I am loving the straight talk and cursing of this book to hammer home the points to my subconscious. Stoicism reworded for a new generation. It is a subtle art, and this book shows yourself that a lot about what you care about is not that important, so you should save yourself for things that are truly important.
“You’re going to die one day. I know that’s kind of obvious, but I just wanted to remind you in case you’d forgotten. You and everyone you know are going to be dead soon. And in the short amount of time between here and there, you have a limited amount of fucks to give. Very few, in fact. And if you go around giving a fuck about everything and everyone without conscious thought or choice—well, then you’re going to get fucked.”
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What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog
Many famous people have found teachings in the private notes of Marcus Aurelius. Although written long ago, the problems are the same. Like Letters From A Stoic by Seneca, I find Meditations best when consumed little by little daily.
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What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog Goal setting and following your vision is not new, it has been a struggle for millennia. This has been repeated throughout history (see Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill). To truly get to success, you need to know what you are aiming for. Excerpt from Letters from a Stoic: “For whatever we do ought to be in harmony with this; no man can set in order the details unless he has already set before himself the chief purpose of his life.” “The reason we make mistakes is because we all consider the parts of life, but never life as a whole.” Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog Everyone has their thing. What's your thing? I have no interest in Rolex watches. When the Apple Watch came out everyone was saying “£500? That’s expensive, what does it do?” Well if it just told the time, it is still only 10% of the price of an entry level Rolex. So, what is the real question? That people in the know, know how much it is? A Rolex to me looks the same as £50 watch, but I am not in the know. An Apple Watch is definitely more functional, as in it has more functions, but you definitely do not need one. How much value is an object adding to your life? Maybe a lot? Is it bringing you the same happiness as financial freedom? Everyone has their thing, but if you can minimise your things, happiness is behind them. Would you rather have a Rolex now or £500k 40 years later. Most people aren't thinking like this, even when they are buying their £3 latte’s three times a day. It adds up and compounds. Buy what you want. But if you can want less in the short-term, you will have to work less to get freedom in the long term. Realise it is a choice. Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog How much work left outstanding is acceptable? No one is leaving work having completed everything they must do. So how much work left outstanding is acceptable? It seems to be arbitrary. If you are in the office for eight hours then if you have stuff left over that is okay? What if Jane get twice as much done as Greg. Why is it acceptable for Greg to leave twice as much outstanding? Why is it not acceptable for Jane to work four hours and have the same amount of work left for tomorrow? In the corporate world, no one is thinking like this. Like they have finite time on the planet. If you can do a day’s work in half a day why are you working full days? Because they have paid for your time, not your results, despite what your annual review says. And no one cares, as long as they see you around looking busy. The most important decision you can make is what time you are going to stop work today. But realise this is for you and your family, not because you have done enough work for the day. There is always more to do. So why not do something you love to do? "The ordinary man is always doing things, Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog
Read daily for a dose of perspective from the past. The problems humans face has been the same for millennia. Nothing has really changed since the Romans.
This is a slice of literary meditation for the mind. Not all letters will hit the spot but that depends at what point in your life you read them. Use this book as a daily habit on teaching you how to think.
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What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog People come to salaried jobs as if they have infinite time. They take up others time. They make jobs for themselves. Would you rather employ someone who in the office for 14 hours a day or someone who gets things done and has a life outside of work? “It is with life as it is with a play, - it matters not how long the action is spun out, but how good the acting is.” ~ Seneca Remind yourself that you are going to die someday. Then look how much is being accomplished in the meeting you are sitting in. Would you rather be sitting in this meeting or out exercising, learning to play an instrument, seeing your children. Remember that time is not infinite and then make better choices. The faster you reach a decision, the faster you can get on living. “Would you not think him an utter fool who wept because he was not alive a thousand years ago? And is he not just as much of a fool who weeps because he will not be alive a thousand years from now? It is all the same; you will not be, and you were not. Neither of these periods of time belongs to you. You have been cast upon this point of time; if you would make it longer, how much longer shall you make it?” ~ Seneca Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog Should we be taught to eternally study? Lifelong learning is surely a habit worth pursuing. It is especially difficult to muster the energy to self-learn after school has beaten all enthusiasm for learning out of its pupils. To learn for the sake of doing rather than for the sake of a test. How long should this last? What should we study? Seneca would say: “You should keep learning as long as you are ignorant, - even to the end of your life” and himself quotes a proverb: “As long as you live, keep learning how to live.” Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog Meetings are likely the biggest time waster in your working life. But in your whole life, the biggest time waster must be worrying. Not living in the present. Seneca says it better than I, “But what is greater madness than to be tortured by the future and not to save your strength for the actual suffering, but to invite and bring on wretchedness? If you cannot be rid of it, you ought at least to postpone it. Will you not understand that no man should be tormented by the future?” Worrying is the poison of the mind. Mindfulness and habits are the antidote. Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
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