essaysmusicbooksphotosnowarchivequotesshopaboutfrom the desk
sovereignty

the most common form of despair is not being who you are.

Søren Kierkegaard

the only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.

Albert Camus

to be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Self-Reliance

a man who conquers himself is greater than one who conquers a thousand men in battle.

The Dhammapada Buddhist scripture

sovereignty is not the absence of engagement. it's the presence of intention.

Chaz Johnson Attention Is the Only Currency That Matters
ancient wisdom

a man's character is his fate.

Heraclitus on the nature of man

do not speak falsely of thyself, for there is one who hears all. attend to thine own conduct, make it flourish — & thy name will be established forever.

The Maxims of Ptahhotep Ancient Egypt, c. 2400 BC

great is the man whose counsel guides himself.

Amenemope Instruction of Amenemope, c. 1200 BC

do not say "i have no enemies" — be vigilant against the man within. the enemy closest to you is your own unexamined heart.

The Maxims of Ptahhotep Ancient Egypt, c. 2400 BC

the function of wisdom is to discriminate between good & evil.

Cicero echoing Egyptian moral tradition
film & tv

it's not who i am underneath, but what i do that defines me.

Batman Begins 2005 · Christopher Nolan

you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

The Dark Knight 2008 · Harvey Dent

i am not in danger, skyler. i am the danger.

Breaking Bad Walter White

the things you own end up owning you.

Fight Club 1999 · Tyler Durden

after all, tomorrow is another day.

Gone With the Wind 1939 · Scarlett O'Hara

i've been thinking about the man i want to be. the man i want to be is hard to be around people who aren't trying to be anything.

Atlanta Donald Glover

the quieter you become, the more you can hear.

Ram Dass

what we do in life echoes in eternity.

Gladiator 2000 · Maximus
attention & presence

the present moment always will have been.

Simone de Beauvoir

he who cannot obey himself will be commanded.

Friedrich Nietzsche Thus Spoke Zarathustra

the impediment to action advances action. what stands in the way becomes the way.

Marcus Aurelius Meditations

what you seek is seeking you.

Rumi

the silence before the voice is where the real work happens. it asks something of you — patience, mostly. the willingness to not know yet.

Chaz Johnson Before the Voice

a life with good rhythm is not more efficient than a life with a tight schedule. it is more alive.

Chaz Johnson Rhythm Is Older Than Optimization

where your eyes rest, your life follows. so it's worth deciding, deliberately, where to look.

Chaz Johnson Where Your Eyes Rest, Your Life Follows
facebook instagram youtube soundcloud
aboutbuilt by viachaz studio
life authored, not inherited.