Success Advice

7 Transformational Lessons From The Philosophy Of Success

Published

9 years ago

Aug 8, 2014

Marcus Aurelius Stoicism Philosophy and Success

If Addicted2Success was founded in ancient times, the majority of readers would be Stoics. Some of the greatest leaders in history were Stoics—Cicero, Epictetus, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius. Stoicism goes hand-in-hand with success because of its emphasis on self-mastery.

The key to happiness and a fulfilled life was found in responding—not reacting to external world circumstances. Stoics taught although we can’t control what happens to us in life, we can certainly control our response. Responding requires being mindful, aware, and in charge of your emotions and behaviours.

In any event, we can choose to perceive it in a productive way, or a destructive way. Stoics chose to see the glass always half-full.

Whatever philosophy is driving your life, these 7 lessons from Stoicism will no doubt bring positive change to your life.

1. Think About Thinking

Stoicism taught a clear distinction between your thoughts and your behaviour. It’s that old adage, think before you act. The mindless person acts without thinking. The ability to pause, and assess a situation before responding is crucial—and the sign of a healthy Stoic mind.

Marcus Aurelius said, “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”

Only a healthy attentive mind can filter and revoke unhealthy thoughts, and ultimately, unhealthy behaviours.

The next time you encounter something unexpected, pause for a moment—ask yourself, What just happened? How am I going to respond? Create a break between your thoughts and your actions.

2. New Day, New Beginnings

“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” — Seneca

Stoics saw each day brimming with exciting opportunities. Remember, it only takes a single event, a single conversation, to completely change the trajectory of your life.

On the other hand, an awful day doesn’t have to be an awful week. What’s done is done, there’s no point in crying over spilt milk. The Stoics taught a form of mental compartmentalisation—not only to see the whole, but also to see the pieces that make up the whole; to put things in a box and take out the trash when needed.

A new day, a clean slate.

3. Purposed Action

“If a person doesn’t know to which port they sail, no wind is favourable.” — Seneca

The Stoic wakes up and knows exactly what they want out of their day. They have a clear destination and clear goals. The emphasis wasn’t only on human action and being busy, but being productive. There’s a big difference between the two. You can be busy and get things done, but none of those things may bring you closer to your goal.

You can sail all day, and end up right where you started. Know your port—your destination—and make sure your actions are steered toward that point.

4. You’re Already There

We’e got it all backward. Almost everyone will agree achievement and success brings happiness. Wrong. It’s happiness that brings success:

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.” — Seneca

What the Stoics knew for centuries, science has recently clued into. Harvard Psychologist Shawn Achor shared his research during a Ted Talk—professionals from various careers who took part in a gratitude practice at the start of their day performed at a much better level than those who didn’t do the gratitude exercises. Achor showed that starting with a positive mindset yields greater results than starting at neutral.

Happiness should never come at the finish-line of anything, but rather as the starting block.

5. Follow The Natural Flow

“No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen. – Epictetus

Ambitious people live ten years in the future. We’re never where we want to be, and patience isn’t our strongest virtue. Stoicism not only taught living according to our inner flow, but also to the external flow of life.

Everything has it’s season—we can’t expect to be harvesting in Winter. And we all know it takes 10-years to become an overnight success.

Constantly trying to find shortcuts will send you round in circles. Just like a great movie, follow the storyline, rather than walking in mid-way.

6. Authenticity

“Were I a nightingale, I would act the part of a nightingale; were I a swan, the part of a swan.” – Epictetus

It’s so important to have mentors and role-models. But emulation can easily turn into imitation, and all you become is a second-rate product. Another foundation in Stocism is the perfect balance between fate and free will.

It’s a mysterious paradox—having the power to change everything, yet being powerless to change anything. The leopard can’t change it’s spots, but at the same time, you can always teach an old dog new tricks.

Practically, it means embracing your unchangeable quirks and leveraging your uniqueness. Figure out what your gifts and talents are, and exploit them. Seek change in order to grow into the best version of you, not so you become more like someone else.

7. Make Peace With Death

“Rehearse death. To say this is to tell a person to rehearse his freedom. A person who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave.” – Seneca

Not something we like to talk about, but if there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s the certainty of death. Whether we realise it or not, death is at the root of all our fears. Our fight/flight mechanisms work to preserve life, to flee from death. But it often gets triggered way before death even enters into the picture—and cripples us from doing what we’re passionate, but afraid of.

The fear of death is the greatest form of slavery. Stoicism encouraged seeing death as a natural part of life, to stare death in the face, see it as normal, and be released from it’s fear.

Steve Jobs said it beautifully, “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Related Topics:cicero history lessons of success marcus aurelius roman philosophy seneca stoic philosophy stoicism stoics Success Advice

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Thai Nguyen

A refugee from Vietnam, raised in Australia, with a BA from Texas, Thai writes for many publications including The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, and Addicted2Success. A professional chef, international kickboxer, and spiritual teacher, Thai is passionate about helping people become the best version of themselves. Signup for his free weekly Infographics at TheUtopianLife.com | Connect @ThaiWins | On Facebook

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All of us come to this world with our own reserve of magic unfortunately, not everyone can unleash it

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How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

Published

3 weeks ago

Nov 16, 2023

Jamelle Sanders

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In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness.

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be.

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time.

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.