John Vespasian

I learned to get things done faster… But the surprising part is that I didn’t do it by adding more hours to my day. I didn’t wake up earlier. I didn’t try to multitask. I didn’t use complicated productivity systems. What I did is to change the way I think. For a long time, whenever I faced difficult problems, I made the same mistake. I looked at all the issues at once. I would think: “How am I goi...

We like to believe we are rational beings. We tell ourselves that we analyse, choose, and control our lives through conscious decisions. But what if this belief is one of our greatest illusions? The philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer challenged this comfortable idea centuries ago. Schopenhauer argued that beneath our thoughts and explanations exists a deeper force—a hidden Will that influences our de...

Everyone tells us, ‘Follow your heart.’ But what if our heart is actually leading us in the wrong direction? The philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer believed that blindly following our desires was one of the biggest mistakes we could make. He said that there is a hidden force inside all of us—a constant drive he called the ‘will.’ The will pushes us to chase desirable things: success, love, status, co...

Aristotle’s theory of the four causes seems at first sight very easy to understand, but if you dig into the details, you will see its epochal consequences. It changed human mentality, and in doing so, it changed the course of history. The four causes, and in particular the final cause, can dramatically change your life for the better. Aristotle adopted a systematic approach to studying the world....

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 failing… doesn’t make it true. Just because we are...

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 that approach misses the...

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? Or is it simply true? We have reached a point where stating uncomfortable facts is oft...

How do we stop making the same mistakes twice? I used to think that the answer was simple, that all it takes is to have more discipline and try harder. But that didn’t work. Then I came across Schopenhauer, and he said something that changed how I see things. He said that human beings cannot be fully rational. To a great extent, we are driven by an intangible force pushing us toward short-term ple...

Problems make us wiser even if most people actually hate them. That’s why the first sign of trouble sends them into panic. They see problems as interruptions to life, while in reality, problems are just the price we pay to be alive. The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne gained this insight more than 400 years ago. He lived through civil wars, political chaos, and religious violence. Entire ci...

The most dangerous idea in modern culture would sound completely insane to Aristotle. I am talking about the idea that you can be anything you want. Aristotle regarded the idea of random potential as nonsense. Over 2,300 years ago, Aristotle asked a question that still divides people today: Does everything have a true nature? He believed the answer was yes. An acorn becomes an oak, not an apple tr...

The biggest lie you tell yourself every day is that you’re thinking rationally, but in reality, you are not as logical as you think. Arthur Schopenhauer, one of history’s most crucial thinkers, argued that most of our decisions are not driven by logic. They are driven by something that he called “the ‘Will”, an irrational force pushing our desires, emotions, and impulses. Think about it. Did you e...

When taken out of context, philosophical statements can prove misleading; when poorly defined, they become dangerous; and the more frequently they are repeated, the more dangerous they become. Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) did his fair share of repeating poorly defined statements. The fact that he eschewed debates spared him uncomfortable questions. For instance, readers might have asked Seneca to clarify w...

Like most ancient philosophers, Seneca used grandiloquent terms to spice up his writings. For instance, he employed the words “cosmos” and “natural order” to designate rather mundane events. Similarly, he used the word “logos” to mean “destiny.” Respect for the natural order is Seneca’s favourite theme. He regarded nature as all-encompassing, not just as wilderness or greenery. When he spoke about...

It’s hypocritical to recommend poverty when one is wealthy, or to recommend passivity when one has displayed remarkable industriousness for decades. I am afraid that Seneca is to blame on both counts. Nonetheless, he did not mean to deceive his readers. He was sincere in his feelings, convinced that he was dispensing good advice. Indeed, Seneca had good intentions, but got it terribly wrong. I can...

The ancient Roman republican values can be illustrated by individuals like Cincinnatus or Scipio Africanus. Their actions embody valour, equanimity, and above all, productiveness. Cincinnatus (519-430 BC) was a farmer, but found himself appointed to lead the Roman army for a while. He did his best to win the war, and as soon as it was done, he went back to his farm and continued to work. Scipio Af...

Historians seldom remark that exoticism or strangeness adds value to the advice of ancient philosophers. I mean exoticism and strangeness in the sense of “Verfremdung,” the concept coined by Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) in his theatre theory. By “Verfremdung,” Brecht meant that acerbic criticism will meet less resistance if conveyed on stage through exotic stories and characters. The public will sti...

Despite being himself wealthy, Seneca wrote extensively about the advantages of living simply. He came up with dozens of examples that support his advice, but is Seneca someone we can trust? And is it workable to put his advice into practice in our century? In his essay “On the Shortness of Life,” Seneca recounts the story of a wealthy man who had devoted his life to working and investing. The man...

I find it surprising that so many people equate living simply with living in poverty. They regard deprivation and discomfort as the prerequisites of simplicity. They abhor high ambitions in particular, because they require complex planning. Seneca contributed to the confusion because his 89th Letter to Lucilius advises readers to prepare for death, meditate daily on their mortality, and stop worry...

When people advise me to embrace a balanced lifestyle, I’m always interested in hearing the details. What do they mean by “balanced”? Do they mean that I should allocate equal time to work, sleep and play? Or that I should balance out my interests or my friends, and devote equal time to each of them? In his writings, Seneca often repeated his recommendation to achieve a balanced life. We can find...

Cooking recipes are hard to carry out perfectly the first time if the process is too complex. Even if the recipe is described in great detail, one must deal with variability in the ingredients in terms of quality and freshness, cooking temperature, etc. Seneca gave philosophical recipes that are not any easier to carry out than haute-cuisine recipes. He did write down his recommendations with prof...

Seneca made some worthy recommendations about how to deal with pain and suffering. Unfortunately, he also dispensed plenty of irrational, harmful ones. It’s important to tell the difference between his good and bad advice. For instance, Seneca offered solid advice for addressing pain and suffering when they are mental constructs, but does his method work in cases of physical pain? In his 13th Lett...

Seneca wrote hundreds of pages about how to grief and fear in difficult times. Modern readers can benefit from Seneca’s wise recommendations for dealing with pain and suffering. I am going to summarise those recommendations to the extent that we can still apply them today. Emotional overreaction should be avoided because it’s a sure recipe for disaster. In his essay “On the Constancy of the Wise,”...

The term “virtue” has become so overused that it is healthy to look at it with suspicion. Unfortunately, it often happens that people will invoke virtue to further their personal interests and then try to portray themselves as ethical paragons. Indeed, we should be sceptical of their high motives. Seneca had good intentions, but created ethical confusion. Although he routinely portrayed himself as...

Although Seneca employed the term “virtue” inconsistently, his incoherence did not prevent him from making profound observations about human nature, virtue, personal success and happiness. In his 71st Letter to Lucilius, he uses a beautiful metaphor to define a virtuous life. He compares good persons to archers who choose their target carefully. Good individuals are able to shoot their arrows in t...

There is often a considerable distance between the sayings and the actions of philosophers. Especially when they employ a grandiloquent tone, I prefer to look at their biography and see for myself if they are following their own advice. Seneca was better than most in this respect. I admire in particular his strong self-discipline in writing, elaborating and discussing difficult questions. Despite...