Remarkable Sages That Provide Advice About Living Your Best Life

Some of the best advice has come from people that lived centuries ago. Others have more recently left this mortal coil. Either way, we would be wise to heed their counsel.

In the second century Marcus Aurelius, a respected Roman leader shared, “When you first rise in the morning tell yourself: I will encounter busybodies, ingrates, egomaniacs, liars, the jealous, and cranks. They are all stricken with these afflictions because they don’t know the difference between good and evil. Because I have understood the beauty of good and the ugliness of evil, I know that these wrong-doers are still akin to me …and that none can do me harm, or implicate me in ugliness — nor can I be angry at my relatives or hate them. For we are made for cooperation.”

The philosopher’s advice could have been written yesterday.

It was Gandhi who stated, “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”

As he demonstrated, we are capable of far more than we realize.

Dwight Moody offered his outlook on having compassion for a lost world when he shared, “I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat and said to me: Moody save all you can.” He spent his life sharing the gospel so that men could truly be free, giving himself to a higher purpose

And Fritz Perls, the founder of Gestalt therapy noted, “Fear is excitement without the breath.” Holding the breath increases anxiety; Perls advised taking deep and powerful breaths whenever one was distressed. (There is a reason his work is legendary, as he showed we are more than our emotions, and can control our fears much more than many realize).

As someone once said, “Courage is fear prayed for.” In a world ridden with anxiety and negativity, taking time to listen to some of the voices of the past can provide a much needed antidote to the uncertainty many are feeling today. Be it through breath, prayer, inspiration or action, may we walk in courage, following the footsteps of some of the biggest world changers who did the same.