In this edition, Joe shares:
What Sparta can teach us about today’s global struggles
Why prosperity without discipline collapses
How to outlast wealth and comfort
Hey. Joe here in Boston, MA. This week, the world’s eyes are on power.
Trump met with Zelenskyy while Putin monitored post-Alaska talks. Three men representing three systems locked in collision. Everyone’s asking: which system will hold? Which will break?
It’s not a new question. Margaret Thatcher once warned: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” Then around the same time, sociologist Daniel Bell argued that capitalism carries its own “cultural contradictions” - meaning the wealth it produces eventually erodes the very grit and restraint that made it work in the first place.
The Spartans already ran this experiment.
Sparta outlawed wealth. No gold, no silver, just iron bars so heavy they were worthless anywhere else. The logic was simple: wealth softens, discipline hardens. Every citizen had the same plot of land, ate the same meals in common halls, and was trained for war. That stripped-down life built the warriors who crushed Athens. But it came at a cost, because their system only survived by enslaving helots. When the helots finally rose up and Spartan numbers shrank, the whole thing fell apart.
Rome started the opposite way. Farmers dropped their plows to defend the Republic. But the empire poured in luxury, and Sallust’s warning came true: “Greed destroyed honor, integrity, and everything else.” Soon the state kept people pacified with bread and circuses. Wealth without virtue hollowed Rome from the inside out, until total collapse followed.
Religion tried a third way. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism all put guardrails on prosperity. Think about it for a minute: they say don’t ban it, don’t indulge it, but harness it. They tie wealth to obligation with debt forgiveness, almsgiving, charity, and restraint. Basically saying, prosperity survives only when it’s chained to discipline.
"Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.” - William Hazlitt
Fast-forward to today, however, and we see Washington in fights over debt and entitlements. Europe struggling with welfare. Billionaires funding philanthropy while populists rage about inequality. And now, as the world watches Trump, Zelenskyy, and Putin, you can see the same struggles between power and discipline, ambition and restraint that eventually broke Sparta and Rome.
Sparta’s lesson: Discipline without justice = collapse.
Rome’s lesson: Wealth without discipline = collapse.
Religion’s lesson: Prosperity endures only when tied to duty.
You Ask, Joe Answers
Q: “Joe, do you ever hit snooze? Don’t lie!” — Steve F.
A: "Never, and I get up before 5am. If you hit snooze, you’ve already lost. You’re telling your body comfort is more important than commitment. The day starts the second the alarm goes off. Feet on the floor, no hesitation!" — Joe
So what’s The Hard Way answer? Don’t get seduced by wealth or comfort. Don’t run from ambition, but don’t let it consume you either. Strip it down, tie it to duty, and build discipline that survives success.
Because sooner or later, every empire (and every individual) faces the same test. Can you stay hard when life gets easy?
Hurry up, Joe
