Choose Alive Time Over Dead Time
Choose Alive Time over dead time. The world beckons us all: alerts on our phones, 95% must-watch Netflix matches, the appointments, the drama, the obligations. Time is the most precious commodity we have, but often, we waste it.
This choice is the foundation of Stoicism, the ancient philosophy born in Roman times and admired through the ages by the likes of Thomas Edison, J.K. Rowling, and Tom Brady. The secret to a happy, successful, and fulfilled life, say the Stoics, lies in understanding that although you can't control the world around you, you can control your response to it.
Robert Greene, the author of The 48 Laws of Power, calls this Alive Time. He suggests we stop allowing the world to waste our time and choose Alive Time instead—time to read a book, write in a journal, or perform some small deed. Dead time becomes Alive Time. Wasted time becomes growth time instead.
Stoicism is a personal philosophy, but it applies at work too. Alive Time helps you choose which "urgent" email to act upon, decide to write a thank-you note during a boring Zoom meeting, and say no to meetings that suck.
Entrepreneurs can use Alive Time to focus on their mission, not the naysayers.
Salespeople can use Alive Time to add value to customers instead of asking, pushing, pleading for the deal.
Netflix will nudge you. Friends and colleagues will waste your time. Ring tones will call your name. You can't control them, but you can control how you respond. So don't kill time; instead, choose to be alive in it.
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The IV Best Resources I Know on Stoicism and Alive Time
Alive Time takes daily practice, mindfulness, and courage. Unless you live in a monastery, it's hard to strike a balance between dead time and Alive Time. The resources below are my favorite books, apps, and podcasts to help keep you on course.
I: If you like to read books: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. The Roman Emporer wrote a remarkable series of journal entries to himself that were discovered after his death, translated, and published as the seminal definition of Stoicism.
II: An introduction to the Stoic philosophy: The Daily Stoic, 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman is a daily devotional book of stoic philosophy that ushered in its modern popularity and has sold over 1,000,000 copies.
III: If you love podcasts / a course-like way to learn about Stoicism in practical terms: Holiday's Daily Stoic Daily Email Subscription/Course has over 300,000 subscribers and spoon-feeds you the basics, day-by-day.
IV: The Waking Up App by Sam Harris is the best meditation tool/app I've found to infuse the art of Alive Time into everyday life.
