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Seneca: How to get a free performance upgrade
Everyone wants better performance. That’s why people buy new apps.Read productivity books.Or consume energy drinks. But the biggest performance upgrade we’ll ever get is completely free. Almost nobody uses it. Seneca figured it out 2,000 years ago. Here’s the upgrade. Let us stop believing every thought we have. Just because our mind says we are…
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Montaigne: The shortest path to personal growth
What if I told you the biggest obstacle to personal growth… is pushing too hard for personal growth? Sounds backwards, right? But that’s exactly what the 16th-century philosopher Michel de Montaigne figured out. Most people think that personal growth means endless introspection. Journaling for hours. Analysing every emotion. Constantly asking, “Who am I?” Montaigne thought…
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Schopenhauer: Do not confuse realism with pessimism
We have all been told that Arthur Schopenhauer was the most pessimistic philosopher in history. But I think that’s wrong. In fact, I think most people who call him a pessimist have not understood what he was saying. Here’s the real question. If a glass is only 20% full, is saying “it’s almost empty” pessimistic?…
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Socrates’ summary for beginners
If Socrates (469-399 BC) was so accomplished, why did he not write anything? If he was such a great thinker, why did he not make a systematic presentation of his ideas? And why did he become so famous, if he spent most of his life in Athens, debating people in the marketplace? Those questions will…
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Socrates’ false dichotomy and paradox
Hollywood movies about the mafia often portrait threats, intimidation and extortion. In those movies, criminals attempt to extort money from the victims by putting them in front of a false dichotomy. The victims are given the choice of paying for fake insurance or having their shop burned down. At the end of those movies, the…
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Socrates’ life and teachings revisited
When reading about the trial against Socrates (469-399 BC) and the exchanges between accusation and defence, I’m always amazed at the poor logic employed by Socrates. His defence in the trial was not only incompetent, but counterproductive. If he had left Athens beforehand and let the trial take place in his absence, I don’t think…
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Who was Socrates and what did he teach?
The writings of Plato, Xenophon and Aristophanes portray Socrates (469-399 BC) as a real historical figure, not a literary invention. However, most of what’s said about Socrates doesn’t come from the original sources, but from later elaborations. If we trust history and philosophy professors, Socrates is to be credited for the key ideas underlying Western…
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Why Taoist non-action requires iterations
I prefer to solve problems in one go if possible, but this will prove impossible on many occasions. Why? Because of lack of information, resources or self-discipline. On many occasions, I will discover too late that problems are more complex, serious, and wide-ranging than originally estimated. Lao-Tzu must have come to the same conclusion when…
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Non-action as an enabling factor
Once upon a time, a middle-aged executive was facing such severe problems that he decided to visit a Taoist hermit and ask for advice. The trip consumed one and half days because of the poor infrastructure in the area where the hermit lived. The local airport had few connections and featured a rental car office…
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How Taoist non-action furthers happiness
People nowadays often complain that life is too complicated and stressful. There are too many electronic systems to be used and they are constantly being changed; and there are too many requirements for doing everyday tasks, and those requirements are constantly being modified. No wonder that many admire the Taoist serenity and want to follow…
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Recent Posts
- Seneca: How to get a free performance upgrade
- Montaigne: The shortest path to personal growth
- Schopenhauer: Do not confuse realism with pessimism
- Socrates’ summary for beginners
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