Notations From the Grid (Special New Year's Eve Edition): New Year's 2023 countdown celebrations around the world (cont.) | LIVE

Notations From the Grid (Special Edition): Out & About w/ @BarackObama in 2022

 

The Obama Presidential Center will house a new branch of the Chicago Library—a perfect place for young people and visitors from around the world to check out some of the titles included on his list. It will also house a recording studio so future generations can explore their own artistic talents. Here’s to the power of the arts,  —The Obama Foundation The Cynic philosopher Diogenes was once criticized by a passerby for not taking care of himself in his old age, for being too active when he should have been taking it easy and resting. As per usual, Diogenes had the perfect rejoinder: “What, if I were running in the stadium, ought I to slacken my pace when approaching the goal?” His point was that we should never stop getting better, never stop the work that philosophy demands of us. Right up until the end Diogenes was questioning convention, reducing his wants, challenging power, and insisting on truth. The Stoics agreed with his view, that old age was no excuse for coasting. In fact, we get the sense that many of the strongest passages in Meditations are written by an older Marcus Aurelius, one who is still frustrated with himself for his anxiety, for his passions, for his less-than-flawless record when it came to upholding his positions. In one passage he says it more or less outright: How much longer are you going to keep doing this? You’re old and you still can’t get it right. But he wasn’t just kicking himself to feel better. He was trying to get himself to be better. He refused to take his foot off the gas. He was going to keep going right on through the finish line, and so should we. No matter how old we are, no matter how long we’ve been at this, it’s far too early to stop now, to say “close enough.” No, we are going to give our best effort. We’re going to give everything we have, with every day that is given to us.

Watch Santa deliver presents around the world

On Our "Virtual Route 66" This Week: As The Year Comes to a Close

 We present a snapshot of our World courtesy of the team at the Visual Capitalist:

Notations From the Grid (Special Mid-Week Edition): 100 Things Ryan Holiday Learned From Marcus Aurelius' Meditations

On Our "Virtual Route 66" This Week: #RandomThoughts For the Week

 

 

Making the Case for Community College Baccalaureates

In this new brief, Debra Bragg and Tim Harmon explore the methods and results of a supply and demand analysis conducted in two Midwest states, Ohio and Illinois, to inform future decisions on Community Colleges Baccalaureate degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building Financial Structures to Support Community College Bachelor’s Degrees

A new brief by Ivy Love and Iris Palmer presents the trade-offs states must navigate when deciding how to most appropriately and effectively fund CCB programs.

 

 

 

 

Improving Language Access in Early Childhood Programs

Nicole Hsu highlights a recent report that explores language access policies in four major early childhood programs.

 

 

 

 

Who Will Be the Voice for ECE In Your State Government?

As governors consider their appointments for the term ahead, Elliot Regenstein explains why ECE advocates should articulate the importance of having ECE expertise in cabinet-level positions.

 

 

 

 

Principals Support Early Education Programs in Schools, But Need Support to Lead Them Effectively

Michael Little, Lora Cohen-Vogel,  and Tim Drake highlight their findings from a recent survey of principals and assistant principals in North Carolina.

In one of the most watched videos on the Daily Stoic YouTube Channel this week, Ryan Holiday shares 100 things he’s learned from the book he’s read over 100 times: Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. Ryan has put so many miles on various paperback and hardcover copies of Meditations that most of his copies are now held together by tape. So he decided to create a leather edition to stand the test of time (check it out here), which is one of the lessons from Marcus himself:

In Meditations, Marcus says ‘to read attentively—don’t be satisfied with just getting gist of it.’ Meditations is a book you return to over and over again. It has to be a daily practice, an ongoing practice, something you return to over and over and over again.

Watch the full video: 100 Things Ryan Holiday Learned From Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations​

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PODCAST TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK:

In one of the most listened to episodes of the Daily Stoic podcast this week, Ryan Holiday speaks to Roman historian Josiah Osgood about his new book Uncommon Wrath: How Caesar and Cato’s Deadly Rivalry Destroyed the Roman Republic, the complicated legacy of Cato, what today’s leaders can learn from the Shakespearean virtues and vices of both Cato and Caesar, and the Stoic lesson embedded in Cato and Caesar’s fatal showdown:

“There’s no one that the story ends well for. Not Caesar. Not Cato. Not Pompey. Not Rome. It doesn’t go well for anyone. The question then is which of the strategies is intrinsically the right one? It’s probably Cato—being a good person because it’s the right thing. You may not come out victorious in the end, but at least you know you did what was right. That’s probably the ultimate Stoic argument there: the right cause may ultimately be defeated but there’s still nothing better than that. There comes a point where your integrity is all you have.”

Listen to the full episode: Josiah Osgood on the Long-Lasting Effects of Rivalry​

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WHAT RYAN HOLIDAY IS READING:

“’Tiger, one day you will come to a fork in the road and you’re going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go.’ He raised his hand and pointed. ‘If you go that way you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and you will get good assignments.’ Then Boyd raised his other hand and pointed in another direction. ‘Or you can go that way and you can do something- something for your country and for your Air Force and for yourself. If you decide you want to do something, you may not get promoted and you may not get the good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won’t have to compromise yourself. You will be true to your friends and to yourself. And your work might make a difference. To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That’s when you will have to make a decision. To be or to do? Which way will you go?’”

— Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed The World by Robert Coram

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YOUR STOIC WEEKEND REMINDER:

Do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life.

In the kitchen at Per Se, one of the best restaurants in the world, there is a sign. All it says is: A Sense of Urgency. That’s what a great chef, a great service staff, a great organization has. A great person needs it too.

Yet far too many of us lack this. In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius chides himself for acting as if he’s going to live forever, as if he has unlimited time. “You could be good today,” he writes, “instead you choose tomorrow.” He tells himself he needs to concentrate like a Roman and do the task in front of him as if it was the last thing he was doing in his life.

In short, he needs to attack everything with a sense of urgency. We all do.

(For more Stoic reminders to start your day with, watch this video!)

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THIS WEEK'S BEST SOCIAL MEDIA POST:

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EMAIL OF THE WEEK:

​The Violence Of The Dog Days (Listen)

Notations On Our World (Special Friday Edition) What Did Trevor Learn from The Daily Show? | The Daily Show

On Our "Virtual Route 66" Around the World This Week: Flash Mob

On Our World : A Tribute to all Who Struggle For Freedom "I'm a survivor..."

On Our Virtual Route 66 This Week (Special Friday Edition) : A Political History of Contemporary Iran

The Iranian Revolution of 1401 has entered its' 78th Day.    Our team continues to assess as we hereby present this on Iran: