I want to share an important update.
Becoming Antifragile is changing…
Friends, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for reading this substack over the months and years. It has helped solidify my own thinking and convictions.
If you’ve found value, insights, and enjoyment in my Substack, I’m excited to introduce something new that I think you’ll appreciate: Starting today, I’m reading a book every week and releasing a podcast episode with actionable wisdom that you can apply to your life.
My aim is to distill key insights from both renowned and lesser-known books to help you fortify your mind and live with unwavering conviction in this age of relativism and nihilism.
You’ll find the weekly episode on the Becoming Antifragile podcast. This subtack will release a brief background on the book I’ve chosen. You can listen to the kickoff episode now where we look at Viktor E. Frankl’s influential work, Man’s Search for Meaning.
To continue supporting my work, simply listen, subscribe, and share the podcast.
001: Man’s Search for Meaning
In Episode 001, I explore the valuable lessons we can learn from Viktor E. Frankl.
This memoir played a pivotal role in deepening my understanding of the concept of meaning, the remarkable human capacity to endure suffering, and finally the profound influence of our minds in shaping our present reality. Notably, Frankl wrote this in nine consecutive days, and it has sold over 15+ million copies worldwide.
Background
The book chronicles Frankl’s experience in Nazi concentration camps, his psychological insights into human nature at its worst, what motivates people to live even in the worse conditions, and explores his theory of logotherapy.
Frankl earned his M.D. in 1930 and began working at Steinhof Psychiatric Hospital where he led the treatment of suicidal women before he was transported to the camps.
During the Holocaust his wife died in the Bergen Belsen concentration camp, his father died in the Theresienstadt Ghetto concentration camp, and both his mother and brother died in Auschwitz.
However, it was during his time in the concentration camps that he further developed his theory on the importance of finding meaning in life. He emphasized that discovering meaning is the primary motivation in life. It’s our will to meaning which gives hope in a hopeless world. And if a man loses hope and his will to meaning, then his “strength to carry on… seldom returned.”
We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. And there’s always choices to make.
Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity to become molded into the form of the typical inmate.
Post-Holocaust
After the war, Frankl earned a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Vienna in 1948. He, then, became a Professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Vienna and was a visiting professor at Harvard University, Southern Methodist University, and Duquesne University.
In 1985, Frankl was awarded Oskar Pfister Award for his work on religion and psychiatry. He left a lasting impression on philosophy, psychology and personal development. Frankl’s memoir continues to inspire millions today.
Frankl died at the ripe old age of 92 on September 2nd, 1997.
Breakdown of the episode
00:00:00 - Introduction & excerpt from Man’s Search for Meaning
00:02:37 - Summary of the memoir & logotherapy
00:04:47 - Getting stripped of all belongings
00:05:30 - Finding meaning
00:06:49 - Frankl’s thought on success
00:08:00 - Become worthy of suffering
00:13:35 - Changing perspective
00:14:35 - Urbanites suffer from existential anxiety
00:15:35 - Importance of a full inner life
00:16:57 - Ability to endure horrible conditions
00:18:20 - Nightmares
00:19:20 - 3 ways to find meaning
00:20:00 - Cigarettes as a sign of impending death
00:21:45 - F—’s Dream of getting rescued
00:24:25 - Meaning is subjective & concrete
00:27:00 - Nietzsche’s ‘Why’
00:31:30 - Live with conviction
00:32:33 - Power of love
00:38:50 - Becoming virtuous
00:40:00 - Why read this book
00:41:00 - Seeking solitude
Listen to 001: Man’s Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, and Google Podcast.