenting through Stoic principles. | Course | $99 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Stoicism 101: Ancient Philosophy For Your Actual Life Fourteen daily email lessons (over 20,000 words), two hours of recorded Q&A with Ryan Holiday and a printable calendar. Recording of the November 2025 live course. | Course | $49 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Taming Your Temper: The 11-Day Stoic Course for Controlling Anger Eleven-day email course on handling anger. | Course | $49 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Alive Time Challenge: A Daily Stoic Course Daily Stoic challenge with daily video companions from Ryan Holiday. | Course | $25 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Wisdom Takes Work Final book of the Stoic Virtues series, published by Portfolio on October 21, 2025. | Book | Not published Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Daily Stoic Live Speaking tour with a keynote based on Wisdom Takes Work followed by Q&A, with dates listed in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. Tickets are sold through Ticketmaster, Eventbrite or Thinkable Events; no price is shown on the tour page. | Event | Not published Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
Prices are those published by the mentor on the date checked and may change. “Not published” means we couldn't find a public price.
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An American author born in 1987, according to Wikipedia, who writes about Stoicism. He founded Daily Stoic, wrote The Obstacle Is the Way and Ego Is the Enemy, and previously worked in marketing, including at American Apparel until October 2014.
On September 13, 2026 the Daily Stoic Store listed courses between $25 and $149, for example Stoicism 101 at $49 and The Wealthy Stoic at $99. Daily Stoic Life, which includes every course, costs $299 for the first year and $149 per year after that. The store says courses are non-refundable.
According to its sales page: all Daily Stoic courses and challenges, extra weekend email meditations, ad-free daily emails, a private community on Mighty Networks, live Q&A invitations, a hardcover book and a 10% store discount. New sign-ups have a 14-day cancellation window.
What can be checked: his courses and prices are published openly on the Daily Stoic Store, his books are released by major publishers such as Portfolio, and no FTC action under his name or Daily Stoic was found on ftc.gov on September 13, 2026. Academic critics have questioned the commercial side of his Stoicism, which he addressed on WBUR in May 2022.
On the record: press interviews such as WBUR's Here & Now (2022), and no public regulatory action found in the sources checked.
Mainly on the Daily Stoic YouTube channel, with 2.06 million subscribers on September 13, 2026, The Daily Stoic podcast, the Daily Stoic email newsletter and Instagram.
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