Stoic Letter 24

Growing up, I often heard stuff like, “You can be anything you want!” And that motivated me to do well in school, to take care of my body, and to dedicate time and energy to building a career. The idea that you and I can do anything we want is very inspiring, but it’s also false.

Another thing I often heard was, “You’re the director of your own movie!” That’s supposed to motivate you to take matters into your own hands, to be the maker of your own life. While there’s some wisdom in that, the Stoic philosopher Epictetus had…

Stoic Letter 23

I took a few days off last week because I wanted to rest. It’s something I learned from Dale Carnegie. He writes in How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, “Rest before you are tired.” It’s a great piece of advice for avoiding burnout. But for most of my career, I used to wait to take a break until I was already tired and running on fumes. It’s like drinking water when you’re thirsty. The way to avoid thirst is to stay hydrated. It’s the same thing when it comes to resting your body. …

Stoic Letter 22

One of the good things about the pandemic was that we quickly got used to being on our own. It was a forced exercise in self-reliance. When you spend most of your time at home, often the result is that you look at what you want to get out of your days. It’s a good way to live because you’re focusing on what you control.

But as more and more things are getting back to normal this year, we’re starting to look outwardly again. And when we do that, we automatically start comparing ourselves to others. Have you noticed this…

Stoic Letter 21

I recently caught up with Mike, a former co-worker I used to be very close with. We hadn’t talked for three years, but it felt like only yesterday since the last time we met up in London. After our call, I got in a bit of a reflective mood.

Mike and I started our jobs seven years ago on the same day. That’s how we became friends; two hungry guys who were trying to climb the corporate ladder. A year and some change later, I left the job to pursue a writing career. But he kept at it. Sometimes you…

Last year, 1,320 people bought one of my courses. And 54% of those sales came from existing customers. To me, that’s the most important metric in business.

While it’s important to attract new customers, retaining your existing customers ensures that your business has a sustainable source of revenue. It’s also better from a financial point of view.

It can cost five times more resources to attract a new customer, rather than retain an existing one. When you increase the retention rate by a mere 5%, your profit can go up from 25% to 95%. …

Every writer wants everyone to read their work. It’s a secret desire that we all have. And we also want everyone to love what we write.

So when we publish something that no one reads, we’re left with all these negative emotions. We feel like no one cares, or that people don’t understand us.

Where does this desire to be liked come from? Because if we look at the facts, it’s more likely that no one reads our stuff. It’s actually very rare that a lot of people would read your work.

But our ego doesn’t care about that. We…

I started publishing on Medium in 2015. Over the years, I’ve seen many writers who came here with excitement and energy, to only leave with a broken spirit.

I don’t like seeing that. As a writer, I wish success to every writer who pursues this career for the right reasons. And it’s tough to see that so many of my peers are not treating their writing career as a business.

I see people starting paid newsletters to only quit them after a few months. I see writers creating online courses that make no sense. …

Stoic Letter 20

One of my friends recently said he’s committed to seeing his parents more. I asked him why, and he said that he made some calculations. He said, “My parents are in their seventies. We usually see each other twice a year. My grandparents on both sides died around the age of 84. So at that rate, I would probably see my parents only 20 more times in my life.”

As a result of a simple calculation, he became more grateful for the moments he spent with his parents, and he tried to see them more often. In our lives, there…