Use Ancient Philosophy To Direct Your Day And Master Yourself

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What if the most modern path to success is paved with ancient stones? We take seven time-tested ideas from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Lao Tzu, Socrates, Confucius, and Rumi and translate them into clear steps you can use today—less theory, more traction. From owning your attention to mastering your reactions, we map the gap between knowing and doing so you can move through chaos with clarity.

We start by drawing a sharp line between what you can control and what you cannot, then rebuild a day around what matters most. You’ll hear how to stop outsourcing your choices to other people’s opinions, and how to direct your thinking so it works for you instead of against you. We talk about consistency as self-respect, not just productivity; the uncomfortable but liberating work of self-knowledge; and the quiet power of restraint that outperforms status, pressure, and noise. Finally, we bring it all together with Rumi’s reminder to change yourself before you try to change the world, showing how personal alignment naturally scales into impact.

Along the way, you’ll get practical prompts and examples—turning quotes into actions and ideals into habits. If you’ve felt pulled in a dozen directions, struggled with comparison, or wanted a sturdier inner compass, this conversation offers tools you can apply before the day ends. Ancient philosophy, modern results: own your mind, honor your time, choose your standards, and let growth speak for you.

Enjoyed the show? Follow and subscribe, share this episode with someone who needs a reset, and tell us which idea you’ll put into practice first. Your takeaway might spark someone else’s turning point.

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Warm regards,
Fabio Posca | Journey to Success
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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
Socrates.
Hi guys, my name is Fabio fromJourney to Success and welcome.
Today we introduce the conceptof ancient philosophers and how

(00:21):
their wisdom can still offervaluable life acts even today.
The profound insights ofphilosophers, guys, from from
thousands of years ago, longbefore our time at the beginning
of technology and the AI, youknow, still hold significant
value today.

(00:42):
Despite the the vast differencesin our lifestyles compared to
theirs, we can always gainvaluable knowledge from the
perspectives on life, you know,applying the wisdom to our
modern experiences.
So today I want to share sevenpractical tips from ancient
philosophers.

(01:03):
And uh I hope they stick andthat we can learn something from
them.
But before going forward, asalways, please subscribe.
Alright, so I know this is theright direction to lead you
guys, to drive you, to guide youtowards your journey to success.

(01:23):
And let's get started, alright?
As always.
So number one, you have powerover your mind, not outside
events.
Realize this and you will findstrength.
Marcus Aurelius.

(01:44):
In my opinion, there are twotypes of people at the end of
the story, guys.
The first group, the first groupof people believes that their
destiny is already written.
Okay?
So they think every event ispredeterminate and that no
matter what they do, they cannotrely solely on will power

(02:06):
because events are beyond theircontrol, right?
But on the other hand, thesecond group understands that we
do have power over our actions,regardless of external events.
And when you realize this, guys,you find strength.
You find a big strength andrecognize a willpower that is

(02:29):
stronger than anyone else, youknow?
So yes, yes, um unpredictablethings can can always happen,
you can occur alive, but it inthe end, it's a matter of
attitude.
Sometimes that attitude can leadto a different positive outcome

(02:50):
or even change the lives ofmillions of people, regardless
of how your story develops, youknow.
So you have to remember that.
We have to remember that alsomyself.
Number two, Seneca.
Seneca said, begin at once tolive and count each separate day

(03:11):
as a separate life.
Consider how much time you spendscrolling on TikTok each day,
and how you often lose yourselfin activities they they don't
contribute anything meaningfulto your life, you know.
We only have a limited amount oftime, guys, a limited amount of
time to live.

(03:32):
So it's important to invest ourtime wisely.
Like a butterfly that lives forjust a couple of weeks, you
know.
Imagine how different your daywould be if uh human beings knew
to live for a very short time.
So our days would be just wouldbe just I mean, would be
different, you know, would feelmagical, I think.

(03:54):
We would do so many things, andwe would achieve so many, so
many things, and our way ofliving would be totally
different from now.
Focus on what really matters toachieve our goal, you know.
Number three, care about whatother people think, and you will
always be their prisoner.
Lao Tzu.

(04:14):
In the last episode, wediscussed the importance of
recognizing that everyone hastheir own opinion, you know?
Their own opinion, their ownassumption, and these are shaped
by their experiences, shaped bytheir past events, okay?
And when you start to care toomuch about what others think,

(04:37):
you can become trapped in theirperspective, their bubble, their
trauma.
So it may seem like they aretrying to reach you, all right,
but in reality, it's the otherway around.
So the sooner you understandthis concept, and the quicker
you can achieve your success,guys.
Number four, the mind iseverything.

(05:00):
What you think you become,Socrates.
Our mind, guys, is like aproblem-solving machine.
Okay?
Always working to findsolutions.
For example, if you want tobecome a guitarist, your mind
visualizes you with a guitar.
You know, if you aspire to be aYouTuber, it pictures you with a

(05:21):
microphone and a camera, and soon.
Actually, let's focus on theguitarist example.
When you think about becoming aguitarist, right, your mind
recognizes that you need to buya guitar.
So it envisions you saving moneyfor the purpose.
But if you want to improve yourskills, your mind may also
picture you taking lessons,which requires you to invest in

(05:44):
a teacher or a course.
And you follow up, youeventually do that, all right?
However, our minds can also workagainst us, leading us to
visualize failure.
So this can happen if we letnegative thoughts take over,
okay?
Blocking our problem-solvingabilities.

(06:06):
For example, as you pursuebecoming a guitarist again, your
mind may bring up excuses likeI'll never be good as I'll never
be as good as him, or it is toolate for me, or my fingers are
too small.
Also, we can we can add a touchof childhood trauma in the

(06:27):
middle and some victimvictimhood to the mix, you know,
like my parents never encourageme to pursue my dreams, or it's
their lack of support that haskept me from becoming a
guitarist.
I don't know.
You know, at the end, you canalso add some you can also
release any sense ofresponsibility, and then you're

(06:48):
good.
Then the cocktail is ready, youknow.
So it's important to lead yourthoughts positively, otherwise,
they will start leading you inthe wrong direction, guys.
Okay, you have to remember that.
Number five, respect yourselfand others will respect you,
Confucius.
I remember something I sawsomewhere that said you are your

(07:11):
own employer and your ownclient.
So this means you areresponsible for producing and
delivering the results youexpect from yourself.
Okay.
Have I reached the point with mypodcast where I know I need to
deliver an episode everyWednesday at 11 o'clock,
regardless of whether I'm sickor I feel about it.

(07:32):
You know, I understand thatconsistency is crucial to
achieving results.
So I have to fulfill mycommitment to you all.
I'm literally both the owner andthe employee of this podcast.
The better I perform, the betterI can serve myself, and the
better I can serve you.

(07:55):
Number six, knowing others isintelligence.
Knowing yourself is true wisdom,mastering others is strength,
master yourself is true power.
Lao Tzu.
Alright, so have you evernoticed how easy it is to read

(08:15):
other people, but how hard it isto read yourself.
Like you can look at someone andunderstand what they're doing,
what why they're acting acertain way, what they're trying
to hide, right?
That's emotional intelligence.
Very, very big one.
It's a useful skill.

(08:36):
And it helps you navigate betterin relationships, you know,
work, life.
But knowing yourself, that'sanother story, that's a whole
different level.
Because it's one thing toobserve others, another thing is
to look at your fears, look atyour habits, the stories you
tell yourself, the patterns thatkeep repeating, you know.

(09:00):
We don't have a completeunderstanding when we believe we
know ourselves fully, honestly.
When you start to understandyourself deeply, that's where
real wisdom begins, guys.
Uh followed by your success.
Because the more you understandyourself, the more you know what
you want to do in your life.
And the quicker, of course, youcan achieve your success.

(09:21):
That's the part of life schools,nobody teaches you,
unfortunately.
And the second half of this ideais even more powerful, guys.
Mastering others, others isstrength, mastering yourself is
true power.
You can make sure to make animpact on certain people with

(09:43):
status, you know, withinfluence, with pressure, with
money.
That's what the world, you know,the society usually calls
strength.
But the real strength, the realpower, it's when you can control
yourself, where you can uh holdback a reaction, when you can
stay calm instead of exploding,when you can keep going, even
where your mind tries to pullyou back, where you choose

(10:05):
discipline over comfort, clarityover chaos, you know, that's
mastery.
Anyone can try to dominatesomeone else.
Easy, but very few people canmaster their own minds, alright?
And that's what this phrase isreally saying.
The journey is not aboutcontrolling the world, it's
about learning how to controlyourself.

(10:28):
Number seven.
Yesterday I was clever, so Iwanted to change the world.
Today I'm wise, so I'm changingmyself.
Rumi.
I remember when I wanted toexcel in trading, hoping to help
others make money.
And then when I was also eagerto explore motivational

(10:51):
speaking, sharing some rawignorant wisdom that I believed
could inspire change in people,you know.
However, the truth is that youneed to focus on
self-improvement first inwhatever you want to do in your
life, and later the world willtake notice.
Focusing on others preventspersonal growth guys.

(11:15):
But if you prioritizeself-improvement, people will
naturally be inspired to followyou.
Okay?
The truth is that we often focuson others in our quest to reach
the pinnacle of life because wewant to fulfill our ego.
That's the reality.
This desire is frequently drivenby our need to fulfill our ego.

(11:37):
It can lead to a self-centeredapproach where we aim to become
memorable or to gain hundreds ofthousands of followers on our
four its social media, forexample.
I'm not saying that this isright or wrong.
There are many layers ofawareness in this case, and it
is not my place to judge what iscorrect or incorrect.

(12:00):
And personally, guys, I alsolike to be remembered, you know,
for what I do.
If I have not, I hope I haveserved my purpose in giving you
a different perspective for atleast a few of you.
And I'm very happy like that.
So that's not the point.
The point is that it's importantto note that you can lose your

(12:22):
sense of direction if you startbelieving that focusing on
others to achieve a certainnumber of followers or metrics
is the only way to improveyourself in your purposes.
Okay.
So again, yesterday I wasclever, so I wanted to change
the world.
Today I'm wise, so I'm changingmyself.

(12:43):
Climb your own mountains, guys.
Climb your mountains andlearning along the way.
That's the best thing you cando.
Because in this way, one day,people will acknowledge uh your
journey and choose to followyou.
And automatically they they theywill do, they will do uh without
any any effort from you, youknow.

(13:05):
I remember I posted this note onon Soupstack one day, which said
always fill your own cup firstand allow the world to benefit
benefit from the overflow.
Beautiful note, beautiful note,and it totally aligns with this
concept, you know.

(13:25):
So now, before we wrap up, let'stake a moment to slow down.
All right, let's slow down andreally sit with what we explore
today.
Because it's one thing to hearthese ideas, guys, and another
thing to actually understandthem, to feel them, to let them
land in a way that might changesomething in you.

(13:47):
So we walked through sevenpieces of ancient wisdom today,
but what we really did was trulyunderstand seven layers of human
life that haven't changed atall, even after thousands of
years, you know.
So think about the first onefrom Marcus Aurelius.
He basically told you, your mindis yours, the world is not.

(14:12):
That's such a simple idea, butit is so it's so hard to apply,
you know.
We often try to controleverything around us people,
outcomes, timing, but strengthcomes from the inside out, not
the outside in.
When you get that, life becomeslighter, even in the cows, guys.

(14:34):
Then we have Seneca.
Seneca reminded us of somethingwe forget constantly, you know.
Time is short, and yet we livelike we have unlimited days.
We scroll, we delay, we wait forthe right moment, waiting for
the right moment.

(14:54):
But if today was its owncomplete life, right, as Seneca
suggests, how would you live it?
That perspective alone can shiftyou, can shift your entire way
of moving through the world.
And then Lao Tzu.
Lao Tzu came with another truethat hits pretty hard.
When you care too much aboutwhat others think, you stop

(15:17):
living your your your lifebecause you start living theirs,
or right, their expectations,their opinions, their fears.
But your story is not meant tobe a reflection of someone
else's experiences, guys.
It's meant to be yours.
Okay, Socrates.
Socrates guided us deep into thepower of the mind.

(15:40):
How what you think you become.
So your mind is constantlybuilding the blueprint for your
life, whatever whether you youknow it or not.
So if your thoughts are small,your life becomes small.
If your thoughts are negative,your direction becomes negative
as well.
Okay.
But when you guide your mindwith intention, it becomes one

(16:01):
of the greatest, greatest toolsyou will ever have.
Okay, and then Confucius remindsus of the foundation of

everything (16:11):
self-respect.
You cannot expect others tovalue what you don't value in
yourself.
You become your own boss, guys,you your own standard, you know,
your own accountability partner.
If you don't deliver foryourself, nobody else can do it

(16:32):
for you.
And then Lao Tzu came again, andthis time deeper, you know.
Knowing others is useful,knowing yourself is
transformational.
Mastering others might lookpowerful, but mastering yourself
is the real power.
So it's the ability to staycalm, to stay disciplined, to

(16:52):
stay focused, even when youremotions or your mind try to
pull you in the other direction.
That's where success reallycomes from, guys.
Self-mastery, not control overthe outside world, you know.
And finally, we have Rumi.
Rumi closed everything with amessage that feels like, you

(17:13):
know, the core of today'sepisode.
Before you try to change theworld, change yourself.
Because, guys, the more youunderstand your own patterns,
your own ego, your own desires,the more aligned you become, you
know, and the alignmentnaturally inspires people.

(17:34):
So you don't need to proveanything in your life.
You don't need to push, yougrow.
That's it.
And the world responds.
If there is something I want youto take away today, it's this
ancient wisdom is not old, guys.
It it's timeless.
It's uh it survives because it'strue, you know, and it it keeps

(17:58):
guiding us because human natureat the end of the story hasn't
changed as much as we think, youknow.
And uh if even one of theseideas sticks with you, if you
know even one of them helps youmake a different choice
tomorrow, then this episode hasdone its job.

(18:22):
Now I want to hear from you.
Which piece of ancient wisdomspoke to you the most today,
guys, and more importantly, howare you applying in your own
life?
Send me a message, share yourstory, or connect with me on
Soupstack.
I would try uh to read anymessage, and uh of course I will

(18:48):
I would love to know uh if youyou know if you have something
to to share with me.
And if you enjoyed today'sepisode, remember to subscribe
so you never miss an update.
And uh, if someone in your lifeneeds a reminder to slow down,
guys, reflect or return to theirinner strength, share this
episode, share this episode withthem.

(19:09):
Maybe without knowing, you willchange the direction of their
life, you know.
Thank you so much for being hereon journey to success.
If you believe in Christmas,well, guys, Merry Christmas!
This evening will be relaxingwith my family who traveled all
the way from Switzerland tovisit us in the Netherlands.
And uh tomorrow we we will wewill have uh uh like 10 people.

(19:35):
We invite like around 10 peopleto eat with us, so it's gonna be
fun.
And uh but I mean if you don'tbelieve in charismas, well, end
your days usual.
Alright.
Together, we're not justlearning from the past, guys.
We are using wisdom to build aclearer, stronger future.
One step at a time.
I'll see you in the nextepisode.

(19:57):
Cheers.