Quotes I've found interesting

No one can alter how they are perceived or regarded in the minds of those who doubt and fear.

Terry Brooks,   The Last Druid

We are wrong to think that death is ahead of us. Much of our life has already passed. The years we have lived so far are in death's hands.

Seneca,   Moral Letters 1

To Marcus the true measure of his wealth was that whenever he saw someone in need of help, he could provide it. Moreover, that wealth afforded him a unique luxury: he would never have to ask for such a favor in return.

Ryan Holiday,   Daily Stoic Email, 11/19/2021

What has been need not always be.

The Witcher,   The Witcher, s02e02

You deserve moments like that. Moments where you watch the snow fall. Moments where you sit quietly with a book. Moments where you look out the train window, not on a conference call, not checking email, not wondering how long until you arrive in the city, but a moment to check in with yourself, to think about your life and what you want to do with it. Moments with loved ones. Moments where you are grateful, connected, happy, creative, in the zone—doing whatever it is that you do best.  When the Stoics talk about stillness, they aren’t talking about some abstract notion. They are talking about maybe the most important thing you can be doing in your life. They are saying that all the “work” you are doing, all the thoughts you’re expending trying to get ahead, trying to force a breakthrough, are pointless.  The real way to charge ahead is to slow down. To clear your mind. To rejoice in perfect stillness, free of the future and the past, fully present and locked in. You can do it. You deserve that.

Ryan Holiday,   Daily Stoic Email, 4/23/2021

A Stoic thinks, acts, and then accepts. They do not dream, expect and wait.  Because they are not entitled, naive children.

Ryan Holiday,   Daily Stoic Email, 12/9/2021

When your efforts are not directed at a cause or a purpose, how will you know what to do day in and day out? How will you know what to say no to and what to say yes to? How will you know when you’ve had enough, when you’ve reached your goal, when you’ve gotten off track, if you’ve never defined what those things are?

Ryan Holiday,   Daily Stoic

Our great mistake is to try to exact from each person virtues which he does not possess, and to neglect the cultivation of those which he has.

Marguerite Yourcenar,   Memoirs of Hadrian

Character - the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life - is the source from which self-respect springs.

Joan Didion,   Slouching Towards Bethlehem

When change comes, you can scream and try to force things to stay the same. But you usually end up getting trampled. However, if you can direct the changes, they can serve you.

Brandon Sanderson,   Towers of Midnight