About Benny

Who I am and why Via Stoica exists

I am Benny Voncken. Like most people, I have had stretches where life did not go the way I planned. While I was looking for a way through that maze, the ancient Stoics crossed my path and guided me to where I am today. Now I share what I have learned so other people can find their own way through, too. Via Stoica is the platform for anyone who needs to pause and regroup the way I did.

I do not have a philosophy degree, and I am not a certified Stoic scholar. What I do have is almost 15 years of experience teaching, which helps me translate these dense and old ideas into something people can actually use. That skill was built through plenty of trial and error, since I do not always get it right the first time either. Beyond that background, the passion carries a habit that my own family calls an unusual one. I read and study this philosophy almost daily, testing it against my own life, and sharing openly what works and discarding what doesn’t.

When words became practice

A few years ago my marriage ended in divorce. I had to rebuild a future that had shattered, and rediscover myself in the process. In the middle of that, a knee injury put me in bed for six weeks. It forced me to sit still for the first time in years, and take a good look at my life. Having already read Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus helped me a great deal to get through that moment.

It was, in fact, a line where Marcus Aurelius asks why anyone should be surprised that a fig tree produces figs. A fig tree is only doing what a fig tree does. Reading that line made me see a frustrating colleague differently: he was only acting the way he always had. Expecting otherwise had been the real problem. That was the moment reading turned into practice, since applying the line to an actual person in my actual life made the philosophy real instead of theoretical.

I told the fuller version of this on the podcast, in Finding His Voice among the Stoics: Benny’s Stoic Story.

Ever since that moment, over seven years ago, I have practiced Stoicism as a way of life. I have also led Stoic walks across Europe. Now, I own a suitcase and a backpack and little else, which means I get to go wherever fate brings me next.

I am not claiming to have life figured out. I still go through the same ups and downs as anyone else. But Stoicism gives me a way to move through them with more peace and steadier footing than I had before. That is what I want to pass on, through the podcast, the writing, and the coaching. Because I am not a special person, I am just like you.

What that looks like week to week

Each week I record a podcast episode, right now closing in on 82 of them. I also write a monthly letter called The Pause. I lead Stoic walks in different cities, since talking through this philosophy while moving through a real place is different from reading it at a desk.

Alongside that, I worked through the whole first book of Epictetus’s Discourses and built exercises for each chapter. I wanted to actually understand it, not just reference it. None of this is outsourced, which is why it has stayed consistent, instead of turning into a short burst of content followed by silence.

How coaching works

A session with me is tailored to your specific needs. But I am often asked what a Stoic coach actually does. I like to describe it in three short parts.

First, you get a coach who practices Stoicism himself. I listen without judgment and observe what is actually going on. Then I hand you tools I use in my own life, not from a manual, loosely structured around a method I call the Pause.

Second, if you want to go deeper into Stoicism alongside the coaching, that works too. I can walk you through as much of the philosophy as you want. Third, if you do not care about the philosophy and just want the practical tools, that’s fine too. I can teach you what to do without asking you to study why it works.

Staying connected to the community

Working alone most days makes it easy to only hear my own thinking. So I stay active in the wider Stoic community on purpose. For the podcast, I invite people as guests and have gone to seminars in Athens and Turin with Massimo Pigliucci. I have also co-hosted philosophical walks through Athens with Donald Robertson and spoken at Stoicon. I co-taught the Stoic Week at ISVW alongside other Dutch Stoics too.

It is important to me to reach out to other creators and practitioners doing similar work. Staying isolated in a niche this small is its own kind of risk. None of that is for show. It is how I keep myself honest, keep learning, and stay connected to people who study and practice this as seriously as I try to. You can hear many of these conversations on The Via Stoica Podcast.

When you book a consultation, you get me, not a coach an algorithm matched you with. The conversation stays close to the same pressure you are dealing with, not distant from it. If that sounds like what you are looking for, the best next step is a short conversation, not a sales pitch.

That conversation happens through Stoic Coaching or a free consultation. If you would rather start with the writing, subscribe to The Pause for a monthly practice you can use right away. You can also listen to The Via Stoica Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.