Philosophy of an Adventurer

We often treat philosophy like it's the art of way overthinking things. It’s practised by people who are writing theories about thinking about thoughts. But that's not always the case.

Marcus Aurelius was one of the greatest rulers the world has ever seen. If you remember the opening sequence of the movie Gladiator; a quarter of the world's population lived and died under the rule of the Caesars of Rome. And he was one of the greatest of them all. After he died, the whole Empire began to crumble at the hands of less effective leaders.

He was a leader, a warrior and a philosopher who wrote down his thoughts in a very practical way. These thoughts were published in a book now called Meditations, based on the philosophy of Stoicism. This is a philosophy that's now used by top teams in the NFL and by entrepreneurs around the world. It's practical, hands-on and based on action, perspective and resilience. It can take you from being a triggered stress head to being ultra-resilient, calm and effective in high pressure environments. Here are some of my favourite lessons from philosophy.

Life is short

But the amount of time we really live is up to us. Our life can be wasted simply existing. Simply watching the time go down. It can be wasted doing what we think we should do or living life on other people's terms. Orwe can go out and really get into it. Do your bucket list. But don’t just think about or talk about it, get it on a schedule and take the first scary step to getting it booked. Only when you take action to break down the barriers of doing what you know you want to do in your life, you actually get it done. Problems happen if you're playing it safe anyway. It's better to be doing something worth it in the end when they come.

Create things with meaning

Dare to build something worthy of being a classic. But respect the grind. That's what separates the wheat from the chaff. Put in your hours if you want to have something worth sharing. Also get hungry and passionate for what you do. Build an appetite for producing quality. Obsess over the details but make sure that you put the work out there. Be in it for the long haul.

Focus on the things that don't change

This is what Jeff Bezos founder of Amazon says. He means don't compete with the fads, build something that you plan to stand the test of time.

Focus on your response

The world is a cruel place, disaster is inevitable, misfortunes will happen. Don't be in denial of this. It sounds morbid and negative but actually it’s completely practical. Everyone who lives long enough will experience crises multiple times. It's part of life. Rather than flinching from it and refusing to look at them. It’s better to think of it ahead of time and to prepare ourselves for the inevitable tough times. What do we gain if we only think about the good things ahead? We just leave ourselves more vulnerable for when the inevitable hard times hit.

If we prepare in advance we stand a better chance of being more resilient and picking ourselves up. We’ll see things in a different way so we can get back to where we want to be. In time everything becomes a lesson and it can be a gift. The stoic philosophers had a phrase for this in latin: amor fati. It means love of one's fate, or everything that happens. Receive the gift as it's happening. Don't wait for years and years to pass before you process it as something that's full of meaning and an important part of your life.

Thomas Edison's factory was burning down. In it was his life's work. It was worth a fortune and it cost a fortune to lose it. But as the flames were raging with their bright colors, as they consumed all the chemical materials in his factory, he told his son to go and fetch his wife and all her friends because they'd never see another fire like this. He knew that the factory was gone. It was burnt down. He knew that this was one of those major life crises. But rather than tearing his hair out and adding to the stress he decided to enjoy it as part of his story. And also turn it into a beautiful experience that he could share with his family.

Our response to inevitable events outside of our control is all we have. It's up to us to find meaning and beauty in all parts of life, not just when it's easy. We can use the down times between adventures to prepare for and digest experiences. It reinforces us and galvanizes us to be ready for action. It helps us make decisions and take things more in stride when life doesn’t go to plan. After all, when does it?