Matthew McConaughey and Marcus Aurelius

One of them said: “Man who invented the hamburger was smart; man who invented the cheeseburger was a genius.”

The other said: “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”

I’ll let you figure out which is which. 🤣

But, hear me out.

At one time, McConaughey had a production company, a music label, ran a foundation and was an actor and a family man.

However, he realized he was delivering a sub-par performance on all fronts.

He said:  “I was making B’s in five things. I wanna make A’s in three things.”

So he called his lawyer and shut down the production company and the music label.

Similarly, Marcus Aurelius (my second favorite Stoic) had a complementary philosophy.

“If you seek tranquility,” he said, “do less… which brings a double satisfaction.”

My interpretation is that figuring out what is genuinely essential to you and doing that as well as possible will bring you more satisfaction and joy that doing more things half-a**ed.

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