Feb 17 2025 16 mins 2
Hard work and perseverance are not innate qualities—they are carved into a person through experience, struggle, and discipline. The philosophy of Stoicism teaches many things, but at its core, it urges people to become useful.
To be useful is to contribute, to be of value to others. This means being courageous, pro-social, disciplined, and willing to take on challenges that others shy away from. However, achieving this usefulness does not happen overnight, nor does it happen without pain.
Our society often divides into two mindsets: those who do the bare minimum to get by, and those who push themselves to their limits—the few who embrace the struggle and become stronger for it. Becoming useful means going through a difficult learning phase, one that is often painful and exhausting.
This podcast is listener-supported; if you would like to support the Strong Stoic (as well as gain access to exclusive content), you can do so on Patreon or Substack:
Patreon: www.patreon.com/brandontumblin
Substack: https://strongstoic.substack.com
To be useful is to contribute, to be of value to others. This means being courageous, pro-social, disciplined, and willing to take on challenges that others shy away from. However, achieving this usefulness does not happen overnight, nor does it happen without pain.
Our society often divides into two mindsets: those who do the bare minimum to get by, and those who push themselves to their limits—the few who embrace the struggle and become stronger for it. Becoming useful means going through a difficult learning phase, one that is often painful and exhausting.
This podcast is listener-supported; if you would like to support the Strong Stoic (as well as gain access to exclusive content), you can do so on Patreon or Substack:
Patreon: www.patreon.com/brandontumblin
Substack: https://strongstoic.substack.com
