The Sovereign Artist—Episode #6
You Need to Work Less & The Millionaire Fantasy & In Defense of Leisure & more
Hello friends,
Apologies for the delay.
Writing a newsletter on a frequent basis is not my superpower.
I’m working on upgrading the Sovereign Artist program. During this process, I realized that (Exciting News Alert!) my book must go by the same title. Economy of Truth didn’t die but morphed into a much stronger project worthy of even more elegance and adventure.
The research for this project looks splendid. I’m currently reading a fascinating book by Julius Evola—who has some crazy views—called The Fall of Spirituality: The Corruption of Tradition in the Modern World. If you’re too confident about what “tradition” means, this book might surprise you.
Another book I fell in love with is called I Drink Therefore I am: A Philosopher’s Guide to Wine by Roger Scruton. This book definitely reinforced my attraction to Epicureanism (I’m not a big fan of Stoicism yet nor against it) and helped me clarify my intellectual stance on wine, pleasure, and the art of living.
Speaking of research…
Here are 3 aphorisms, 1 essay, and 3 questions for you to reflect on.
3 Aphorisms
I.
Working less is not laziness.
Doing less meaningful work is not laziness.
Laziness is enduring an existence you dislike.
Contrary to popular belief, working “hard” & being “busy” all the time is a form of laziness—lazy strategic thinking & management skills.
H/T Rich Webster
II.
Measure wealth in love, freedom, and integrity rather than money, comfort, and material possessions.
By thinking all the time about money, you lose all the spiritual advantages of self-sufficiency. Learn to be happy before you get rich.
III.
One of the worst mistakes we make is believing that waking up in the morning is a right rather than a blessing.
It may look like a strong claim; but it’s a fragile gift.
Only those who internalize this lesson in their life may finally become alive.
In Defense of Leisure
The most underrated skill of the 21st century: knowing how to rest & relax.
Prioritize leisure. At all costs. Leisure not in the sense of watching Netflix or scrolling TikTok but searching for stillness.
When most of us hear the word leisure—we think of lounging around and wasting time. This definition is drastically misleading.
Leisure historically meant freedom for creative & intellectual pursuits.
In Greek, leisure is rendered as scholé—this means school.
The Romans had a similar word for this in Latin—otium—referring to leisure time in which a person can enjoy playing, contemplation, but also the pursuit of academic endeavors.
Many of history’s highest achievers were aware of the value of rest.
Jesus used to go fishing with his disciples 🎣
Seneca wrote about how Cato loved to sip wine 🍷 and reflect on the meaning of life.
Emil Cioran, the most famous Transylvanian philosopher who spent most of his time in Paris, loved to relax by writing joyful letters to his friends and family 📬
John Rockefeller used to take regular breaks from his notoriously demanding schedule to mill about in his garden.
Benjamin Franklin’s work sessions were broken up by periods of conversation, reading, and boredom.
Exactly what we consider to be “unproductive” is what will give us the mental clarity to be truly productive. Sessions of deep work only take place after sessions of sacred rest.
“We don’t need to earn our recovery,” Sahil Bloom wrote, “it should be a central part of our ritual that allows us to thrive” in areas—including but more importantly—beyond work & business.
Source: Europeana
I rest & relax simply because I want to rest & relax—not because leisure is something that helps me “recharge” & get ready for work. I don’t relax to work; I work to relax.
Evan Armstrong came up with an incredible essay on this topic.
Knowledge workers are programmed to dream about achieving 23 tasks every week. There’s a relentless pursuit of optimization. Yet they often fail to achieve these tasks and end up feeling dissatisfied with the quality of their systems.
What’s the solution?
Evan describes why this kind of thinking didn’t serve him well: “Self-improvement is great and productivity is wonderful, but something about this vein of thought feels off. When I try to follow this advice, I may temporarily get more stuff done, but it comes at the expense of my soul. I feel like an obsessive-compulsive lumberjack, hyper-focused on marginal improvements in my sawing technique—until one day, as I finish my labors, I realize I accidentally clear-cut the forest for the trees.”
In order to get inspired, you need to give yourself space—to think, meditate, read old books, write, paint, play with your dog, or take (long) walks & naps.
“My success has happened,” Evan adds, “because I’ve given myself space to ignore all the extra things I’m supposed to do so I can pursue something called afflatus—a Latin word that refers to a sudden rush or inspiration, seemingly from the divine or supernatural.”
He makes his stance clear: “I’m not advocating for a lifestyle of ease and no work. There are always late nights and sacrifices. What I’m arguing for is the cultivation of a state of being to allow for afflatus to occur.”
Work as hard as you can. But make sure to relax, rest, and meditate with the same intensity. Productivity is for robots. Creative work is 80% leisure and 20% (intense) effort.
3 Questions to Reflect on
i. What “truth(s)” do too many people agree with me on?
ii. What feels like play to me but looks like work to others?
iii. In the last five years, what belief, behavior, or habit has most worsened my life?
Wrapping up...
Hope you liked this episode 🥂
Any feedback, suggestion, or criticism is welcome: feel free to reply (if you got this in your inbox) or send an email to viziandrei@outlook.com
Thank you for your time,
Vizi Andrei
Creator of The Sovereign Artist