Five Birthday Lessons from Marcus Aurelius

Wednesday Wisdom #117

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Last week, we wrote that Everything Is An Opportunity To Practice Stoicism.
 

This week: Five Birthday Lessons from Marcus Aurelius + Some Exciting News

Let's get to it 👇

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Weekly Reflection

Yesterday was the 1901th birthday of the Philosopher-King, Marcus Aurelius. There are several reasons worth celebrating the life of this extraordinary man.

His Meditations, essentially just his private journal that he wrote to himself and never intended for publication, is a collection of timeless insights into human nature and a man's search to live better.

Trying to boil down all of Marcus Aurelius' wisdom into a single email would be impossible, so I recommend picking up a copy of his Meditations on Amazon or in your local bookstore. The Gregory Hays translation is the best.

In celebration of his late birthday, here are five lessons I've learned from Marcus Aurelius that we all need to be reminded of more often.

1) Do Good Things Without Expecting a Reward 
"The fruit of this life is good character and acts for the common good", he wrote. Vines produce grapes year-after-year without looking for anything in return, so why are you expecting to be rewarded for every good action? Don't expect rewards, just keep doing them without any need for validation because doing it is the reward.