| Ancient philosophy is not just about talking or lecturing, |
| or even reading long, dense books. |
| In fact, it is something people have used throughout history - |
| to solve their problems and to achieve their greatest triumphs. |
| Specifically, I am referring to Stoicism, |
| which, in my opinion, is the most practical of all philosophies |
| and therefore the most appealing. |
| Stoicism was founded in Ancient Greece by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC, |
| but was practised by the likes of Epictetus, |
| Cato, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. |
| Amazingly, we still have access to these ideas, |
| despite the fact that the most famous Stoics never wrote anything down for publication, |
| Cato definitely didn't. |
| Marcus Aurelius never intended his Meditations to be anything but personal. |
| Seneca's letters were, well, letters |
| and Epictetus' thoughts come to us by way of a note-taking student. |
| Stoic principles were based on the idea that its followers could have an unshakable happiness in this life |
| and the key to achieving this was virtue. |
| The road to virtue, in turn, lay in understanding that destructive emotions, like anger and jealousy, |
| are under our conscious control, |
| they don't have to control us, because we can learn to control them. |
| In the words of Epictetus: |
| "external events I cannot control, but the choices I make with regard to them, I do control". |
| The modern day philosopher and writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb |
| defines a Stoic as someone who has a different perspective on experiences |
| which most of us would see as wholly negative; |
| a Stoic "transforms fear into caution, pain into transformation, |
| mistakes into initiation and desire into undertaking". |
| Using this definition as a model, |
| we can see that throughout the centuries Stoicism has been practised in more recent history |
| by kings, presidents, artists, writers and entrepreneurs. |
| The founding fathers of the United States were inspired by the philosophy. |
| George Washington was introduced to Stoicism by his neighbours at age seventeen, |
| and later, put on a play based on the life of Cato to inspire his men. |
| Thomas Jefferson kept a copy of Seneca beside his bed. |
| Writers and artists have also been inspired by the stoics. |
| Eugène Delacroix, the renowned French Romantic artist |
| (known best for his painting Liberty Leading the People) |
| was an ardent Stoic, referring to it as his "consoling religion". |
| The economist Adam Smith's theories on capitalism were significantly influenced by the Stoicism |
| that he studied as a schoolboy, under a teacher who had translated Marcus Aurelius' works. |
| Today's political leaders are no different, |
| with many finding their inspiration from the ancient texts. |
| Former US president Bill Clinton rereads Marcus Aurelius every single year, |
| and many have compared former President Obama's calm leadership style to that of Cato. |
| Wen Jiabao, the former prime minister of China, |
| claims that Meditations is one of two books he travels with |
| and that he has read it more than 100 times over the course of his life. |
| Stoicism had a profound influence on Albert Ellis, |
| who invented Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, |
| which is used to help people manage their problems by changing the way that they think and behave. |
| It's most commonly used to treat depression. |
| The idea is that we can take control of our lives by challenging the irrational beliefs |
| that create our faulty thinking, symptoms and behaviours by using logic instead. |
| Stoicism has also become popular in the world of business. |
| Stoic principles can build the resilience and state of mind required to overcome setbacks |
| because Stoics teach turning obstacles into opportunity. |
| A lesson every business entrepreneur needs to learn. |
| I would argue that studying Stoicism is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago, |
| thanks to its brilliant insights into how to lead a good life. |
| At the very root of the thinking, there is a very simple way of living - |
| control what you can and accept what you can't. |
| This is not as easy as it sounds and will require considerable practice - |
| it can take a lifetime to master. |
| The Stoics also believed the most important foundation for a good and happy life is not money, fame, power or pleasure, |
| but having a disciplined and principled character - |
| something which seems to resonate with many people today. |