I've been reading "A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy" by William B. Irvine and Marcus Aurelius is one of the 4 eminent Stoics featured in that book. His "Meditations" is referred to often. I've found the philosophy behind Stoicism to be very helpful in my day job coding and at managing a team. One of the most useful practices is knowing the difference between what you can control, what you have no control over at all, and those things that you have some but not complete control (i.e. I can play to the best of my ability in a tennis match but the outcome is not really up to me). It's incredible to think that Marcus was sick (with an ulcer, more than likely), his wife probably cheated on him, out of 14 children, only 6 survived, and he was emperor! And yet, when he died, their was a public outcry.

So, after reading "A Guide to the Good Life" and now that I've read your article, I'm definitely inclined to pick up "Meditations" for my next read. Thanks for the insights!