Education is Freedom

“What is the fruit of these teachings? Only the most beautiful and proper harvest of the truly educated—tranquility, fearlessness, and freedom. We should not trust the masses who say only the free can be educated, but rather the lovers of wisdom who say that only the educated are free.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES

From the book "The Daily Stoic":

Why did you pick up this book? Why pick up any book? Not to seem smarter, not to pass time on the
plane, not to hear what you want to hear—there are plenty of easier choices than reading.
No, you picked up this book because you are learning how to live. Because you want to be freer, fear
less, and achieve a state of peace. Education—reading and meditating on the wisdom of great minds—is not to be done for its own sake. It has a purpose.
Remember that imperative on the days you start to feel distracted, when watching television or having a snack seems like a better use of your time than reading or studying philosophy. Knowledge—selfknowledge in particular—is freedom.

To become wiser day by day, read great books daily and acquire the worldly wisdom.

I wish everyone, a happy new year(2018) and hope that you will take resolution of reading in the new year.

Thanks,
Mahesh

Be ruthless to the things that don't matter

If we follow philosophy and apply them in day to day life then we can save yourself from many unnecessary and unimportant problems and people.

“How many have laid waste to your life when you weren’t aware of what you were losing, how much was wasted in pointless grief, foolish joy, greedy desire, and social amusements—how little of your own was left to you. You will realize you are dying before your time!”

—SENECA, ON THE BREVITY OF LIFE

The  below lines from the book "The Daily Stoic" from Ryan Holiday may help you to understand the value of "NO":

"One of the hardest things to do in life is to say “No.” To invitations, to requests, to obligations, to the stuff that everyone else is doing. Even harder is saying no to certain time-consuming emotions: anger, excitement, distraction, obsession, lust. None of these impulses feels like a big deal by itself, but run amok, they become a commitment like anything else. If you’re not careful, these are precisely the impositions that will overwhelm and consume your life. Do you ever wonder how you can get some of your time back, how you can feel less busy? Start by learning the power of “No!”—as in “No, thank you,” and “No, I’m not going to get caught up in that,” and “No, I just can’t right now.” It may hurt some feelings. It may turn people off. It may take some hard work.But the more you say no to the things that don’t matter, the more you can say yes to the things that do. This will let you live and enjoy your life—the life that you want."

So my friend, if you want the life that you really want to live then start saying NO to useless things and people.

Thanks,

Mahesh