While on Mackinac Island last week, my friend Dave and I got into a discussion about stoicism.
He had been following Ryan Holiday, who runs The Daily Stoic YouTube channel. As it turned out, I found much agreement with the philosophy of Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the first-century Roman orator, statesman, and all-around wealthy intellectual.
Holiday also publishes a free daily blog post to which I immediately subscribed.
While disappointed over the last seven days, I felt Holiday’s posts were just preaching to the choir. Not a lot of new information, but some posts included words to think about and apply to daily life.
Today, I read this story on his blog:
PASSAGE OF THE WEEK:
“’You have to reflect,’ Seneca writes, ‘not only when it is a question of gain, but also when it is a question of loss.’ You have to think not only of the upsides, but also of the downsides that come with money. You have to think about the time, freedom, and happiness wrested from your hands and replaced with money [which you have less time to freely spend on the things that make you happy]. You have to think about the burdens of becoming rich.”
I hadn’t thought much about the “downsides that come with money.” Until today.
Isn’t having more money the point of getting an education, working hard, and investing wisely? Yes, the LOVE of money is the root of all evil, but what’s wrong with doing the things necessary to have a comfortable lifestyle?
There is nothing wrong with it. But I realized spending time working to earn money keeps me from doing things I love.
Every hour I spend marketing, researching, and writing articles for small business owners means less time for things that make me even happier - reading, family time, travel, genealogy, politics, and taking advantage of my new backyard greenhouse. Why not change my focus?
At the same time I was questioning how I spend my time, I also wanted to define the direction of my new Substack site. Was I going to write about business and technology? Finance? Corruption in Oakland County? Gardening? Maybe it could be about all of those things. Maybe not. I was having trouble narrowing it down..
Seneca’s quote got me to reflect on the question more. I concluded that I want to write about anything that came to mind. Without limitations. Without worry about money.
People enjoy stories.
In any case, I would never ask people to pay to read them.
In addition to daily prayers, your articles center me with your optimistic outlook. Thank-you for presenting reflections on the need for a balanced life, as politics, money, and pride can become all-consuming! EAP