To the Stoics, fate is not fatalism. It is not surrender. It is a disciplined cooperation with the nature of reality. It does. not mean that everything is predetermined and you ought to do nothing; it means that you should act where you can, and release your grip where you must.

Don't wait to be who you are meant to be. Every time you postpone your efforts, or delay your habits - it's more than a pause - it's a loss. Life will move on, with or without you.

To stand still morally is to move backward. And to be surrounded by those who flatter or distract is to drift quietly into mediocrity.