Marcus Aurelius was emperor of the most powerful empire in the history of the world. Seneca’s letters were, well, letters and Epictetus’ thoughts come to us by way of a note-taking student.Īnd so it was from their example, their actions, we find real philosophy.īecause other than their common study of the philosophy, the Stoics were all men of action - and I don’t think this is a coincidence. Marcus Aurelius never intended for Meditations to be anything but personal. Where will I find good and bad? In me, in my choices.”Īmazingly we still have access to these ideas, despite the fact that many of the greatest Stoics never wrote anything down for publication. “In life our first job is this, to divide and distinguish things into two categories: externals I cannot control, but the choices I make with regard to them I do control. Take obstacles in your life and turn them into your advantage, control what you can and accept what you can’t. That we don’t control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and our responses.īut at the very root of the thinking, there is a very simple, though not easy, way of living. The philosophy asserts that virtue (such as wisdom) is happiness and judgment be based on behavior, rather than words. It’s what I based my most recent book, The Obstacle Is The Way on and what we’ll be talking about in the Product Hunt Book club.Ī brief synopsis on this particular school of Hellenistic philosophy: Stoicism was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC, but was famously practiced by the likes of Epictetus, Cato, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius.

Specifically, I am referring to Stoicism, which, in my opinion, is the most practical of all philosophies. This wisdom is still there, available to us. It was jotted down (and practiced) by slaves, poets, emperors, politicians and soldiers, as well as ordinary folks to help with their own problems and those of their friends, family and followers. Not in the classroom, but on the battlefield, in the Forum, and at court. In fact, it is something men and women of action use - and have used throughout history - to solve their problems and achieve their greatest triumphs. Philosophy is not just about talking or lecturing, or even reading long, dense books. It’s the last thing they want, let alone something they need.īut this, as you already know, is silly and naive. When most people think of “philosophy,” their eyes glaze over. I look forward to talking to everyone on May 26th. They asked me to put together a quick introduction to the book to facilitate discussion and conversation. I am excited to hear that my book The Obstacle Is The Way has been selected as May’s selection for the Book Club.

The ego is the enemy marcus aurelius