I’ve always been inspired by Henry Ford’s famous quote. “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.” Thinking back to times where we’ve accomplished something exceptional – our mindset was the Achilles heel. Believing that we can actually achieve that goal, our mindset fuels our daily efforts towards that goal. Even in the face of adversity along the way, we chose to manifest something exceptional because we wish to be exceptional. That’s not to say we never... Read more

It’s a thought-provoking quote by Jim Rohn: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” In one sense, it feels like an oversimplification. At the same time, it’s dead on. Though we are accountable for our own behavior, we can’t help but be influenced by those around us. To the old adage “misery loves company”, the famous Stoic philosopher Epictetus warns us on who we fraternize with: “If a companion is dirty, his friends... Read more

The Stoics were big on the idea of adversity revealing character. It’s self-evident really, when you think about for a moment. Peoples’ characters, like ideas, are often weak when untested. I wrote earlier on Seneca on (Unhappiness) and the Bar of Fulfillment and his view that “no man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself” If we are not reaching our potential, how can we be truly fulfilled? And if... Read more

Though many think of him only as a martial artist and/or movie star, it never ceases to amaze me how profound of a philosopher Bruce Lee was. His views on the importance of blending styles to be a “style without style” goes way beyond martial arts and aims at the pursuit of knowledge itself (epistemology), as well as reaching one’s ultimate potential. As I wrote in “Bruce Lee, Evolution, and Being Water”, to not recognize the importance of “being water” and... Read more

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