“If you set yourself to your present task along the path of true reason, with all determination, vigour, and good will: if you admit no distraction, but keep your own divinity pure and standing strong, as if you had to surrender it right now; if you grapple this to you, expecting nothing, shirking nothing, but self-content with each present action taken in accordance with nature and a heroic truthfulness in all that you say and mean—then you will lead a good life. And nobody is able to stop you.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (Page 21)
“Peak experiences are fun, but you always have to come back. Learning to appreciate ordinary moments is the key to a fulfilling life.”
Cory Muscara, Twitter
“You determine the quality of your mind by the nature of your daily thoughts. If they circle around the same obsessions and dramas, you create an arid and monotonous mental landscape, and this secretly makes you miserable. Instead, you must seek to radiate your mind outward, to unleash your imagination and intensify your experience of life.”
Robert Greene, The Daily Laws (Page 417)
“The future is only an illusion inferred from our present state. What is important is not the length of life, but the depth of life. What is most important is not to make life longer, but to take your soul out of time, as every sublime act does. Only then does your life become fulfilled. And do not ask yourself questions about time. Jesus did not explain a thing about the eternity of life, but his influence brought people to the eternal.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, via A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 345)
“Sometimes it benefits us to be passive: to allow life to come to us and unfold without force. Other times it benefits us to be aggressive: to bend the world to our will and actively shape the life we want. Are you being too passive or too aggressive right now?”
James Clear, Blog
“Even the longest biography is only 66 hours on audio. This means that the author has to leave out almost everything. We write our own autobiography each day by deciding what to focus on, what to rehash, and what to worry about. The same life story can be told in many ways, and the way we tell it changes who we are and who we become. Who is editing your version?”
Seth Godin, Blog
“Make decisions that your 80-year old self and 10-year-old self would be proud of. Your 80-year-old self cares about the long-term compounding of the decisions of today. Your 10-year-old self reminds you to stay foolish and have some fun along the way. When you make decisions with both of them in mind, you have a recipe for a productive, joy-filled life.”
Sahil Bloom
