Seneca once said, “Of all people, only those are at leisure who make time for philosophy, only those are really alive. For they not only keep a good watch over their own lifetimes, but they annex every age to theirs. All the years that have passed before them are added to their own.”

On the mission to curate your Tribe of 150, as you are already taking care of your immediate friends and family, how far have you gone back in time to seek friends? Have you thought of adding Plato, Emily Dickinson, Kahlil Gibran, Marcus Aurelius, or Maya Angelou?

As Charlie Munger says, you should consider “making friends among the eminent dead.”

A Constellation of Friends

Over the past few centuries alone, many great minds have walked the earth and brought their fresh perspective into being through their words and creations, from the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius to the Masnavi of Rumi.

The biggest advantage of learning from the past is that you can follow the course of the rise and expansion of different ideas, as they took the color of different minds. You get to see human nature, the aspirations, and blind spots, how even good intentions can lead to bad outcomes, and how even randomness can be your great ally.

With such rich options to pick from, you should look at history as a night sky full of stars, with each person a star. These stars can guide you on the voyage of life, and all you need is to seek directions from them. They can tell you what to do, as well as what not to do. And as you pick some of the brightest stars which align with the direction of your dreams, you can have anyone from Socrates to help you see the truth to John Keats to see the beauty around.

So go on and pick the stars you wish from the past. Decorate the heavens of your mind with their constellations and you will never find yourself lost under their guiding light 🌟