Don’t Be All About Business

Is there anything sadder than a person whose work is their life? They neglect their family, they put in crazy hours, they have no interests, no hobbies outside what they do at the office. It’s bad enough to be stuck next to them at a party, but imagine what it must be like to be inside their heads. The only thing they care about is work...work that few notice or even understand and fewer still will care about in the future. Marcus Aurelius had a pretty important job. He was the Emperor. Millions depended on him. He was famous. They literally put his face on the coins of the currency. Yet, he reminded himself in Meditations, not “to be all about business,” because he could see what our friends who make work their life have trouble seeing: very soon, no one will care. Marcus liked to repeat to himself the names of the emperors who came before him and marvel at how unfamiliar they were, how quickly they had been forgotten. He also knew that character was a far more important legacy, because as impactful as his actions as chief of state were, it was how he treated the people around him that had the deepest effect. We would do well to remember this lesson. There is more to life than work, more to life than just making money or getting bigger, stronger, faster. Instead, we should do the most important work--becoming the person we need to be for the people who need it from us the most. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. 📢 Share | ⚙️ Manage Subscription

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com.

• 0:30Ryan Holiday?

  "Don't be all about business. Is there anything sadder than a person whose work is their life? They neglect their family, they put in crazy hours, they have no interests, no hobbies outside, they do at the office. It's bad enough to be stuck next to them at a party, but imagine what it must be like to be inside their heads. The only thing they care about is work, work that few notice or even understand, and fewer still will care about in the future." Marcus Aurelius had a pretty important job. He was the emperor. Millions depended on him. He was famous. They literally put his face on the coins

• 1:09Ryan Holiday?

  of the currency. Yet he reminded himself in meditations not to be all about business, because he could see what our friends who make their work their life have trouble seeing. Very soon, no one will care. Marcus liked to repeat to himself the names of the emperors who came before him and marvel at how unfamiliar they were, how quickly they had been forgotten. He also knew that character was a far more important legacy, because impactful as his actions as chief of state were, it was how he treated the people around him that had the deepest effect. "We would do well to remember this lesson. There is more to life

• 1:49Ryan Holiday?

  than work, more to life than just making money or getting bigger, stronger, faster. Instead, we should do the most important work, becoming the person we need to be for the people who need it from us the most."