Michel de Montaigne and the art of living

John Vespasian explains that Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) made it particularly clear that he wanted to differentiate himself from his peers. His vast literary achievements are not the result of luck. His philosophy is not the outcome of random circumstances, but of persistence and determination. Montaigne was a master in the art of living because of his unusually high productivity. Even with a busy professional life as a lawyer in Bordeaux, he became extremely well-read and raised a family. Montaigne even found the time to travel abroad (Germany, Italy) for a year, and later occupied public office for four years. All those activities did not prevent him from becoming highly productive as an author. From Montaigne’s art of living, which lessons can we put into practice here and now? Montaigne limited the number of activities or tasks that he undertook. During his studies at the College de Guyenne, he did not spread himself too thin. If Montaigne had consumed large amounts of entertainment or practised sports daily, he would have delayed his career by a long stretch. If we want to achieve important goals, the first thing we need to do is to focus, just as Montaigne had done. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/michel-de-montaigne-and-the-art-of-living/