Life is so fascinating especially when you choose to pay close attention to it. Most of us float through it on automatic drive with our eyes closed. We repeat the same things over and over again without a blink because the known feels comfortable and safe, even if at times it’s miserable. We get older and wonder where time went. “It just flew by. I wish I had done things differently” they say. If we know for a fact that our life here has an expiration date that can turn up at any moment, why do we choose not to fully indulge in its gifts before it’s too late?
INTRO
You may now wonder how any of this is even remotely related to Stoicism or watches for that matter? And I would say everything.
This past year has been of one my most interesting, humbling and spiritually bountiful years to date (and it’s not because my life was dull or repetitive prior to it!). While I have remained enthusiastic about growing Discover Out Loud, I have also been on a tireless quest of self-discovery and personal growth. As anyone who has gone through such journey will tell you, it is filled with challenges which at times feel downright miserable with a dim light in sight. But these tests are necessary to unleash the power that awaits on the other side – breakthroughs, stillness, and total emotional intoxication. I and this will make more sense once you are done reading the interview 🙂
Getting back to our topic, when I was first introduced to the idea of writing a piece about a new brand called Stoicworld, I honestly was skeptical. I am not a specialist on watch-making by any stretch of the imagination. But what I love is thought-provoking storytelling, especially when told by compelling narrators. Luckily I have been blessed with the most interesting and inspiring encounters, and funny enough for most part in the watch industry!
PETER SPEAKE-MARIN
This time I got to meet Peter Speake-Marin, a name which will resonate with our luxury time-piece aficionados, especially collectors. Peter is a Master at developing and crafting high complications. He is known to push boundaries in the art of watch-making.
Over a year ago, Peter decided to leave the company named after him behind. He then embarked on a journey mirroring his new state of mind. Today more than ever his driving force lies in sharing his passion for horology with everyone interested in this art, irrespective of their socio-economic background. “It’s all about education and not about the brand. It is about the product, about the artistry, the imagination, the creativity that goes behind it.”
Peter’s new endeavours are packaged in two different ways. One is in the form of an online education platform called The Naked Watchmaker and the other one is a new, affordable watch brand called Stoicworld. It was just launched a couple of months ago and it has made quite some noise. The industry surely did not expect Peter Speake-Marin to reinvent himself in such way!
OUR CONVERSATION
As the name points out, Stoic is not just about watches but about the philosophy behind it. It is not about selling time but about bringing awareness to the value of it, of the moment shared.
“Stoicism, a way of thinking, a philosophical view founded in Greece 300 BC. The principle? Individual happiness based on temperance and detachment achieved through reason.”
Everything is opinion. And opinion depends on you. – Marcus Aurelius
Did you always feel that happiness was an inner work rather than the expression of your external environment? In other words, was there a time in your life when your level of happiness was directly connected with financial wealth and status? If so, what changed? How did you come to realise that happiness comes from detachment?
We are all effected by the people that surround us and the environment we live in, but ultimately happiness or contentment is something that comes from inside of us and cannot be given or taken by another person unless we allow this to happen.
The six needs in life we discussed, courtesy of Anthony Robbins, is also an associated and inevitable reality, but they are all connected to the same result. My own life has been a whirlwind, and I have always hungered to learn to in essence grow in knowledge, and of late, inwardly.
Have I always been this way? The answer is yes. Even in my early professional career I moved around a lot because of the need to grow. The moment I had mastered a job/product/brand I would move on and this has always been the case. Humans’ need to grow has always been a constant, which leads me to this point today, where in part through Stoicism I have been able to ‘stop’ and reflect and see that which is important, and to be innately honest with myself, something I have not always been. Happiness through riches alone is a fallacy but sufficient cash for stability remains a human need.
“Our social markers have changed. That which traditionally separated youth from adulthood no longer applies. The diploma, the first job or moving in with someone: these traditional rites of passage are no longer performing that role.”
Social markers are changing radically as you say, which means we are living in extraordinary times which disrupt convention, but change is a good thing and grants on one side greater opportunity for those willing to think outside of the box and whom may have failed whilst following the conventional routes society had created.
“On the other hand, state of mind, curiosity, the quest for meaning, the desire for experiences and contribution, are present. Moreover, this presence can be found across all generations.”
Coud it be that so much time, energy and drive was spent acquiring things to build a safe life (after WWII) that we stopped looking at the “Why?”. And although we have, especially in our Western world more than what we need to be ok and are more connected than ever (social media), we are the unhappiest, alone and disconnected than we have ever been? How do you ally Stoicism with the current state of mind in our world?
I am neither a philosopher nor do I follow popular trends in general. What I have learned has quite often been through American cultural creations. Timothy Ferriss, Anthony Robbins, Bob Proctor are the first three that spring to mind (Proctor’s main sell/lesson is personal paradigm shifts, allowing people to break negative elements of who they are which hold them back from being the person they would like to be). All of the three mentioned have one commonality, which is, they live in a period where they have a stronger voice than could have ever before, and can be heard by people everywhere thanks to technology. These cultural leaders live and create new cultural expectations and norms. How much of the new standards of life are because of them or they are influenced by, is to me unclear, it’s probably a combination of the two, but the result is a positive one.
The angel and the devil today are the same machine – technology. It makes us efficient with every minute we possess and ultimately will control us if we do not control it. Stoic thought is simply a way to stop the machine and be aware of the moment. The moment we live in “is” our life, but so often it’s forgotten due to the pace at which we live. The growing curiosity people have, I like to believe is the result of a questioning of what life actually is and for those who pursue it even further, what is our purpose in life?
“Nothing is ours except for time”. Do you really believe this to be true? Do we really own time? All we have is this moment which fleets away like a flash! Do you mean that what we do with our time is in our hands?
Seneca lived a long time ago and the quote was not originally in English, as such the meaning can be blurred with both time and translation. From having read much of what he wrote I believe the quote emphasizes that time is all important, time is life. In essence, all that we own is temporary and only time has real value. This becomes clearer the older we get, time increases in value with the less time we possess, and the value of money decreases.
Now you may wonder if I am a Stoic. I wish I was! I’m way too emotional (maybe the result of being a creative individual) but I aspire everyday to be more level-headed and to see the better side of people.
At this stage of your professional life, which by all definition, has been a huge success, why did you decide to leave your comfort zone and start a new brand, quite different from what you did before?
Comfort zones are killers. They are routines that we execute to the point that we no longer are aware of the time they take, and that time is used without consciousness. To live we have to feel alive and creative. We must jump outside the box and venture into new zones. For altruism gives purpose and flavor to life. It becomes harder to do as one becomes older, but it’s when we become older we need to be aware of what we are doing and ask the question, “is this what I want to do with my time, with my life”, if the answer is ‘yes’, then fabulous! For me the answer was ‘no’, so I had to rediscover my own purpose. And this I do today though The Naked watchmaker and Stoic.
Who are you competing against in terms of design and quality?
Nobody and everybody. The concept is unique, the association with Stocism is on a level which both renders the project sustainable and profoundly apart from any other project that exists. Any watch of the same quality costs twice the price. But the reality is that there are many brands and products on the market so the journey for Stoic time pieces is one of education both of a philosophy, as well as an introduction to vintage horology made affordable.
Your prices are very affordable. How has the world of Horology responded?
Very mixed, I have spent a lifetime making expensive watches which have placed me in people’s minds in a particular category of watchmaker and product, very different from Stoic. For those people who have understood the ‘why’, the reception has been wonderful, for those who have not read,understood or simply taken the time to understand what is Stoic, there has been criticism.
Stoic is a profound adventure and along every path there are nay-sayers, these people motivate me to make the message clearer.
Where do you want to take Stoic?
To the point that everybody understands the philosophy and horology.
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