“Accordingly, since you can not read all the books which you may possess, it is enough to possess only as many books as you can read.” -Seneca

Stuff. The status symbols of materialism have always been there, even if they have changed over the years.

Owning a lot of stuff is a way of saying to everyone around us, ‘I have more than I need.’ The fact that we waste it on things we can never use is a testament to how silly we are about our need for approval.

Books were a good example of this in Seneca’s time. Technological advances being what they are, just about any indulgence you can think of is a good one for today.

When we look at a purchase, of goods or services, we should train ourselves to do a calculation in our heads. It should answer this question, is this going to be worth the time we’ve spent earning this money or is this just a thing we kind of want right now?

If the answer is not a hard yes, we should pass and we should have a moment of pride in our ability to exhibit self control and not give in to our base desires.

Because we only get so much time in this life and the time spent earning money should not be thrown away.

virtus fortis vocat