#38 -The Art of Becoming A Stoic (With Michael Tremblay)

Michael Tremblay's website

This week I'm taking to Michael Tremblay. Michael is a PhD student on Philosophy. In this interview we went deep into what ancient Stoics thought about concepts such as: beliefs, values, religion, virtue and vice.

We discussed things such as what it means to be a real Stoic and why not everyone needs to be one. He explained the difference between being a Stoic and just applying basic Stoic principles and tools.

We talked about how this beautiful philosophy allows us to live our best lives, but we must be willing to put in the effort and focus on the long term benefits.

Show Notes

2:10 Everyone is a philosopher. The love of wisdom, the pursue of truth.

4:00 You can do philosophy in any field, in any particular interest.

5:00 Academic philosophy as a tool. What is useful and what is more abstract.

7:30 Epictetus would say in form of analogy...Don't show me your library of books, or your weights collection. Show me your muscle, show me your wisdom.

10:00 Philosophy vs Self- Help. Philosophy is the search of the truth, self-help not necessarily. The goal is not to feel better. The goal is to have long lasting change. Finding the balance.

15:00 Beliefs and the importance of being are of our beliefs.

16:30 Taking a pause before reacting. This is not a fight against an irrational side of yourself. Take accountability and notice the beliefs you hold.

18:00 Beliefs vs values. What is the difference?

19:00 We all wants what we consider good and avoid what we consider as bad.

20:00 The core reason of money. Why do we value money so much?

23:00 Don't sacrifice values for money, The philosophical explanation.

24:30 Asking 'Why' long enough.

26:00 Doing meaningful work, we tend to believe money is essential in order to do this.

26:30 The pursue of the positive vs the avoidance of the negative.

28:00 Okay I get it, but don't I still need money to live a good life?

29:50 We need money, because we are afraid of being poor. It is possible not to wish for money and be happy.

31:00 Dig deep enough into your 'why'. Uncover the essential things that drive you.

34:00 Your suffering is determined by your beliefs. Make sure it's something intentional and worth doing.

35:00 If you are weird you are probably intentional.

39:00 We are born a blank slate. Then we are society makes us sick. It becomes our job to get out of sickness into a clear and intentional life.

40:00 Plato's framework. Being weird, being criticized probably means you are being intentional.

42:00 Epictetus awesome thought on being weird, regardless of lack of respect from others.

43:00 We are not impostors for practicing philosophy without a title or credibility. Philosophy is there for anyone to take it and use it.

43:00 The toolkit that philosophy offers. We all have different tools, what matters is how we use them.

45:00 Instead of complaining say: 'Thank you for these difficulties.'