Book Summary: On The Shortness Of Life
Seneca wrote On the Shortness of Life as an essay about how to live a meaningful life. He wrote about what is truly valuable in life and about the concept of genuine happiness. He also wrote about how working harder will not necessarily bring you the happiness and satisfaction you seek.
Related Book Summaries:
Philosophy For Life – Jules Evans – Book Summary
Meditations – Marcus Aurelius – Book Summary
Zen Mind, Beginners Mind – Shunryu Suzuki – Book Summary
A Guide to the Good Life – William B. Irvine – Book Summary
Quotes:
You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire.
Often a very old man has no other proof of his long life than his age.
On The Shortness of Life Book Summary Notes:
- Life is short if you waste it pursuing trivialities.
- People think once they’ve achieved all their goals they’ll be able to finally enjoy life. The spend their entire lives preparing to live.
- Busyness is not the same as fulfilment.
- Working away for someone whose aims and convictions are not the same as your own is a sure path to a short unfulfilled life.
- You cannot change the family your born into or the people that you grow up around. You can however spend as much time as you want with some of the greatest thinkers of our time – through books.
- The words of a great thinker can help you find solace and companionship.
- True satisfaction always comes from within. The surest path to satisfaction is to conduct yourself within your means and appreciate your lot in life.
- If you begin to cover others items or positions this will inevitably lead to a feeling of poverty.
- The important things in life can’t be removed or diminished by others.
- Only you can determine how satisfied you are with the world around you.
