The secret of being happy consists of knowing how to enjoy yourself—enjoy being at table, in bed, enjoy standing up, sitting down, enjoy the nearest ray of sunshine, the slightest bit of landscape: in other words, love everything. – Gustave Flaubert
Source: His private notebook, Souvenirs, written from 1838–1841.
by Michael Schur
A pretty funny book focused, in an entertaining way, on the ethical conundrums we all face each day. Schur, the creator of the show The Good Place, takes us through how the various ethical philosophies (Deontology, Utilitarianism, Law of the Mean, Existentialism etc.) would teach us to handle various ethical questions, like whether we should punch our friend in the face. I didn’t especially care for The Good Place, but I liked the book quite a bit.
by Stanley McChrystal
McChrystal, a well known former military general, defines character as: your convictions combined with your discipline to carry out those conviction. Those together determine your character.
A good read. Parts of it seemed somewhat random, like the book was culled from old essays he had in a drawer somewhere.
“Never shirk the proper dispatch of your duty, no matter if you are freezing or hot, groggy or well-rested, vilified or praised, not even if dying or pressed by other demands. Even dying is one of the important assignments of life and, in this as in all else, make the most of your resources to do well the duty at hand.” —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.2
Holiday, Ryan; Hanselman, Stephen. The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living (p. 199). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.