Several years ago I came upon an important philosophy about life. I didn't know the name of it or where it came from. Heck, I didn't even know if it had a name. It was a simple concept really, and one that, if applied, can lead to a rich and more rewarding life. It's about how to approach the part of life that resembles a street fight. When bad things happen, when you get punched in the gut, it's important to remember that life happens FOR you, not TO you.

That's it. I take it to mean, that even our misfortunes are designed to move us forward, make us more powerful and help us grow.

Over the years, as I worked with the profound meaning of those words above, I came across Stoicism. Stoics believe and live their life exactly the way I described above. When a loved one dies, they use that heartache as a lesson in fortitude. When a stoic happens upon misfortune, they don't work against it, they flow with it and use the misfortune to grow. That concept is very important.

Famous Stoics like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus were a study in the great power of Stoicism. There are many more throughout history, kings, presidents, millionaires, billionaires etc, but these were a few of the famous founding fathers.

Seneca, as Nero demanded he commit suicide, faced it without emotion and used the time he had left before ending his life to console his family.

Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor of the Roman Empire, wrote daily about restraint, compassion and humility.

Epictetus overcame the horrors of slavery to found a school that taught many of Rome's greatest minds.

Here's a stoic exercise we can use to break the chains of slavery ourselves. We were born in Amazing times. If you live in a developed country you are most likely afforded many comforts. However, comforts enslave us. We start to become protective of our homes, money--our way of life.

We start making decisions based on that comfort and begin to lose sight of the things our souls truly yern for. We live short lives. Time is of the essence.

EXERCISE>

Practice Poverty. Limit yourself a few times a month and take away creature comforts. Television, cell phones, video games. Eat less, sleep outside or in your car. Wear you beat up clothing and humble yourself among others. Most of all, help yourself realize that you can and will always survive. When you realize you can still survive even in your worst case scenario, then you can break the chains that bind you. Freedom.

PHOTO 1 SOURCE

Tim Ferriss Has recently completed an ebook, titled, The Tao of Seneca. You can get it HERE.

The Tao of Seneca is a great resource to learn more about Stoicism.