The Rise Of Stoicism

As investor and entrepreneur Tim Ferriss has put it, Stoic philosophy is “a simple and immensely practical set of rules for better results with less effort.”

Stoicism:

The highest point to which a human can attain by mere use of his faculty for reason.

Stoicism is the pursuit of self-mastery, integrity, ethics, perseverance, courage and wisdom for leadership and how to live your life, not merely academic inquisition.

• “Throw out your conceited opinions, for it is impossible for a person to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows.” — Epictetus. The reality is that we’re all guilty of thinking we know it all, and we’d all learn more if we could set that attitude aside. As smart or successful as we may be, there is always someone who is smarter, more successful, and wiser than we are. Bill Gates, a voracious reader who tries to understand the world a bit better every day, one book at a time. Perpetually exposing oneself to new knowledge and ideas is a humbling reminder of how little you know, even if you are one of the most successful business moguls in history.
• “Above all, keep a close watch on this — that you are never so tied to your former acquaintances and friends that you are pulled down to their level. If you don’t, you’ll be ruined. … You must choose whether to be loved by these friends and remain the same person, or to become a better person at the cost of those friends, if you try to have it both ways you will neither make progress nor keep what you once had.” — Epictetus. “It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.” — Warren Buffet or “Life’s too short to hang out with people who aren’t resourceful” — Jeff Bezos
• “Were all the geniuses of history to focus on this single theme, they could never fully express their bafflement at the darkness of the human mind. No person would give up even an inch of their estate, and the slightest dispute with a neighbor can mean hell to pay; yet we easily let others encroach on our lives — worse, we often pave the way for those who will take it over. No person hands out their money to passersby, but to how many do each of us hand out our lives! We’re tightfisted with property and money, yet think too little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers.” — Seneca The Brevity Of Life. Today there are endless interruptions in our days: phone calls, emails, visitors, unexpected events. This is why business leaders so diligently protect their personal space and thoughts from the intrusions of the world. They know that a few minutes of contemplation are worth more than any meeting or report. They also know how little time we’re actually given in life — and how quickly our stores can be depleted. Time is our most irreplaceable asset, and we cannot buy more of it. We can only strive to waste as little as possible. You can do so much in 10 minutes’ time. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Divide your life into 10-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity.
• “So in the majority of other things, we address circumstances not in accordance with the right assumptions, but mostly by following wretched habit. Since all that I’ve said is the case, the person in training must seek to rise above, so as to stop seeking out pleasure and steering away from pain; to stop clinging to living and abhorring death; and in the case of property and money, to stop valuing receiving over giving.” — Musonius Rufus. As Elon Musk said, “I think that’s the single best piece of advice is think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.” Know why you do what you do — do it for the right reasons.
• At every moment keep a sturdy mind on the task at hand, as a Roman and human being, doing it with strict and simple dignity, affection, freedom, and justice — giving yourself a break from all other considerations. You can do this if you approach each task as if it is your last, giving up every distraction, emotional subversion of reason, and all drama, vanity, and complaint over your fair share. You can see how mastery over a few things makes it possible to live an abundant and devout life — for, if you keep watch over these things, the gods won’t ask for more.” — Marcus Aurelius. Approach each task as if it were your last, because it very well could be. And even if it isn’t, botching what’s right in front of you doesn’t help anything. Find clarity in the simplicity of doing your job today.
• “If you are defeated once and tell yourself you will overcome, but carry on as before, know in the end you’ll be so ill and weakened that eventually you won’t even notice your mistake and will begin to rationalize your behavior.” — Epictetus. Failure is a part of life we have little choice over. Learning from failure, on the other hand, is optional. We have to choose to learn. We must consciously opt to do things differently — to tweak and change until we actually get the result we’re after. But that’s hard. It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.
• “What’s left to be prized? This, I think — to limit our action or inaction to only what’s in keeping with the needs of our own preparation … it’s what the exertions of education and teaching are all about — here is the thing to be prized! If you hold this only, you’ll stop trying to get yourself all the other things. … If you don’t, you won’t be free, self-sufficient, or liberated from passion, but necessarily full of envy, jealousy, and suspicion for any who have the power to take them, and you’ll plot against those who do have what you prize. … But by having some self-respect for your own mind and prizing it, you will please yourself and be in better harmony with your fellow human beings, and more in tune with the gods- praising everything they have set in order and allotted you.” — Marcus Aurelius The more things we desire and the more we have to do to earn or maintain those achievements, the less we actually enjoy our lives — and the less free we are. Marcus Aurelius famously sold many of the palace furnishing to pay down his empire’s debt. He didn’t need luxuries, and they were weighing him and his people down. The cheaper you live, the greater your options.