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Hendrik Deckers

Hendrik Deckers

Practical Philosophy · Manuals of Life · Sketches of Life
Science provides the evidence. Philosophy provides the questions. Experience provides the friction. Two series for people who want to live with clarity and purpose.
ABOUT

How do we live with clarity and purpose once the usual scripts no longer satisfy?

Hendrik Deckers is an entrepreneur, scientist, and systems thinker who writes practical manuals for intentional living. After founding a global community of digital leaders, he turned his analytical mind to the deeper questions: What makes a life meaningful? How do we age well? What changes when we stop following scripts and start building from scratch?

He holds degrees in biology, philosophy, and economics. The combination is not accidental.
Science provides the evidence. Philosophy provides the questions. Experience provides the
friction. His writing sits at the intersection of all three: grounded in research, shaped by
reflection, tested against the reality of an imperfect life.

His Manuals of Life are practical operating guides for adults who want to think clearly and
shape a life that feels coherent rather than accidental. His Sketches of Life are something
quieter: reflective essays born from walking, sleepless nights, and ordinary moments.
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He lives in Belgium with his wife and their dog Bess.

The SERIES
Manuals of Life
by Hendrik Deckers
Structured guides for the essential domains of living, rooted in science, philosophy, and lived experience. Organised across arcs of Self Mastery, Interaction with the World, Inner Life, and Transcendence. Each manual takes one fundamental human challenge and builds a practical philosophy around it.
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LIVE: A Manual for the Examined Life cover

LIVE

A Manual for the Examined Life.

The foundational volume: how to think clearly about what matters and build a life that reflects it.

UPGRADE: A Blueprint for Energy, Health and Longevity cover

UPGRADE

A Blueprint for Energy, Health and Longevity.

The physical infrastructure that makes everything else possible.


Sketches of Life
by Hendrik Deckers
Intimate, literary, place-based. Each book collects the thoughts that arrive during a single everyday activity: walking, lying awake, meeting kind strangers. Personal essays written with philosophical depth and a light touch.
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What I Think About When I Walk With Bess cover

What I Think About When I Walk With Bess

Ponderings of a Curious Mind.

Essays written on long walks with a dog who listens better than most people.

What I Think About When I Cannot Sleep cover

What I Think About When I Cannot Sleep

Ramblings of a Restless Mind.

The thoughts that arrive at three in the morning, when the world is quiet and the mind is not.

The first titles in both series are in pre-publication. Sign up to be notified when they are available.

Living well is not a destination. It is a practice, and the practice never ends.

HENDRIK DECKERS

Manuals of Life and Sketches of Life are published by Nova Ars Vivendi, an independent publisher of practical non-fiction for people who take their lives seriously enough to design them.

Nova Ars Vivendi.
The New Art of Living

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© 2026 Hendrik Deckers. All rights reserved.