This is Zeno of Citium, founder of the Stoic school of philosophy. He lived about 2,300 years ago, in 300 BCE, in Athens, Greece. Stoicism is still alive and well today so I will talk about it in the present tense. The Stoics are not “little-s” stoic, which we think of as the ability to endure hardship.
So what do Stoics believe? They are pragmatic people, and among the things they are notable for, principally they have a philosophy of living.
What do I mean by that? To them, someone who has a philosophy of living knows what is of value, and they know how to get it. In particular, Stoics value tranquility, peace of mind that does not depend on circumstances.
What is of value → Tranquility
How to get it → Acquire virtue
Why are the Stoics so interested in virtue? Stoics see virtue as a power that is particularly conducive to achieving results. Feeling fear and scarcity are incompatible with tranquility, so the Stoics have tools and techniques, based in virtue, for dispensing with them. Philosophers develop and use tools made of thought. And since in creative fields we also make things out of thought, their tools might be relevant. One tool in particular, reframing, is closely related to the virtue or character strength of creativity, and this is the technique I examine in Abundance and Scarcity. Check it out. It’s part of my book Summoning Genius.