Quotes I've found interesting

Is this not the time when a man must take time to appreciate what he has?

Brandon Sanderson,   Towers of Midnight

No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now.

Marcus Aurelius  

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

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

The man who has anticipated the coming of troubles takes away their power when they arrive.

Seneca  

The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.

Jack London  

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

You also have a duty to your future self to release the project. Every time you don't release a project, you're telling yourself that you’re the kind of person who doesn't ship. Tell yourself that enough, and you'll start to believe it. Trust me, it's hard to unwind. Possible! But hard.

Aaron Francis,   The ReadME Project

Small things were important. Seconds were small things, and if you heaped enough of those on top of one another, they became a man's life.

Brandon Sanderson,   Towers of Midnight

A very small part of an historical piece of fiction I stumbled upon: the hero goes through a prison. He crosses path with a very secondary character locked behind bars that say to him: "Hero, I envy you to go on adventures while I rot here in prison with a life sentence. I deserved it but now my life is useless, I'll spend it here in this small cell, there's no point to it." Poor man. He can't have a family, accumulate wealth or be useful to his community. The hero then tranquillises him: "Don't worry friend, because even in prison you can still practice and live a virtuous life."

@aka457,   Reddit