Life Lessons from Meditations by Marcus Aurelias

1. Obstacles are opportunities

Marcus mastered the art of turning every obstacle into an opportunity. Nothing was universally negative in his mind. In this vein, every hardship has at least one positive aspect.

2. Don't spend time worrying about what people think of you

"Your energy and time are both limited, so don't waste them on what those inconsequential to your life are doing thinking and saying."

3. Focus on the present

"Each of us lives only now, this brief instant. The rest has been lived already, or it impossible to see."

4. You are the architect of your perceptions

"You have the power over your mind -- not outside events. Realize this and you will find strength."

5. Value the right things in life and your life will have value

“A person’s worth is measured by the worth of what he values.”

6. No goal is out of reach

“Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish.”

7. Be grateful for what you have

"Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours."

8. Be a good person rather than thinking about being a good person

Marcus says this with such class that we ought to simply quote: “don’t go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one.”

9. Don't mistake opinions and preference for facts

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”