31 Life-Changing Lessons from Marcus Aurelius

Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, designed to help bring those four key Stoic virtues, courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom into the real world. This book right here has been the guide for presidents and generals and leaders for almost 20 centuries. Theodore Roosevelt carried it with him as he explored a South American jungle. Frederick the Great took it into battle. Arnold Schwarzenegger says it shaped how he thinks.

But the fascinating thing about it is it was never meant to be read by anyone. It was one man writing to himself, and that man happened to be the emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius, the most powerful person on the planet. And that's what we're going to talk about today. best lessons from Marcus Aurelius's meditations and most importantly how to actually use them. I think one of the reasons we have trouble with motivation is that we know deep down that this thing we're doing, it doesn't really matter.

It's not important. That's why Marcus Aurelius's question is so imperative. He says, ask yourself Is this essential? He says, because most of what we do and say and think is not essential.

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