Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control (The Stoic Virtues Series)

by Ryan Holiday

“I think Christ has recommended rising early in the morning, by rising from his grave very early,” observed the theologian Jonathan Edwards in the 1720s. Is that why quiet mornings seem so holy? Perhaps it’s that we’re tapping into the traditions of our ancestors, who also rose early to pray, to farm, to fetch water from the river or the well, to travel across the desert before the sun got too hot.

Coach John Wooden started his very first team meeting at the beginning of each UCLA season with a simple exercise. “Men,” he said, “this is how you put your shoes and socks on.”

We’re fit to tackle the big problems only if we do the little things right first.

The one thing all fools have in common, Seneca wrote, is that they’re always getting ready to live.