The Pomp Letter - Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

To investors,

I have been reading one book per week this year. This past week’s book was Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Highly recommend reading it. If you are interested in the individual highlights that I made in the physical book, you can read those here. Hope you enjoy these notes every Monday morning.

Book’s main argument:

Marcus Aurelius was the Roman emperor and a Stoic philosopher. Although he had absolute power, Aurelius ruled with ethics and virtue. This book is a compilation of his personal notes to himself. They were never meant for publication or distribution, but thankfully they have been made available thousands of years later. It is fascinating to read the personal notes of one of history’s most powerful men.

5 Big Ideas:

💡 Idea #1 — Humans need to have a purpose. Wandering aimlessly through life is not only unproductive, but it also leads to a life that lacks virtue. Marcus writes:

“People who labor all their lives but have no purpose to direct every thought and impulse toward are wasting their time—even when hard at work.”

“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.” 

“Even the smallest things ought to be directed toward a goal.”

You can use this clear purpose to inspire your daily actions.

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work—as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for—the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?””

You can become distracted if you lack purpose. Combat the distractions with intense focus.

“Concentrate every minute like a Roman—like a man—on doing what’s in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with justice. And on freeing yourself from all other distractions. Yes, you can—if you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centered, irritable. You see how few things you have to do to live a satisfying and reverent life? If you can manage this, that’s all even the gods can ask of you.”

A big part of remaining focused is to learn to refrain from worrying what other people think, do, or say.

“Don’t waste the rest of your time here worrying about other people—unless it affects the common good. It will keep you from doing anything useful. You’ll be too preoccupied with what so-and-so is doing, and why, and what they’re saying, and what they’re thinking, and what they’re up to, and all the other things that throw you off and keep you from focusing on your own mind.”

💡 Idea #2 — Don’t waste your time doing things in pursuit of praise or posthumous fame. You won’t be remembered. It is a waste of time and energy. Marcus writes:

“Or is your reputation that’s bothering you? But look at how soon we’re all forgotten. The abyss of endless time that swallows it all. The emptiness of all those applauding hands. The people who praise us—how capricious they are, how arbitrary. And the tiny region in which it all takes place. The whole earth a point in space—and most of it uninhabited. How many people there will be to admire you, and who they are.” 

Chasing praise will ultimately make you susceptible to doing whatever other people want you to do. Your pursuit becomes a weakness. Eventually they own you.

“Anything at all: the applause of the crowd, high office, wealth, or self-indulgence. All of them might seem to be compatible with it—for a while. But suddenly they control us and sweep us away.”

Many of the people you are chasing for praise and fame are not able to live up to the artificial standards they have created. They will all eventually die too.

“He cares nothing for their praise—men who can’t even meet their own standards.”

“People who are excited by posthumous fame forget that the people who remember them will soon die too.”

“People out for posthumous fame forget that the Generations To Come will be the same annoying people they know now. And just as mortal. What does it matter to you if they say x about you, or think y?”

💡 Idea #3 — We all die. Life is short. We must remember it is important to enjoy life while you are here and don’t worry about small things. Marcus writes:

“The age of Vespasian, for example. People doing the exact same things: marrying, raising children, getting sick, dying, waging war, throwing parties, doing business, farming, flattering, boasting, distrusting, plotting, hoping others will die, complaining about their own lives, falling in love, putting away money, seeking high office and power. And that life they led is nowhere to be found.”

The sooner you accept your mortality, the faster you can start living your life. We all meet the same fate so don’t be arrogant enough to think you will get out alive.

“Suppose that a god announced that you were going to die tomorrow “or the day after.” Unless you were a complete coward you wouldn’t kick up a fuss about which day it was—what difference could it make? Now recognize that the difference between years from now and tomorrow is just as small.” 

“In short, know this: Human lives are brief and trivial. Yesterday a blob of semen; tomorrow embalming fluid, ash.”

Regardless of your achievements and status, you will meet the ultimate fate.

“Alexander the Great and his mule driver both died and the same thing happened to both. They were absorbed alike into the life force of the world, or dissolved alike into atoms.”

“Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly.”

💡 Idea #4 — You should aspire to live a virtuous life. Be a good person. There are many ways you can do this. Marcus writes:

“When you need encouragement, think of the qualities the people around you have: this one’s energy, that one’s modesty, another’s generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging as when virtues are visibly embodied in the people around us, when we’re practically showered with them. It’s good to keep this in mind.”

Pursuing a virtuous life is the only thing Marcus believes is not a waste of time.

“The only thing that isn’t worthless: to live this life out truthfully and rightly. And be patient with those who don’t.”

You must ensure that you are good, regardless of the circumstances.

“No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to be good.”

“It’s quite possible to be a good man without anyone realizing it. Remember that.”

“It’s silly to try to escape other people’s faults. They are inescapable. Just try to escape your own.”

Nature demands you to be a good person. Don’t disappoint nature.

“The first step: Don’t be anxious. Nature controls it all. And before long you’ll be no one, nowhere—like Hadrian, like Augustus. The second step: Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your eyes on it. Remind yourself that your task is to be a good human being; remind yourself what nature demands of people. Then do it, without hesitation, and speak the truth as you see it. But with kindness. With humility. Without hypocrisy.”

💡 Idea #5 — Never forget that you control your mind. It is your most powerful weapon. Don’t let it become dull. Use it as a tool and a place of safety. Marcus writes:

“People find pleasure in different ways. I find it in keeping my mind clear.”

“Give yourself a gift: the present moment.”

“The mind without passions is a fortress. No place is more secure. Once we take refuge there we are safe forever.”

Once you master your mind, you will rid yourself of wasted actions and thoughts.

“No carelessness in your actions. No confusion in your words. No imprecision in your thoughts. No retreating into your own soul, or trying to escape it. No overactivity.”

This disciplined mental state can create immense happiness.

“If you do the job in a principled way, with diligence, energy and patience, if you keep yourself free of distractions, and keep the spirit inside you undamaged, as if you might have to give it back at any moment. If you can embrace this without fear or expectation—can find fulfillment in what you’re doing now, as Nature intended, and in superhuman truthfulness (every word, every utterance)—then your life will be happy. No one can prevent that.”

Memorable quotes:

1. Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.

2. Your ability to control your thoughts—treat it with respect.

3. How to act: No surplus words or unnecessary actions.

4. It can ruin your life only if it ruins your character. Otherwise it cannot harm you—inside or out.

5. The best revenge is to not be like that.

6. The only thing that isn’t worthless: to live this life out truthfully and rightly. And be patient with those who don’t.

7. Look at the past—empire succeeding empire—and from that, extrapolate the future: the same thing. No escape from the rhythm of events.

8. Don’t pay attention to other people’s minds.

9. To stop talking about what the good man is like, and just be one.

10. Everything was born to die.

11. Someone despises me. That’s their problem. Mine: not to do or say anything despicable. Someone hates me. Their problem.

12. How much more damage anger and grief do than the things that cause them.

13. That kindness is invincible, provided it’s sincere—not ironic or an act.

14. It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.

15. If it’s not right, don’t do it. If it’s not true, don’t say it.

Pomp’s Takeaways:

This is one of the timeless books of history. Marcus Aurelius was probably the most powerful man in the world, yet he used his notes to constantly remind himself to rule with patience, kindness, and virtue. If he needs the reminders, the rest of us are probably in the same situation.

My first big takeaway from the book is how little the world has changed over a few thousand years. Marcus writes about problems with personal relationships, power dynamics, patience & anger, and other struggles that are still present today. Humanity has evolved and technology has thrust us forward, but human nature is more similar than ever before.

My second big takeaway was how repetitive the various learnings are across Marcus’ notes. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, how powerful you become, or what level of wealth you obtain — we need constant reminders to stay the course. Even if you make mistakes or drift away from the person that you want to be, simply start today being the good, virtuous person that you aspire to be.

My third big takeaway was how warriors of different cultures all learn the same lessons. Use Jocko Willink and Marcus as an example — there is a story that Jocko’s platoon always describes where Jocko would respond with “Good” regardless of what happened. If it was a positive development, “Good.” If it was a negative development, “Good.” Seemingly bad developments were merely opportunities. Why is that interesting? Because Marcus wrote thousands of years ago: “Something happens to you. Good. It was meant for you by nature, woven into the pattern from the beginning.” Pretty cool.

My fourth big takeaway was how mentally tough the leaders of a civilization used to be. Marcus writes “Everything that happens is either endurable or not. If it’s endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining. If it’s unendurable…then stop complaining. Your destruction will mean its end as well.” Stop complaining. Those two words could be repeated over and over again daily to both political parties in the United States, and many others around the world. Stop complaining. Be tough. Get your job done. But stop complaining.

My last big takeaway was how Marcus drew inspiration and learning from those who came before him. Not only does he reference many historical figures in his writing, but he has an entire section of Meditations that is dedicated to analyzing what Marcus found so admirable about people close to him. For example, he explains the following about his adopted father (who trained him to become the emperor of Rome):

“My adopted father: the way he handled the material comforts that fortune had supplied him in such abundance—without arrogance and without apology. If they were there, he took advantage of them. If not, he didn’t miss them.

My adopted father: he never exhibited rudeness, lost control of himself, or turned violent. No one ever saw him sweat. Everything was to be approached logically and with due consideration, in a calm and orderly fashion but decisively, and with no loose ends.”

It doesn’t matter how successful you are, you can always learn from other people. It takes a special individual to have all the power in the world, yet be thoughtful enough to analyze the admirable qualities of family and friends. Marcus Aurelius wrote notes to himself and never thought they would be published. Little did he know — we would be reading them thousands of years later and consider his work to be timeless.

As I mentioned, this past week’s book was Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Highly recommend reading it. If you are interested in the individual highlights that I made in the physical book, you can read those here. Hope you enjoy these notes. Feel free to leave a comment - I read all of them.

-Pomp

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