• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Frug: Live Lean. Work Lean. Travel Lean.

The Frug: Live Lean. Work Lean. Travel Lean.

  • Home
  • Start Here
  • The Frug Recommends
  • Resources
  • Archives
  • About

Stoicism

11 Big Life Things I’m Sharing With My Son Before He Leaves For College.

08/16 by The Frug 1 Comment

Followed by a 11 things I really wish I knew my freshman year. 

U_of_South_Carolina_Horseshoe

By Brad Beckstrom

I came of age and entered the working world in the 80s and 90s when self-help books, CDs, and personal improvement seminars were all the rage. Classics like The 7 Habits, What Color is your Parachute? And many others from authors like Napoleon Hill, Tony Robbins that are still popular today. They were full of exercises and to do lists, charts and graphs, but what I really remember where the quotes, many of them decades or even centuries old. The ones that lasted. The knowledge these writers returned to again and again.

Self-help books are full of knowledge from a diverse group. Here  I’ve quoted Maya Angelou, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bruce Lee, Frank Zappa, Calvin Coolidge, Joe Strummer, St. Augustine, and Marcus Aurelius.

SC 2

It was the quotes, the short sentences with powerful meaning  that connect, that I would highlight or write down. When things got difficult, I could go back and look at some of these words that writers, artists or leaders I admire have said. I’ve tried to incorporate them into core principles and a life philosophy. Some of them are pieces and parts of other quotes that spoke to me, so I decided to share them with my sons. My oldest is leaving for college and the youngest is beginning high school. I believe I’ve tried to live these, but just in case. After all we live 3 miles from Washington, DC, a city full of self-serving politicians, spin doctors and general corporate obfuscation. Today, standing for basic set principles can help one rise above the fray.

11 Big Life Things [Read more…] about 11 Big Life Things I’m Sharing With My Son Before He Leaves For College.

Filed Under: Live Lean Tagged With: Creativity, Mastery, Stoicism, The Frug recommends

How a Roman Emperor and a Greek slave helped me develop a life philosophy.

10/15 by The Frug 1 Comment

the door

6 things the ancient Stoics can teach us about modern life.

By Brad Beckstrom

I don’t recall enjoying anything about philosophy class in college. It might’ve been that the class was early in the morning and the professor spoke in a whispering monotone voice, reading texts from ancient, long dead philosophers. I was too busy looking forward to have much concern for these lessons from the past.

I hadn’t learned much about Stoicism. The Stoics had largely gotten a bad rap and their philosophy nearly vanished thousands of years ago. These ancient Greeks, and later Romans, were depicted as stern characters that expressed little or no emotion in the face of tragedy, or even life’s grand victories. They internalized things and were indifferent to or unaffected by joy, grief, pleasure, or pain. That last sentence is right out of the dictionary. Holy crap, these guys seemed like a bunch of downers.

As it turns out, they are still largely misunderstood and only parts of their philosophy of life have been communicated over the years. The Stoics were actually full of joy and had truly advanced thinking on how to live the best life.

Discovery [Read more…] about How a Roman Emperor and a Greek slave helped me develop a life philosophy.

Filed Under: The Frug Recommends Tagged With: less equals more, live lean, Mastery, minimalism, Stoicism, Stoics, The Frug recommends

Primary Sidebar

Sign up for The Frug Mailing List

* = required field

Follow The Frug

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Medium
  • LinkedIn
  • Google
  • RSS Feed

Categories

  • Live Lean
  • Start Here
  • The Frug Recommends
  • Travel Lean
  • Work Lean

Recent Posts


  • How to Banish Worry and be Thankful Everyday.


  • 10 Frugal travel hacks we used for our week in Portugal.


  • Frugal versus Cheap


  • How to Talk Yourself Out of a Boat or RV Purchase, Every Time You Get That Itch.


  • Let’s Clean This Mess Up.


  • This Street is Closed. Travels During a Pandemic 2021 Version.


  • Words That Matter


  • Are you drowning in news and social media content? Here are 8 ideas that will make you smarter.


  • The Case for Getting Outside.


  • The School of Life

Popular Posts

  • Everyone under 25 needs to read this story.
    Everyone under 25 needs to read this story.
  • How to Talk Yourself Out of a Boat or RV Purchase, Every Time You Get That Itch.
    How to Talk Yourself Out of a Boat or RV Purchase, Every Time You Get That Itch.
  • George Carlin - Stuff
    George Carlin - Stuff
  • “One Man’s Trash”  My 5 year experiment with Craigslist
    “One Man’s Trash” My 5 year experiment with Craigslist
  • How to create your own personal search engine and remember everything.
    How to create your own personal search engine and remember everything.
  • Living Small. How The Tiny House Movement Found Me.
    Living Small. How The Tiny House Movement Found Me.
  • The 3 Act Day - Why you should structure your day like a screenplay.
    The 3 Act Day - Why you should structure your day like a screenplay.
  • Creating a list of musts, because you’ll need it someday.
    Creating a list of musts, because you’ll need it someday.
  • There is Nothing Wrong With Your House.
    There is Nothing Wrong With Your House.
  • The Secret to Running The Business of You.
    The Secret to Running The Business of You.

Archives

© 2022 The Frug. All Rights Reserved. Live Lean | Work Lean | Travel Lean.