William C. Spears

Author: William C. Spears

  • Why the Stoicism Trend is Good for National Security

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    William C. Spears
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    This article first appeared at my Substack, Officium: Stoicism and Military Service. If this kind of information is useful to you, you might check it out. I first encountered Stoicism in Nimitz Library at the Naval Academy. I was killing time between classes, avoiding a lab report when I happened across James Stockdale’s lectures on Epictetus.…

  • Moving to Substack

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    William C. Spears
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    Folks, just a quick note to inform that I’m moving this blog to Substack, here: https://williamcspears.substack.com/ It’s just got a better platform for what I really want to do, which is to continue developing ideas about Stoicism and military service. This blog is now shut down, but the homepage will stay here.

  • The Greg Sadler Review

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    William C. Spears
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    Just like I don’t write a separate post for every interview I do on the book tour, I also don’t do one every time someone reviews my book. On the other hand, Dr. Sadler is different in that a) he’s a professional expert on my topic and b) he did both. Dr. Gregory Sadler, PhD…

  • Video: The Stoic Knife

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    William C. Spears
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    For anyone wondering why there’s a giant knife on the cover of my book: At 17 minutes, it’s pretty short, but this presentation I recently did for the Modern Stoicism organization pretty much covers it.

  • Be Like the Purple Thread

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    William C. Spears
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    Epictetus, Discourses 1.2: …that’s why, when Florus was considering whether he should attend Nero’s show to perform some part in it himself, Agrippinus said to him, “Go!” And when Florus asked him, “then why aren’t you going yourself?” he replied, “Because I’ve never even considered it. For as soon as anyone begins to consider such…

  • At the Hall of Heroes

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    William C. Spears
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    Yesterday I was privileged to meet– for the first time in person– Dr. Jim Stockdale II, who graciously wrote the foreword to my book last year. Jim and I have exchanged much correspondence over the past year and have spoken more than a few times, to the point that I feel safe calling him a…

  • Audiobook Released

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    William C. Spears
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    Who is this handsome devil Stephen Caffrey? You might know him as Lt. Myron Goldman from the 1987 Vietnam drama Tour of Duty, and other fine cinema. I know him as the professional voice actor selected by the publisher to read the audiobook of Stoicism as a Warrior Philosophy, which released today. Let me tell…

  • Reflections in a Barnes & Noble

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    William C. Spears
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    I’d been warned by plenty of experienced writers that a debut book release is rarely the big, cinematic moment you imagine. They were right. Instead of a triumphant launch day, I’ve had delayed ship dates, understocking issues, and even a little product misplacement for good measure. There wasn’t really a “release day” at all—just this…

  • It’s Here! And its beautiful.

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    William C. Spears
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    Although it is still a few weeks until release in the US, my book has been available in the UK since the beginning of this month. Even though I’ll soon receive a box of 50, I paid the extra shipping and duties to get a copy sent over from the UK early– over the protests…

  • The Stockdale Interview

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    William C. Spears
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    The ideal leader is, always and everywhere, an ideal person. Leaders demonstrate what “right” looks like. Whether you are a chief, an officer, or simply a mom or a dad, those who look up to you will take on aspects of your personality and behavior, like it or not. What qualities are you transmitting? CIMSEC’s…