If you want to be successful, you’d do well to listen to the words of Marcus Aurelius.
During his rule, Aurelius found the time to construct a series of autobiographical writings,
now known as the Meditations.
In these writings, the Roman Emperor offered a number of key insights on how to be successful.
Here are 10 of the most important insights for success from the writings of Marcus Aurelius.
1.
Focus on giving value Marcus Aurelius says “That which isn’t
good for the hive isn’t good for the bee”
Marcus Aurelius believed that we each have a purpose; something we were created for.
We’re each unique, with different gifts, passions, and purposes and we need to figure
out how we can best share this gift with others because we will only get all we want in life
if we help other people get what they want.
All of your most highly cherished dreams can become reality as long as you help enough
of those around you get to their personal mountaintops.
Shift from me to we and watch your career, and your life, become shockingly successful.
Be a Value Creator.
The problem with society today is that people are too focused on themselves to care about
the needs of others.
If you want to be successful then do the little things with unimaginable passion and off-the-scales
excellence.
Give your best - to each of today’s pursuits - and then go farther.
Because the more value you can create for others, the more value they will return to
you.
2.
Narrow Your Focus Or as Marcus Aurelius put it “Ask Yourself
At Every Moment – Is this necessary?”
We have a limited amount of time and energy to achieve our goals each day.
Yet, more times than not, we spread ourselves thin by chasing too many goals all at once.
As a result, we get easily distracted, lose focus and fail to consistently follow through
on our plans.
We need to learn to say no to things that are not necessary.
We can follow Warren Buffet’s “2 list strategy” to prioritize what is important.
The strategy is very simple and very effective.
Here is how it works –
Step 1 - Write down your 25 top career goals.
Or, for a more short-term version, jot down the 25 things you want to achieve this year,
or even this week.
Step 2 - Take a good, hard look at what you've written.
Out of those 25 items, circle your five most important goals.
The big dogs.
The most urgent ones.
Step 3 - The items you just circled are in list A, and the remaining stragglers are in
list B. Easy enough, you just made yourself a short list of priorities.
Everything you didn't circle just became your Avoid-At-All-Cost list.
No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you've succeeded with your
top five.
Prioritizing, and then limiting yourself to just five goals, ensures that you’re magnifying
the effectiveness of your time and energy.
3.
Set Your Discipline in stone In the words of Marcus Aurelius "Labour willingly
and diligently, undistracted and aware of the common interest”.
Discipline is the fundamental action, mind-set and philosophy which keeps one in a routine
and making progress towards whatever one is pursuing.
The basic framework for applying the Discipline of Action consists of three elements:
1) Taking action.
2) Doing things with a purpose.
3) Doing the right things for the right reasons.
Being distressed, or bothered by small things is instantly is terrible for discipline.
You have a goal, you’re working and then thoughts and distress about something external,
which isn’t in your control, de-rails you.
The best thing you can do in these circumstances is to apply Epictetus’ dichotomy of control.
Reinforce to yourself what is within your control and what is out of your control; if
you embrace what is out of your control and accept it, you will experience tranquillity.
Be disciplined, and take control over your impulses and poor instincts.
Direct your actions to what you aim to accomplish and settle for nothing less.
4.
Accept the Sacrifices According to Marcus Aurelius “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”.
Success requires some kind of sacrifice.
You will not gain something for nothing.
That’s not how the world works, and it’s therefore certainly not something you can
bank on.
If you’re not willing to make the necessary sacrifices to attain your goals and objectives,
then you will fail to create the momentum you need to get your desired outcomes.
Giving something up could come in the form of your time, energy or money.
You might need to sacrifice one of these things, or maybe a combination of these things in
order to get what you want.
Life is a long game and you need to sacrifice short-term pleasures for long-term success.
You will have to endure pain and hardship without grumble.
You have to get your heads down, focus on what’s within your control, and shut out
the rest.
5.
Find The Right Scene Marcus Aurelius wisely advises “Do not waste
what remains of your life in speculating about your neighbors, unless with a view to some
mutual benefit.
To wonder what so-and-so is doing and why, or what he is saying, or thinking, or scheming
– in a word, anything that distracts you from fidelity to the ruler within you – means
a loss of opportunity for some other task.”
The truth is you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
This may remind you of your parents warning you when you were caught spending time with
some bad kids: "Remember, you become like your friends”.
Consciously consider whom you allow into your life.
Ask yourself about the people you meet and spend time with: Are they making me better?
Do they encourage me to push forward and do they hold me accountable?
Or do they drag me down to their level?
Warren Buffett, says "It's better to hang out with people better than you.
Pick out associates whose behaviour is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction."
6.
Ruthlessly protect your time In the words of Marcus Aurelius “Not to
live as if you had endless years ahead of you.
Death overshadows you.
While you’re alive and able - be good.”
The old saying is “time is money.”
But we sure don’t act like that.
If people came up to you all day asking for $20 you’d tell them to get lost.
But people do come up to you all day via email, via text, or via phone call asking for your
time.
And you just hand it on over.
Plain and simple, you need to treat your time more like money.
Be more miserly with hours than dollars.
Why?
You can get more money in this life.
But you can’t get more time.
Today there are endless interruptions in our days: phone calls, emails, visitors, unexpected
events.
The number of people who stand ready to consume one's time, to no purpose, is almost countless.
The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful
people say no to almost everything."
Because when you say no, you're protecting your time and your energy to focus on the
big and important items in your life.
7.
Live below your means Marcus Aurelius had asked “What's left to
be prized?
This, I think — to limit our action or inaction to only what's in keeping with the needs of
our own preparation ... it's what the exertions of education and teaching are all about — here
is the thing to be prized” Warren Buffett, whose net worth is approximately
$65 billion, lives in the same house he bought in 1958 for $31,500.
John Urschel, a lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, makes millions but manages to live
on $25,000 a year.
Why?
It's not because these men are cheap.
It's because the things that matter to them are cheap.
Their lifestyle is the result of prioritizing.
They cultivate interests that are decidedly below their financial means, and as a result,
any income would allow them freedom to pursue the things they most care about.
This kind of clarity around what they love most in the world means they can enjoy their
lives.
It means they'd still be happy even if the markets were to turn or their careers were
cut short by injury.
Marcus Aurelius famously sold many of the palace furnishing to pay down his empire's
debt.
He didn't need luxuries, and they were weighing him and his people down.
The more things we desire and the more we have to do to earn or maintain those achievements,
the less we actually enjoy our lives — and the less free we are.
8.
Keep It Simple, Do Your Job To quote Marcus Aurelius “Waste no more
time arguing about what a good man should be.
Be one.”
The problem with most of us is that we overthink things.
What should I wear?
Do they like me?
Am I eating well enough?
What's next for me in life?
Is my boss happy with my work?”
We talk and talk about what we want to do, but most of the time never really ‘step
up’ and do anything.
There is no need to talk and talk about what one should be, just do.
In the end people will not remember you for what you said you would do, but for what you
actually accomplished.
We need to simplify and focus just on what's in front of us.
We don't need to get lost in a thousand other distractions or in other people's business.
Set goals for yourself and accomplish them because there is no point in saying you’ll
do something if you don’t really mean it.
When someone says they will do something or be someone and actually accomplish that they
become respected by their peers.
Those people are someone you can count on.
9.
Constantly adapt and learn from failure Marcus Aurelius advises us “The impediment
to action advances action.
What stands in the way becomes the way”.
Every obstacle you face is the way to advance your next action.
What stands in the way becomes the way.
Obstacles are uncomfortable, stressful, and can be scary.
Sometimes it can feel so overwhelming that you’re not sure how to keep going.
We fail because most of us do same thing over and over again but expect a different result.
We tell ourselves that today we won't get angry, or overeat, - but then don't actually
do anything differently.
We try the same routine and hope it will work this time.
Failure is a part of life we have little choice over.
Learning from failure, on the other hand, is optional.
We have to choose to learn.
We must consciously opt to do things differently — to tweak and change until we actually
get the result we're after.
Bill once said that "It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the
lessons of failure."
10.
Live A Life Centered On Principles, Not Wealth, Awards, Family or Power.
Finally for this video, Marcus Aurelius points out “Something good should be a source of
pride, correct?
‘Yes.’
And can one really take pride in a momentary pleasure?
Please don’t say yes”.
When Marcus was made emperor, he named his step-brother Lucius Verus to be co-emperor.
He did not need to do this.
He did not need to share this power, but he believed it was the right thing to do.
And throughout his reign appears to have followed his own advice about success and loss perfectly:
“To accept it without arrogance, to let it go with indifference.”
Like a true Stoic, he treated success and failure the same - he was immune to the seduction
of external events.
Similarly, when we experience success, we must make sure that it doesn’t change us—that
we continue to maintain our character despite the temptation not to.
Maybe you worked hard, you made some smart bets and here you are, successful.
Maybe someone acquired your startup for an unbelievable sum.
Maybe you’re an athlete and your team just won a championship.
Maybe you just won a coveted award in your field.
Humility is the antidote.
It is the necessary ingredient to add in good times, when we are experiencing success and
feeling on top of the world.
The reality is that we're all guilty of thinking we know it all, and we'd all learn more if
we could set that attitude aside.
As smart or successful as we may be, there is always someone who is smarter, more successful,
and wiser than we are.
We regularly see this type of thinking in some of the most successful business leaders.
They are humble and actively solicit feedback and learn from anybody they meet.
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Thanks for watching.