I love Ryan Holiday’s Ego is the Enemy. In it, I came across a powerful Frederick Douglass story and quote. Douglass, having been born into slavery, would go on to become one of the most prolific abolitionists of all time. Extraordinary people like Douglass truly inspire us with the idea of soul agency: “Booker T. Washington tells an anecdote told to him by Frederick Douglass, about a time he was traveling and was asked to move and ride in the... Read more

Seneca and Epictetus have some powerful sentiments on the hero’s journey. Kicking it off with Seneca, perhaps contemplating what the hero’s path isn’t would be an important start: the comfortable path. I wrote an earlier post on Seneca’s view that lack of adversity guarantees an unhappy (unfulfilled would be a more accurate term) life. A life of fulfillment requires answering the call to adventure. It is only in answering this call and facing adversity that we can actualize the hero within... Read more

Happiness can be a tricky term to define. At the shallow end, it may just be hormone release and hedonism. But on the deeper end, especially to Aristotle and Stoic philosophers, it resembles fulfillment. For Aristotle, the word “eudaimonia” (often translated to happiness) requires the fulfillment of virtuous action, according to one’s nature and potential. Along the lines of this bar, the famous Stoic philosopher Seneca had some profound truth bombs on what happiness is and isn’t. Even how he... Read more

In Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl urges us that life’s meaning is not an abstract question, but an immensely person one that bears the utmost responsibility: “Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”... Read more

I can’t get enough of Nelson Mandela. His example exemplifies leadership and courage. Often times, the inertia of life, the crowd, and status quo have tremendous attraction given the risk/reward calculus. But courage, true courage, and finding an ideal, in the words of Kierkegaard, for which “I am willing to live and die” for; though the risks are considerably higher, the reward is immeasurably higher, for it could mean the difference between not truly living vs truly living. Mandela, in fighting... Read more

“Talent is not required” is the title of the eighth chapter in his epoch book Can’t Hurt Me. Actions, not words, I’m always inspired by people’s life stories; their actions giving credibility (or not) to their words – specifically those who have faced seemingly insurmountable challenges with honor and courage, or came from nothing to achieve greatness against all odds. For Goggins, it is both. David Goggins came from an incredibly dysfunctional household as a child to a place he wasn’t proud... Read more

We’re a highly intelligent species. To be able to contemplate – what was, what is, and what will be is truly a blessing. Balance, though, is required before the blessing becomes a curse. I wrote previously on some wisdom on mindfulness and Seneca urging on true happiness being completely present in this moment. To this blessing/curse balance, Seneca offers this gem: … A mind in a state of anxiety through looking into the future… Projecting our thoughts far ahead of... Read more

Bruce Lee’s genius truly inspires me. I’ve written on his Jeet Kune Do which goes way beyond a martial arts style to a life philosophy and epistemology – finding a style without a style and being open-minded to what works – often summated by his famous urging to “absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own.” For Lee, “success is a journey, not a destination” and “success means doing something sincerely and wholeheartedly.” The depth... Read more

Be present in this moment. Seneca urged us that this is the key to true happiness and peace: “True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so, wants nothing.” Sage advice from a central figure in Stoic philosophy, it shares timeless wisdom found in many religious and philosophical schools. Lao Tzu,... Read more