"A normal person, a lesser (and, sad to say, more typical) leader might lament this parade of tragedies. Not [[Marcus Aurelius|Marcus]]. It wasn’t bad that this stuff happened to him. It was an opportunity. “**The impediment to action advances action**,” he wrote to himself, “**what stands in the way becomes the way**.” "**All the adversity, all the difficulty—as well as the awful power and luxury—was an opportunity for him to prove himself**. To show that he had really learned from [[Antoninus]], that he didn’t just believe in temperance, but that he lived it. --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[stoicism]], [[obstacle-is-the-way]], [[discipline]], [[ego]], [[humility]], [[failure]], **Source** -- [[202409150124 - B - Discipline is Destiny]]