Marcus Aurelius

One of the most important Stoic philosophers.

Marcus Aurelius (26 April 121 – 17 March 180 AD) was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus’ death in 169. He was the last of the Five Good Emperors, and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. During his reign, the Empire defeated a revitalized Parthian Empire in the East; Aurelius’ general Avidius Cassius sacked the capital Ctesiphon in 164. In central Europe, Aurelius fought the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians with success during the Marcomannic Wars, with the threat of the Germanic looming. A revolt in the East led by Avidius Cassius failed to gain momentum and was suppressed immediately. Marcus Aurelius’ Stoic tome Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a philosophy of service and duty, describing how to find and preserve equanimity in the midst of conflict by following nature as a source of guidance and inspiration.

PhilosophersNotes on Marcus Aurelius's Books All PhilosophersNotes

Meditations

by Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor-Philosopher of the Roman Empire and one of the most enlightened leaders ever. Meditations is a collection of journal entries he wrote to himself and in this Note, we'll explore some Big Ideas of his Stoic philosophy—from the importance of never confusing ourselves with visions of a lifetime all at once, to not worrying about what others think of us and living a life of purpose and service.

Packs:

Purpose & Stoicism

+1s Inspired by Marcus Aurelius All +1s

The Equanimity Game
#98

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

How to Play It Like an Emperor

In our last +1, we talked about getting really good at recovering from our inevitable glitches. My favorite way to do that? I like to think of Marcus Aurelius. In his

+1 inspired by Note: Meditations

Packs:

Antifragility & Stoicism

equanimity Happiness Meaning Mind Philosophy Practice priorities time management tool unfulfilled Wisdom

Visions of a Lifetime
#198

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

Marcus Aurelius on the Present Moment

Marcus Aurelius once wrote to himself, “Never confuse yourself with visions of an entire lifetime at once.” As a guy who often wants to have it all perfectly figured out right now and forever, I remember being awe struck...

+1 inspired by Note: Meditations

Packs:

Conquering Perfectionism & Conquering Procrastination

Areté baby steps Conquering Procrastination conquering-perfectionism Happiness soul Spirit Vision

Seneca: The Worse a Person Is the Less He Feels It
#381

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

Aurelius: Don’t Like Yourself? Why Would I Care Whether or Not You Like Me?

Continuing our good times with our Stoic friends, how about couple more gems from Seneca and Aurelius? Seneca once said, “The worse a person is the less he feels it.”

+1 inspired by Note: Meditations

Packs:

Confidence & Stoicism

Compassion Mind self-awareness Wisdom

To Seek Fear
#687

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

Is Step 1 in Conquering Fear

In our last +1, we talked about conquering fear. Specifically, we soaked our minds in Stan Beecham’s epic wisdo...

+1 inspired by Note: Meditations

Packs:

Antifragility & Confidence

antifragility confidence courage Mental Toughness Mind Mindset Virtue

Ferrari-Optimizing Pit Stops
#783

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

Who’s in Your Crew? and… Who’s Crew Are YOU On?

In our last +1, we talked about getting more clarity on your destiny while Optimizing your vehicle so you can reach your destination in style. I suggested we consider spending some time in the Optimize Service Center for a little vehicle fine-tuning. After typing that, I realized what we...

+1 inspired by Note: Meditations

Packs:

Leadership & Modern Hērō

Actualization community Health leadership modern-hero service soul Spirit

Aurelius on Life’s Great Harmony
#808

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

And How to Stay in Tune

In our last +1, we talked about Mister Rogers’s wisdom on the symphony of life and the wonderful joy of harmonizing our uniqueness with the uniqueness of others. That wisdom makes me think of Marcus Aure...

+1 inspired by Note: Meditations

Packs:

Creativity & Purpose

big-picture big-three community creativity Eudaimonia Inspiration purpose soul Spirit

A World Without Heroes
#934

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

Let’s Choose This Day to Be One

As we’ve discussed many times, one of my greatest joys is reading with Emerson. Especially these days as we get to engage in deeper and deeper micro-chats about life, virtue, and being a hero. I really enjoyed our latest series: Beyonders by Brandon Mull. Brandon is the same guy ...

+1 inspired by Note: Meditations

Packs:

Modern Hērō & Purpose

Agency Areté big-picture Hero modern-hero purpose soul Spirit

Sign In Forgot your password?

No problem!

Marcus Aurelius

One of the most important Stoic philosophers.

PhilosophersNotes on Marcus Aurelius's Books All PhilosophersNotes

Packs:

+1s Inspired by Marcus Aurelius All +1s

The Equanimity Game #98 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

Packs:

Visions of a Lifetime #198 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

Packs:

Seneca: The Worse a Person Is the Less He Feels It #381 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

Packs:

To Seek Fear #687 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

Packs:

Ferrari-Optimizing Pit Stops #783 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

Packs:

Aurelius on Life’s Great Harmony #808 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

Packs:

A World Without Heroes #934 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

Packs:

This content is for members only!

The Equanimity Game
#98

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

Visions of a Lifetime
#198

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

Seneca: The Worse a Person Is the Less He Feels It
#381

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

To Seek Fear
#687

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

Ferrari-Optimizing Pit Stops
#783

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

Aurelius on Life’s Great Harmony
#808

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now

A World Without Heroes
#934

Get instant access to all +1's!

Join nearly 10,000 members in the
1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge
and start optimizing your life today.

Join Now