Advertising can add fuel to a fire, but rarely is it sufficient to start one.
The Stoics were pioneers of the morning and nightly rituals: preparation in the morning, reflection in the evening.
That’s Stoic joy – the joy that comes from purpose, excellence, and duty. It’s a serious thing – far more serious than a smile or a chipper voice.
The need for progress can be the enemy of enjoying the process.
Who wants to be the person who can never let go? Is there so little meaning in your life that your only pursuit is work until you’re eventually carted off in a coffin? Take pride in your work. But it is not all.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,” Lao Tzu says, “the whole world belongs to you.
That on which you so pride yourself will be your ruin,” Montaigne.
The same is true for you today. The order and the peace might be interrupted by a new circumstance. OK. Get a hold of yourself and find your way back.
Principles are better than instructions and “hacks.” We can figure out the specifics later – but only if we learn the right way to approach them.
Outward appearances are deceptive. What’s within them, beneath them, is what matters.
Knowing what your goal is – having that crystal clear – allows you to know when to follow conventional wisdom and when to say “Screw it.
Duris dura franguntur.
Snark is not the response of “the masses” to the inane doublespeak of politicians. It’s a defense mechanism for writers who, having nothing to say, are absolutely terrified of being criticized or derided. Snarky writing reflects a primal fear – the fear of being laughed at. Snarky writers don’t want to be mocked, so they strike first by mocking everyone in sight.
How you handle even minor adversity might seem like nothing, but, in fact, it reveals everything.
You can’t run away from your choices – you can only fix them with better choices.
Begin with awareness and reflection. Not just once, but every single second of every single.
If we do not focus on our internal integration – on self-awareness – we risk external disintegration.
Today, you could try to increase your wealth, or you could take a shortcut and just want less.
The areas of great interest to the Stoics all make an appearance here: virtue, mortality, emotions, self-awareness, fortitude, right action, problem solving, acceptance, mental clarity, pragmatism, unbiased thought, and duty. The Stoics were pioneers of the morning and nightly rituals: preparation in the morning, reflection in the evening.
If you would not have a man flinch when the crisis comes, train him before it comes.