Marcus Aurelius wrote Meditation VII.8 on a battlefield where he might die the next morning. Don’t be disturbed by future things — you’ll have the same reason then…
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The ending of Goethe's Faust confuses people. Faust flies off with Mephistopheles for more experiences. The play just stops. No damnation, no reckoning, no clear moral resolution. If…
A room full of executives said you can’t be a 100% listener. Marcus Aurelius wrote five words that say you can. Jimmy’s analysis of Meditation VI.53, a submarine…
There's a moment in Act One that most readers rush past because the devil is coming and the pact is coming and the action is about to accelerate.…
Jim Lovell said there are three kinds of people. Machiavelli agreed. So did Marcus Aurelius — from a battlefield, without a spacecraft. Jimmy's analysis of Meditation III.10 and…
Most dramas begin with a problem. A man in a room. A conflict brewing. A situation that needs resolving. You establish the world, introduce the characters, and let…
Marcus Aurelius wrote that a limit of time is fixed for thee to clear the clouds from thy mind. John Locke said the mind starts as a blank…
Most people assume they know what Faust is after. He makes a deal with the devil, so the assumption is that he wants something big. Power. Fame. Pleasure.…
Marcus Aurelius wrote in Meditation I that the same man can be both resolute and yielding. Jimmy explains what that means with a rubber band, the Stoic theory…
Most readers come to Goethe's Faust and get lost in the deal with the devil. That's understandable. It's a dramatic premise. Man sells his soul. High stakes, big…
Marcus Aurelius asked himself what is sufficient until death comes. He answered in four things: venerate, do good, bear, abstain. Jimmy’s analysis of Meditation V.33 — the simplest…
Most people have one rule when someone offends them. Marcus Aurelius had nine. Jimmy's analysis of Meditation XI.18 — the most practically useful passage in the Meditations —…