20 Mar 2024
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Wear Sunscreen and Other Life Advice

Wear Sunscreen and Other Life Advice

Photo Credit: Chicago Tribune "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young", is an essay written as a hypothetical commencement speech by columnist Mary Schmich and was originally published in a June 1997 issue of the Chicago Tribune newspaper. The essay went viral (which means it was widely shared via email since social media didn’t exist yet) in the late 1990s under the title, Wear Sunscreen. The email I received at the time erroneously described the life advice as a commencement speech for MIT given by author Kurt Vonnegut. However, I have no clue why Vonnegut was given credit since…
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02 Aug 2023
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Excellent Advice for Living

Excellent Advice for Living

I recently finished the 2023 book Excellent Advice for Living, Wisdom I Wish I’d Known Earlier by Kevin Kelly. Kelly is an author, the founding executive editor of Wired magazine, and a former editor/publisher of the Whole Earth Review. Kelly collected 68 bits of wisdom to share with his adult children on his 68th birthday. When they asked for more, he kept going until he had about 450 – enough to publish in a book. Each page of the book contains a few bits of advice – here are some of our favorites. Advice on Values Don’t define yourself by your opinions, because…
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24 Aug 2022
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Focus on What You Control: Stoic Teachings by Epictetus

Focus on What You Control: Stoic Teachings by Epictetus

The Personal Kaizen community believes simple improvements in our health and mindset will significantly improve the quality of our life. We have recently studied works of Stoic philosophy that we believe can be inspiring to our followers. We have shared 5 Ways Stoic Philosophy Improves your Mood and Attitude and summarized passages from On the Shortness of Life by Seneca. We've also shared some simple Meditations from Marcus Aurelius. This week we highlight Stoic teachings from the handbook by Epictetus: Focus on What You Control! Photo Credit: Fourteen Lines Blog Epictetus is considered one of the founders of Stoic philosophy…
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17 Aug 2022
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On the Shortness of Life by Seneca

On the Shortness of Life by Seneca

We have recently studied works of Stoic philosophy that we believe can be inspiring to our followers. We have shared 5 Ways Stoic Philosophy Improves your Mood and Attitude, and some simple Meditations from Marcus Aurelius. This week we highlight Stoic teachings from a letter by the Roman Seneca titled, On the Shortness of Life. Seneca the Younger Photo Credit: wikipedia.com Lucius Seneca (often referred to as Seneca the Younger) was raised in Rome 2,000 years ago. His father (Seneca the Elder) was a Senator and had Seneca the Younger trained in philosophy. Seneca became a powerful man when the…
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19 Oct 2021
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Squid Game and the Pursuit of Money

Squid Game and the Pursuit of Money

I am in the middle of watching Squid Game, the popular new Netflix series. The fictional show is based in South Korea and features a number of people in debt playing childhood games for the chance to win money. The show is very entertaining and also full of life lessons. Without spoiling the show – and as I write this, I have seen only the first four episodes – many of the characters have made money their life’s pursuit. They have made the choice that it is not worth living without money. The Squid Game characters have clearly not followed…
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27 Aug 2021
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Hike Slide Mountain Fast

Hike Slide Mountain Fast

On Wednesday, August 24, 2021, I completed a fast hike to the top of the tallest mountain in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. I covered the 2.8 miles in just 48 minutes, leaving me wondering what the fastest times up this mountain are. I did not intend for the hike to be fast as I set off. My backpack had 2.5 liters of water, extra clothes, and some food. I wore trail shoes rather than sneakers. There are several brook crossings. I had just driven over four hours in the car and wasn't stretched well. It was also…
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