Ambition means tying your well-being to what other people say or do. Self-indulgence means tying it to the things that happen to you. Sanity means tying it to your own actions.
Marcus Aurelius
For millennia, the Stoic philosophers have been resources that leaders and overachievers have consulted for inspiration, advice and guidance for resilience, courage and duty. Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher himself. He wrote his thoughts in a nightly journal whilst leading the Roman army. These thoughts were later published as Meditations, which remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. With a profound understanding of human behaviour, Aurelius provides insights, wisdom, and practical guidance on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity to interacting with others. Consequently, the Meditations have become required reading for statesmen and philosophers.
George Washington quoted the play Cato, about the Roman Senator and Stoic philosopher by Joseph Addison to encourage and dissuade his armies.
Free from the bustle of a camp and the intrigues of court, I shall view the busy world ‘in the calm light of mild philosophy,’ and with that serenity of mind, which the Soldier in his pursuit of glory, and the Statesman of fame have not time to enjoy.
George Washington, in a letter to a friend after the Revolution about his return to private life
John Adams stated that “all the ages of the world have not produced a greater statesman and philosopher united in the same character” as Cicero.
Admiral James Stockdale, awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, knew Epictetus’ works verbatum.
More recently General James Mattis, who served in the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War carried a copy of ‘Meditations‘ on every deployment.
Michael Lombardi, who has three decades experience as an executive in the NFL and won three Super Bowls with some of the best brains in football including Bill Walsh and Bill Belichick. Lombardi was largely responsible for the spread of Stoicism across the NFL. This manifested in many teams’ in the League rosters having assigned reading of Ryan Holiday’s book ‘The Obstacle Is The Way‘, a book I highly recommend everyone reads.
Bill Walsh wrote his own book, ‘The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership‘ that contain much Stoicism. Other leaders who have displayed stoic philosophy in their world outlooks include Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, who wrote ‘Lean in: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead‘ and English-American author Simon Sinek who wrote ‘Leaders Eat Last‘ and ‘Start with Why‘.
How can we follow in their footsteps?
Go straight to the seat of intelligence
Marcus Aurelius
This is the first in a series of posts that will aim to teach lesson from the Stoics that can help you be a better leader, even if that means just leading your own life. This first one is about on you focusing on what you can control and disregarding the rest.
There is a famous and intriguing statue of stoic philosopher Seneca and Roman Emperor Nero sculpted by Spaniard Eduardo Barrón in 1904. It captures the essence of the two men’s characters. Seneca, dressed only in a simple toga, is trying to teach Nero from a document on his lap. Nero is wearing jewellery and sits in a throne. He has a bad-tempered and sulky expression with clenched fists; trying to concentrate but is looking at the ground.
Seneca clearly sees Nero’s body language however he persists. He persisted for many years. Why? He wished any if it would get through to the Emperor. He knew the stakes were high. He knew his life depended on teaching Nero to be good. He, in fact, died trying. Seneca was caught up in the aftermath of the Pisonian conspiracy, a plot to kill Nero. Although not involed in the conspiracy, Nero ordered Seneca to kill himself. Before his death, Seneca had lost most of his reputation by working with Nero without much impact on Nero, a deranged man who had little interest in being a good emperor.
What Eduardo Barron likely intended from the sculpter was to illustrate a Stoic lesson: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink. You control what you do and say, not whether people listen.
Epictetus believed our primary task was to determine what was in our control and what is out of our hands.
“ta eph’hemin, ta ouk eph’hemin
Two thousand years old Stoic phrase
What is up to us, what is not up to us.
What Is Up To Us: What Can You Control?
Our attitude. Our decisions. Our open-mindedness. Our perspective. Our emotions. Our creativity. Our judgments. Our desires. Our determination.
All you can do is show up. Do your work. And you can keep showing up, even if you are rejected, dispised, or disregarded.
You gave someone very careful instructions that they ignored, costing you greatly?
You learn that your top employee has been offered a new role oustide the company?
You discover that your computer has erased a year’s worth of your hard work?
The competition announce an amazing innovation?
None of that is pleasant.
None of that is under your control.
You can not let it beat you. You can not drop to ground or stamp your feet. You can not tear out your hair or throw you metaphorical toys out of the pram.
You can shrug it off. You can recognise what is inside your control and what isn’t. You can focus all your energy on making better choices and learning from your mistake.
You can control whether you get any exercise.
You can control what you eat.
You can control how you treat other people.
So, next time you are feeling hard done by, recognise what is up to us, what is not up to us. Make the changes you can, and disregard the rest.
If we judge as good and evil only the things in the power of our own choice, then there is no room left for blaming gods or being hostile to others
Marcus Aurelius
Enjoy!
Scott
Source: https://dailystoic.com/leadership/