Can one have so much ambition and successfully build a well-known, income-generating business while devoting himself (or herself) to intense philosophical growth at the same time?
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This is the dichotomy I am struggling with right now. I touched on this issue in my previous post. I am interested in helping people become more resilient and grow from difficult transitions and painful experiences, I also want to be financially successful. Can one be wealthy and live an ethically moral life at the same time?
I am thinking about this more and more this week since I signed up for Stoic Week. Although I have started to practice some Stoic techniques, this is the first time I have committed myself to the practice of Stoic philosophy, daily for an entire week. I want to take this seriously and not half-ass it.
At the same time, my ambition is to build a business where I can offer life coaching to anyone in the world, while located anywhere in the world, a digital nomad type of lifestyle. This will require constantly selling my self (my brand).
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Did you ever watch those cartoons where the main character has a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other? I feel as if that is where I am in my life right now. Instead of an angel and a devil though, I have Napoleon Hill (of Think and Grow Rich fame) on one shoulder and Diogenes the Cynic on the other shoulder. Napoleon is constantly encouraging me to do more to market myself and network, while Diogenes tells me this is all so much bullshit and I should reject most material comfort and focus on cultivating virtue.
I emailed a very successful therapist I know who was a mentor to me in graduate school. His advice was simple and succinct; this issue with the attainment of money will never be fully resolved if one also wanted to live an ethical life. I probably will never fully resolve this dichotomy and you know what...that is okay.
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