Discipline is Destiny

The inscription on the Oracle of Delphi says: ‘Nothing in excess.’ C.S. Lewis described temperance as going to the ‘right length but no further.’ Easy to say, hard to practice – and if it was tough in 300 BC, or in the 1940s, it feels all but impossible today. Yet it’s the most empowering and important virtue any of us can learn.<br><br>Without self-discipline, all our plans fall apart. Here, Ryan Holiday shows how to cultivate willpower, moderation and self-control in our lives. From Aristotle and Marcus Aurelius, to Toni Morrison and Queen Elizabeth II, he illuminates the great exemplars of its practice and what we can learn from them. Moderation is not about abstinence: it is about self-respect, focus and balance. Without it, even the most positive traits become vices. But with it, happiness and success are assured: the key is not more but finding the right amount.

Ryan Holiday is a strategist and writer. He dropped out of college at nineteen to appren­tice under Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power, and later served as the director of mar­keting for American Apparel. His company, Brass Check, has advised clients like Google, TASER and Complex, as well as many prominent bestselling authors. Holiday is bestselling author of Growth Hacker Marketing, The Obstacle is the Way and Ego is the Enemy. His books have been translated into 25 languages and his writing has appeared everywhere from the Columbia Journalism Review to Fast Company. He lives on a small ranch outside Austin, Texas.

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