Here's How Stoic Philosophy Can Transform Your Professional Life for the Better

Much has been written about the skillsets required for success in business, and the specific habits that might instil that success. A fair amount has also been written about the right frames of mind to encourage optimal success and thriving in business and life.
But less, perhaps, has been written about the overall philosophical framework — the way of relating yourself to the world at large — that will lead to the greatest possible degree of success, resilience, and thriving in your work, throughout the entire span of your career.
The ancient stoic philosophers of ancient Greece and Rome — including such men as Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca — have been considered some of the hardest and most resilient men in history. Stoicism has been referred to as the “soldier’s religion”, and indeed, many military heroes throughout history have cited the writings of the Stoics as a vital influence for them personally.
Among the Stoic writers, we find people from vastly disparate social conditions, from the former slave Epictetus, to Marcus Aurelius who was the very emperor of Rome itself — the most powerful man in the world at his time.
All of these men, and many others besides, found that the lessons of stoic philosophy granted them the ability to remain resilient in the face of the chaos, turmoil, and disappointment of life and, in many cases, to thrive at the same time.
Here are some of the lessons taught by the ancient Stoics, along with the ways in which these lessons can benefit your business life.
Virtue is good; all else is indifferent
Perhaps the most fundamental doctrine of stoicism is the idea that virtue is “the only good”, and that all else is “indifferent”.
“Virtue” in this context is a bit of a tricky and unspecific concept to come to terms with, rather than being a clear-cut sense of moral sensibilities as we understand the world today. The ancient Greek Stoics tended to view “virtue” as something like “obeying the obligations of logic” while the Roman Stoics tended to write about virtue in terms of “doing that which is honourable and logical in terms of your particular goals in life”.
“Virtue” is, in any sense, the core of a stoic worldview. It’s the guiding light of the North Star that directs all other considerations in life. The key question in stoicism is, “does this action serve virtue or not?”
If an action actively goes against virtue, it must be completely abandoned. If it served virtue, it must be pursued. If it neither serves nor acts against virtue, you can decide what to do with it, as long as it doesn’t interfere with virtue down the line.
Those “take it or leave it” things are known as “indifferents” in the stoic worldview. “Positive indifferents”, such as money and fame, are of course those you’d rather have. “Negative indifferents” such as pain or mockery are those you’d prefer not to have.
At this point, you might be feeling a bit sceptical. “How can money indifferent in business? What are you even talking about?”
Allow me to elaborate.
In business, the only thing you have true and total control over is your own behaviour. You can, and should, act in a way that’s likely to bring you the most wealth, success, and generate you the best reputation, professionally speaking. But there’s no guarantee that all those things will come to you just because you’re acting in the right way.
Sometimes luck, ignorance, bad bets, an economic crisis, or a fickle business partner can get in the way of your fortune, success and reputation.
But you do always have control over how you act and react to things. You can always choose to keep driving forward despite setbacks. This is “virtue”, and it’s the core of all long-term business successes (because no businessman worth his salt has lived a setback-free life).
So, virtue is good, and everything else is either a positive or a negative indifferent. Your mission is always to act properly and do your best in your chosen profession.
Sometimes your virtue will be rewarded, and that will feel incredible. Sometimes it won’t, and that will feel terrible. But the key is that you keep acting properly and keep moving on, undeterred.
Wanting something without being willing to make the required sacrifices for it is foolish
The Stoics were keen on using various allegories and metaphors to explain concepts to their students and readers. A few of these examples refer specifically to people who look on others with bitterness and envy, thinking “I wish I were as strong as him”, or “I wish I were as popular as him”.
In these instances, the stoic writers point out that it is foolish, to say the least, to want what someone else has without being willing to make the sacrifices that he has made to acquire those things, because anything you want to acquire will require sacrifice
The athlete whose strength you admire spends all his time training, follows a strict diet, obeys his trainer completely, and forgoes many of the luxuries of life you enjoy.
The popular man conforms his behaviour to other people’s expectations, in order to maintain their approval. Maybe you’re free-spoken in a way that he can’t be, while wanting to keep in everyone’s good books.
By the same token, it is foolish to want a particular result in business without understanding and then being willing to make the required sacrifices for it.
Nothing comes for free. Do you want to be the next Warren Buffett? Fine. But are you willing to make all the sacrifices that Warren Buffet has over his lifetime, in order to achieve success? Do you even know what those sacrifices would look like?
Whether you run a software development company or a real estate business, identify your professional goals, determine what you’ll need to sacrifice to achieve them, and then make those sacrifices. If you’re not willing to invest the time, energy, money, and discipline required, you either need to change your goals or change your career.
Play the game as long as it’s worthwhile for you, leave when it isn’t
In one of his lectures to his students, the Roman Stoic philosopher Epictetus uses the example of people voluntarily acting in a play for their shared enjoyment. The person who is chosen to play a king, in this instance, will give orders to the person who is chosen to play the king’s subject. They agree to these roles, and play along, because it’s in their interest.
When should they stop playing the game? When it’s no longer in their interest to do so, says the philosopher.
Many people in business are caught up in job-roles, situations, and even industries that seem to drain them rather than inspire them, all because those roles once served their interests, and now no longer do.
A successful businessman — particularly a successful entrepreneur — knows the importance of sacrifice, hard work, and discomfort, in achieving his goals. He also knows, however, when it’s time to cut his losses and direct his attention, time, and money to more productive ventures.
Remember that whatever it is you’re doing professionally — whether working for a major corporation, or running your own startup — it is your choice to be there at that exact moment, doing the things you are doing. You choose to stay there because you believe the sacrifices and work you put in will yield a worthwhile benefit either now or somewhere down the line
If you ever find that the “game” you’re playing in business is no longer worthwhile for you, don’t be afraid to leave and take up a new role, in a new game, which is worthwhile for you. Great success never comes to men who hate every second of what they do, and don’t strategise in favour of their own benefit down the line.
Hardships are just training to make you stronger
The Stoics were firm believers in the idea that hardships should be viewed in the same way as a wrestler would view a strong young wrestling partner. In other words; hardships are a form of training. They’re to be used to make you stronger in some essential way — either by enhancing your will, your resilience, or your knowledge.
As some degree of failure is inevitable at one point or another in business, it’s important to bear this lesson in mind. Use every failure as a learning and training opportunity. Identify what went wrong, this about how it might be remedied, and approach the next hurdle or project with greater insight and skill than the last one.
Setbacks can be devastating things that ruin people’s confidence in their professional abilities, but they don’t have to be. They can also be the grindstone that sharpens you into a well-honed weapon, that much more resilient and insightful than your competition who perhaps have not had the benefit of learning from such an experience themselves.