\u201cThis can be swiftly taught in very few words: virtue is the only good; there is no certain good without virtue; and virtue resides in our nobler part, which is the rational one. And what can this virtue be? True and steadfast judgment. For from this will arise every mental impulse, and by it every appearance that spurs our impulses will be rendered clear.\u201d
\n\u2014SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 71.32
\nThink about someone you know who has character of granite. Why are they so dependable, trustworthy, excellent? Why do they have a sterling reputation?
\nYou might see a pattern: consistency. They are honest not only when it\u2019s convenient. They are not only there for you when it counts. The qualities that make them admirable come through in every action (\u201carise with every mental impulse\u201d).
\nWhy do we revere people like Theodore Roosevelt, for example? It isn\u2019t because he was brave once, or courageous once, or tough once. It\u2019s because those qualities are shot through every one of the stories about him. When he was young and weak, he became a boxer. \u00a0When he was younger and frail, he went to a gym in his home, every day, for hours on end. When he was shattered by the loss of his wife and mother on the same day, he went to The Badlands and herded cattle. And on and on.
\nYou become the sum of your actions, and as you do, what flows from that\u2014your impulses\u2014reflect the actions you\u2019ve taken. Choose wisely.\u201d
\nExcerpt From: Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman. \u201cThe Daily Stoic.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThis can be swiftly taught in very few words: virtue is the only good; there is no certain good without virtue; and virtue resides in our nobler part, which is the rational one. And what can this virtue be? True and steadfast judgment. For from this will arise every mental impulse, and by it every …<\/p>\n