As a young man, it was the opening passage of Book V in Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations that struck me most—he one chastising his reluctance to get out of bed and get moving in the morning. As you can see, I wrote “FUCK” with a highlighter on my copy opposite that passage. Later, I would print out this […]
The essayist Joseph Epstein once observed that of the deadly sins, envy is the only one that isn’t any fun. Yet how many of us are consumed by it? How many special moments, relationships and experiences has it ruined That is no way to live. It’s like it never occurs to us that our lives […]
A lot of people know Marcus Aurelius only as that “old guy in the movie Gladiator.” You know, the one that Joaquin Phoenix’s character kills at the beginning? As rudimentary as this understand is, it’s not that far off. Though some basic research shows us that there are even more interesting factors at play. First off, Maximus (Russell Crowe’s character) […]
“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.” – Epictetus There’s a wonderful expression: You have two ears and one mouth and it’s best to use them in that proportion. And yet, how often do we find ourselves speaking more than we listen? This is a symptom of a […]
“You shouldn’t give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they don’t care at all.” – Marcus Aurelius. That might be tough tonic, but it’s connected to an important focus for budding stoics: Circumstances do not change as a result of how angry you get at them. Because circumstances are not people. Your feelings are […]
“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself […]
One of the reasons that Stoicism is so related about us is that its most famous practitioners were doers. Among the Stoics, we find prominent statesmen, soldiers, writers, lawyers, leaders and artists. It’s clear that Stoicism and a successful career are not incompatible. Indeed, they might even complement each other. The stereotype of the monk or the dedicated […]
After I wrote a book about ego last year, I noticed a similar questions popping up in Q&As. People would tell me horror stories about their boss and then say, “How do I help my boss deal with his enormous ego?” What they wanted were practical tips on how to fix this broken person because […]
“The man who has anticipated the coming of troubles takes away their power when they arrive.” – Seneca Soldiers know how to shoot to kill—so why do they train for being on the receiving end of gunfire? The same reason a company does “war gaming” against its competitors. The same reason football players practice fumble […]