Today, I read an interesting quote from Epictetus.

“There are three areas in which the person who would be wise and good must be trained. 

The first has to do with desires and aversions—that a person may never miss the mark in desires nor fall into what repels them. 

The second has to do with impulses to act and not to act—and more broadly, with duty—that a person may act deliberately for good reasons and not carelessly. 

The third has to do with freedom from deception and composure and the whole area of judgment, the assent our mind gives to its perceptions. 

Of these areas, the chief and most urgent is the first which has to do with the passions, for strong emotions arise only when we fail in our desires and aversions.”  —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.2.1–3a

The thing that struck me was that this was written 100’s of years ago, and yet, it still aligns with Mind Vault’s Success Philosophy of Direct, Adapt, and Iterate. 

The first aligns with direct - directing your mind towards your desires and avoiding those things that would take you off course, the aversions. 

The second aligns with iteration - the impulse to act and not act and the motivation, discipline, and drive one must have to continue iterating again and again until you succeed. 

The last part of the second area “that a person may act deliberately for good reasons and not carelessly” and the third area which has to do with freedom from deception and the whole area of judgment…” aligns with adapt, as it’s our ability to adapt and act deliberately and with judgment that guides our iterations. 

The alignment and its application is interesting to contemplate. 

​How do you feel these three areas from Epictetus align with our philosophy? Does it change the way you’d implement it or simply provide a different perspective? 

Death - Before - Dishonor

To your success,

Nate

​P.S. If you’d like to share your reflections with me, feel free to email me at reflections@mindvaultllc.com as I’ll be happy to hear your thoughts. This email goes directly to me and is reserved only for those who read these Reflections.