Epictetus

Principles are our summary of their public statements.

• Adapt guidance to specific situations

  Management

  Effective mentorship requires applying core principles to the specific, concrete life situations of the student or team member.

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

  Source The Enchiridion  (opens in a new tab)

• Maintain Rational Perspective Under Pressure

  Resilience

  Hardship is tolerable as long as one can find a rational reason or purpose behind the endurance.

  Supporting quotes

  • “What then should a man have in readiness in such circumstances? What else than this? What is mine, and what is not mine; and what is permitted to me, and what is not permitted to me.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• The Primacy of the Will

  Mindset

  External constraints like physical limitations or market conditions cannot force a change in one's internal character or resolve.

  Supporting quotes

  • “What then should a man have in readiness in such circumstances? What else than this? What is mine, and what is not mine; and what is permitted to me, and what is not permitted to me.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Avoid Despair of Perfection

  Resilience

  One should not neglect self-improvement or business maintenance simply because they cannot reach the absolute highest degree of success.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Epictetus is not superior to Socrates; but if he is not inferior, this is enough for me”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• The law of the stronger

  Negotiation

  Accept that those with more physical force or numbers will always win in physical matters, but they can never overpower a superior mind in matters of opinion.

  Supporting quotes

  • “When then any man assents to that which is false, be assured that he did not intend to assent to it as false, for every soul is unwillingly deprived of the truth”

    “I have learned to see that everything which happens, if it be independent of my will, is nothing to me.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Separate Material from Use

  Strategy

  External circumstances are indifferent, but how one chooses to use those circumstances is where true value and skill lie.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion  (opens in a new tab)

• Focus on the output

  Product

  The process of learning and production is often messy and unattractive, but the final utility of the product justifies the labor.

  Supporting quotes

  • “every art has a certain strength and confidence in the things which belong to it.”

    “Every art when it is taught causes labor to him who is unacquainted with it and is unskilled in it”

• Starve the negative habit

  Productivity

  To eliminate a bad trait or habit, one must stop providing the triggers and environment that allow it to grow.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion  (opens in a new tab)

• Avoid the trap of means

  Focus

  Do not get so distracted by the beauty of a method or a tool that you forget the ultimate goal you are trying to achieve.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion  (opens in a new tab)

• Cultivate internal superiority

  Leadership

  True superiority is found in modesty, fidelity, and justice rather than external status, titles, or physical strength.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion  (opens in a new tab)

• Focus on the Internally Free

  Focus

  One should focus only on things that are not subject to hindrance, such as desires, aversions, and the power of assent.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion  (opens in a new tab)

• Reject Great Slavery

  Integrity

  Trading one's integrity for high positions or large contracts is simply becoming a 'great slave' rather than a small one.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Is that shameful to you which is not your own act, that of which you are not the cause, that which has come to you by accident”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Social Opportunity Cost

  Leadership

  Improving oneself often requires acting differently than old associates, which may result in losing their favor; one must choose which is more valuable.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Do not attach yourself to them and they will not be necessary; do not say to yourself that they are necessary, and then they are not necessary.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Focus on Internal Stamps

  Hiring

  Judge yourself and others by character traits like gentleness and tolerance rather than external status or physical form.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion  (opens in a new tab)

• Build an Impregnable Mind

  Resilience

  Realize that external assets are perishable; true security comes from cultivating disciplined opinions that cannot be taken by force.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion  (opens in a new tab)

• Seek Understanding Over Consumption

  Strategy

  Most people focus on the 'fodder' of life like wealth and status, but the wise focus on understanding the purpose and administration of the world.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Golden Sayings of Epictetus, with the Hymn of Cleanthes  (opens in a new tab)

• Practice private discipline

  Mindset

  True self-improvement should be done for its own sake rather than for outward show or the applause of spectators.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Golden Sayings of Epictetus, with the Hymn of Cleanthes  (opens in a new tab)

• Prepare well then accept outcomes

  Risk

  Do everything in your power to prepare for a task, but once external factors take over, accept the result without fear or complaint.

  Supporting quotes

  • “But when I have found my interpreter, what remains is to put in practice his instructions. This itself is the only thing to be proud of.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Reject Flattery to Maintain Integrity

  Leadership

  A leader should resist all forms of adulation, even when it seems truthful, to avoid being overcome by insidious social attacks.

  Source Seekers after God  (opens in a new tab)

• Self-Awareness Over External Blame

  Learning

  People often fail to see their own flaws, like avarice, and blame their environment instead of seeking internal guidance.

  Source Seekers after God  (opens in a new tab)