Why should we do the right thing, just because it's right? Or because we want to? Doing the right thing for the right reasons requires no balloons, pats on the back or acknowledgment from a loved one. Seneca says I must be just; without reward. The deed itself offers a greater return. It makes no difference how many people are aquatinted with your uprightness. Strive for virtue, not renown. Seneca Letter 113. On the vitality of the soul and its attributes --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/steven-di-pietro/message ..read more

Personal development is a lifelong work. Stoicism is no different. Despite trying my best to be stoic, I found a hidden corner of failure. The COVID-19 virus exposed me to a litany of blind spots I didn't know I had. I was still in the vice grip of uncontrollable events lurking deep in my sub-conscious. Photo by Kaique Rocha from Pexels --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/steven-di-pietro/message ..read more

We all know the feeling of laying in bed with thoughts endlessly swirling around. How do we get those thoughts out of our head? You need to put them there. The answer is in the simplicity Cover photo Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán from Pexels --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/steven-di-pietro/message ..read more

Stoicism teaches us to look inward, and to do more with less. Prior to COVID-19 it was difficult to imagine how much I could trim. I delayed buying a new car, cut back going to dinner, had less exotic holidays. Braver people then I may have even abstained. But I couldn’t cut things back all the way because of social pressure and the lack of imagination. From my blog series here Photo by Kaboompics .com from Pexels --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/steven-di-pietro/message ..read more

A fisherman who cannot go to sea prepares his nets. I grew up with kids who’s fathers were fisherman.  I remember how on windy days they’d have fishing nets strewn along the length of their huge concrete driveway. The father and grandfather would stand over the nets with big needles and plastic twine repairing tears. Then they’d deal with the ropes, plastic bubbles and bits of chain. They wouldn’t do this every time they couldn’t fish, only when they knew they would have an extended period out of the sea. It took a lot of effort to unload the nets, take them home, and go through the whole ..read more

As we battle through this 2020 pandemic, it's easy to feel that things can't get much worse. They can get much worse but they probably won't. From my blog series here --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/steven-di-pietro/message ..read more

I've had an extremely stressful time running my business through the 2020 Covid pandemic. Stoic practice has lots of ways of dealing with stress but in this podcast I've gone for a conscious stream of thought which focuses on two things gratitude and journaling. I know too many people it might sound fuzzy and impractical, but let me leave you with this thought about journaling. The only way to get something out of your head is to put it somewhere. Journaling is a great way to put those thoughts somewhere that is not inside your head. From my blog series here --- Send in a voice message: https ..read more

Should I be fatalistic toward the future? I write this in the middle of Covid-19 pandemic. It’s easy to think, ‘oh it’s not fair’. If only that person in China who first contracted the disease didn’t go to that seafood market. If only I would have save more money. If only, if only, if only. There is a great saying suggesting we should not cry over spilled milk. This is a profoundly deep stoic thought. The Stoics were fatalists. This means that whatever happened was meant to happen and whatever happens will happen regardless of whatever happens. From my blog series here --- Send in a voice mess ..read more

Throughout my life I’ve had to explain myself. Why won’t you eat your dinner? Why did you come home at 3 am? Why didn’t you study more? Why didn’t you train harder? As I get older, it seems, the more I stick my head up, the more I need to explain myself. Why did you do it like this, or that, or I thought we would do this instead? In order to please people, I’ll give an explanation, any explanation. This comes from my inability to say no. I am here on my journey and not even I understand the reason I do things. From my blog series here --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotif ..read more

We can lean on ancient philosophies to get through these hard times. The philosophies have been around for over 2,000 years and multiple plagues and disasters. Here are 4 steps to get through tough times and find the sun. From my blog series here --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/steven-di-pietro/message ..read more