Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
The soul is like a bowl of water, and our impressions are like the ray of light falling upon the water. When the water is troubled, it appears that the light itself is moved too, but it isn't. So, when a person loses their composure it isn't their skills and virtues that are troubled, but the spirit in which they exist, and when that spirit in which they exist, and when that spirit calms down so do those things. —Epictetus, Discourses, 3.3.20-22
Life is a learning process and the school of hard knocks is a great teacher. Pleasure and comfort don't build character -- adversity does! Once you acquire your Masters in Adversity, you will be prepared for the worst of situations.
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Those who receive the bare theories immediately want to spew them, as an upset stomach does its food. First digest your theories and you won't throw them up. Otherwise they will be raw, spoiled, and not nourishing. After you've digested them, show us the changes in your reasoned choices, just like the shoulders of gymnasts display their diet and training, and as the craft of artisans show in what they've learned. ~Epictetus, Discourses, 3.21.1-3
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Do now what nature demands of you. Get right to it if that's in your power. Don't look around to see if people will know about it. Don't await the perfection of Plato's Republic, but be satisfied with even the smallest step forward and regard the outcome as small thing. — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.29.(4)
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Remember that to change your mind and to follow someone's correction are consistent with a free will. For the action is yours alone — to fulfill its purpose in keeping with your impulse and judgment, and yes, with your intelligence. — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.16
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Therefore, explain why a wise person shouldn't get drunk — not with words, but by the facts of its ugliness and offensiveness. It's most easy to prove that so called pleasures, when they go beyond proper measure, are but punishment. — Seneca, Moral Letters, 83.27
