Mindset Shifts—Essays by Barry Brownstein

Home
Notes
Archive
About
People Without Meaningful Lives Seek Power Over Others
A person able to exercise coercive power can use their morally undeveloped “wretched” mind to create endless misery for others.
 • 
Barry Brownstein
36
The Road to Serfdom, Session 1: The Last Stand on Earth
The first line of defense for freedom is for each of us to protect our own mind from its inner totalitarian and resist the allure of ideas that are…
 • 
Barry Brownstein
33
How Not to Be a Jerk in 2024
Defend liberty by becoming a better person in 2024.
 • 
Barry Brownstein
4
How to Get Over Yourself
“It takes energy and struggle to ignore how much we receive and how little we return to the world."
 • 
Barry Brownstein
Meditations Session 1: See that You Don’t Want to Stop It
Marcus Aurelius trained his mind to follow timeless principles.
 • 
Barry Brownstein
25
Why Venezuela Took the Road to Serfdom
What happened in Venezuela can happen wherever a critical mass of the population begins to hold certain delusionary beliefs.
 • 
Barry Brownstein
5
Seneca, Session 1: Downsizing Your Inner Yelp Reviewer
If we are ready to reduce the influence anger has on our lives, there is no better guide than Seneca.
 • 
Barry Brownstein
7
Why Ordinary People Enable Totalitarians, Part 1
A lack of meaning threatens freedom.
 • 
Barry Brownstein
18
Man’s Search for Meaning Session 4: A Spotless Mind Doesn’t Lead to Freedom
What if our troubles are the pathway to inner freedom?
 • 
Barry Brownstein
10
Meditations Session 2: The Joy of Missing Out
"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart."
 • 
Barry Brownstein
14
Meditations Session 4: Becoming a Truth Extremist
Why do you persist “in doing worse than your best?”
 • 
Barry Brownstein
24
Avoiding Conflict: Seneca's Perspective
Most of us think we are responding to events that we interpret accurately and that others, not us, are causing conflict.
 • 
Barry Brownstein
8
© 2025 Barry Brownstein
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture