The Myth of Sisyphus

EP 469- Author Brad Stulberg on What ‘Excellence’ Means for Amateur Chess Players

Perpetual Chess Podcast, 27 January 2026. The book comes up at 20 min 38 sec in.

Brad Stulberg calls it one of his favorite philosophical books and uses the myth—Sisyphus condemned to push a boulder up a hill for eternity—as a metaphor for how humans perpetually cycle through goals. He argues a good life means learning to push the boulder with a smile, applying the idea directly to chess players who plateau, framing the joy as residing in the repeating process rather than in achievement.

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