Do Your Job
"Whatever anyone does or says, for my part I'm bound to the good. In the same way an emerald or gold or purple might always proclaim: 'whatever anyone does or says, I must be what I am and show my tru
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On Duty And Circumstance
"Never shirk the proper dispatch of your duty, no matter if you are freezing or hot, groggy or well-rested, vilified or praised, not even if dying or pressed by other demands. Even dying is one of the
Turn 'Have To' Into 'Get To'
"The task of a philosopher: we should bring our will into harmony with whatever happens, so that nothing happens against our will and nothing that we wish for fails to happen."— Epictetus, Discourse
Protect The Flame
"Protect your own good in all that you do, and as concerns everything else take what is given as far as you can make reasoned use of it. If you don't, you'll be unlucky, prone to failure, hindered and
No One Said It'd Be Easy
"Good people will do what they find honorable to do, even if it requires hard work; they'll do it even if it causes them injury; they'll do it even if it will bring danger. Again, they won't do what t
Rise And Shine
"On those mornings you struggle with getting up, keep this thought in mind — I am awakening to the work of a human being. Why then am I annoyed that I am going to do what I'm made for, the very thin
Our Duty To Learn
"This is what you should teach me, how to be like Odysseus — how to love my country, wife and father, and how, even after suffering shipwreck, I might keep sailing on course to those honorable ends.
Stop Monkeying Around
"Enough of this miserable, whining life. Stop monkeying around! Why are you troubled? What's new here? What's so confounding? The one responsible? Take a good look. Or just the matter itself? Then loo
The Philosopher King
"For I believe a good king is from the outset and by necessity a philosopher, and the philosopher is from the outset a kingly person."— Musonius Rufus, LecturesI have touched on the subject of philo
Love The Humble Art
"Love the humble art you have learned, and take rest in it. Pass through the remainder of your days as one who whole-heartedly entrusts all possessions to the gods, making yourself neither a tyrant no
The Start-Up Of You
"But what does Socrates say? 'Just as one person delights in improving his farm, and another his horse, so I delight in attending to my own improvement day by day.'"— Epictetus, DiscoursesToday's me
Some Simple Rules
"In your actions, don't procrastinate. In your conversations, don't confuse. In your thoughts, don't wander. In your soul, don't be passive or aggressive. In your life, don't be all about business."â€
A Leader Leads
"One person, on doing well by others, immediately accounts the expected favor in return. Another is not so quick, but still considers the person a debtor and knows the favor. A third kind of person ac
A Little Knowledge Is Dangerous
"Every great power is dangerous for the beginner. You must therefore wield them as you are able, but in harmony with nature."— Epictetus, DiscoursesExactly the same can be said when we compare today
Doing The Right Thing Is Enough
"When you've done well and another has benefited by it, why like a fool do you look for a third thing on top — credit for the good deed or a favor in return?"— Marcus Aurelius, MeditationsWhen we
Progress Of The Soul
"To what service is my soul committed? Constantly ask yourself this and thoroughly examine yourself by seeing how you relate to that part called the ruling principle. Whose soul do I have now? Do I ha
Don't Abandon Others... Or Yourself
"As you move forward along the path of reason, people will stand in your way. They will never be able to keep you from doing what's sound, so don't let them knock out your goodwill for them. Keep a st
Each The Master Of Their Own Domain
"My reasoned choice is as indifferent to the reasoned choice of my neighbor, as to his breath and body. However much we've been made for cooperation, the ruling reason in each of us is master of its o
Forgive Them Because They Don't Know
"As Plato said, every soul is deprived of truth against its will. The same holds true for justice, self-control, goodwill to others, and every similar virtue. It's essential to constantly keep this in
Made For Justice
"The unjust person acts against the gods. For insofar as the nature of the universe made rational creatures for the sake of each other, with an eye toward mutual benefit based on true value and never
Made For Working Together
"Whenever you have trouble getting up in the morning, remind yourself that you've been made by nature for the purpose of working with others, whereas even unthinking animals share sleeping. And it's o
No One Has A Gun To Your Head
"Nothing is noble if it's done unwillingly or under compulsion. Every noble deed is voluntary."— Seneca, Moral LettersYet another meditation today, that is tough to try and compare to trading. We se
Receive Honours And Slights Exactly The Same Way
"Receive without pride, let go without attachment."— Marcus Aurelius, MeditationsToday's meditation is a very interesting read and is definitely something to take on board, both in every day life an
Somewhere Someone's Dying
"Whenever disturbing news is delivered to you, bear in mind that no news can ever be relevant to your reasoned choice. Can anyone break news to you that your assumptions or desires are wrong? No way!
What's On Your Tombstone?
"When you see someone often flashing their rank or position, or someone whose name is often bandied about in public, don't be envious; such things are bought at the expense of life. . . . Some die on
When Good Men Do Nothing
"Often injustice lies in what you aren't doing, not only in what you are doing."— Marcus Aurelius, MeditationsToday's meditation is another interesting read, but not something that can be compared t
Where Is Anything Better?
"Indeed, if you find anything in human life better than justice, truth, self-control, courage — in short, anything better than the sufficiency of your own mind, which keeps you acting according to t
Check Your Privilege
"Some people are sharp and others dull; some are raised in a better environment, others in worse, the latter, having inferior habits and nurture, will require more by way of proof and careful instruct
A Cure For The Self
"The person who has practiced philosophy as a cure for the self becomes great of soul, filled with confidence, invincible — and greater as you draw near."— Seneca, Moral LettersAnother interesting
Stoic Joy
"Trust me, real joy is a serious thing. Do you think someone can, in the charming expression, blithely dismiss death with an easy disposition? Or swing open the door to poverty, keep pleasures in chec
Your Career Is Not A Life Sentence
"How disgraceful is the lawyer whose dying breath passes while at court, at an advanced age, pleading for unknown litigants and still seeking the approval of ignorant spectators."— Seneca, On The Br