Frederick Nietzsche was an author, poet, and philosopher born in 1844 in Saxony, Prussia (Germany). His father was the local priest, and he grew up in a religious community-driven area. From a young age, he excelled and was employed as a professor in his early 20s. However, as time passed, he grew weary of his existing life and chose to move to a small town in the Swiss Alps. Here, he wrote his most profound works on philosophy and life. “In loneliness the man eats himself; in a crowd, the many eat him. Now choose”

Nietzsche seemed to be quite introverted. He had a poor relationship with his family and isolated himself in life. He struggled for success and connection and had various encounters throughout it, that negatively affected his life and thoughts of the world.

One aspect I found quite interesting about Nietzsche was his opinion on Christianity and how he believed this was one of the greatest narcotics to enter the world. He believed that Christianity was formed to give justice to the trampled upon, the ones who searched for meaning, purpose, and fulfillment through various avenues that they may not be equipped to acquire, such as romantic relationships, money, power, and fame. Subsequently, they chose to discredit these endeavours for a justified fallback position where these things are categorically frowned upon.

The other worldly vice he believed should be removed was alcohol. Throughout his life, he only really drank water and never drank alcohol. He believed that through alcohol, we are misled into the perception of success by curbing our sorrows through inebriation. He believed life should be about overcoming our pain, challenges, and hurdles to create strength and grow - "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger."

Many people consider Nietzsche one of the most profound, endearing, and courageous thinkers of his time. He believed in existentialism, which is the understanding of oneself, authenticity of internal dialogue and understanding without the requirements for external sources of influence. He believed that we have two sides to our souls and by embracing both Yin and Yang, we can find balance within living in the moment. To find balance, you must sway to both sides. To be true to ourselves, we should never do things for external gratification or influence from society or others who believe that we should follow a certain path because it is what has been ingrained in the culture. It is important to learn, understand, and embrace ideologies from the past as a source of inspiration, but not follow them blindly. Maintain an open mind and create your own path.

"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how."

He believed one of the main purposes in life is to drive humanity forward as a collective unit. To aspire to be more, to grow, to create, and to embrace. Through the constant pursuit of being more of ourselves and projecting a more fine-tuned version of ourselves every single day, we can find happiness. However, happiness is not a destination. Happiness is the process. True happiness is to be found in the search for happiness, not a singular objective.

Thanks,

Dean