10 Life Principles That Never Fail—From Ancient Times to Today

What we choose to value, from gratitude to everyday joys, defines who we become.

Warren Buffett was asked in an interview years ago about the keys to a successful life.

“You find your passion,” Buffett responded. “I was very lucky to find it when I was seven or eight years old.”

Finding joy in work was the theme of Buffett’s 2012 book, “Tap Dancing to Work,” and the Sage of Omaha’s advice is similar to that of another great man, Marcus Aurelius. In “Meditations,” the Roman emperor noted that finding passion in daily tasks is essential.

“Concentrate every minute ... on doing what’s in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness,” he wrote. “Do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life.”

Last Christmas, I bought my niece and nephews copies of “Meditations” because it contains wisdom they may not be receiving at university. (The idea was inspired by a relative who bought the book for me as an undergrad). Here are nine more life principles from the ancients that still apply today.

Practice Gratitude

The Bible mentions gratitude 157 times, and for good reason. The Roman orator and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero called gratitude “not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

Yet the Scriptures make it clear that gratitude comes difficult for humans, even those who’ve been blessed. Still, the benefits of gratitude are clear. A 2024 Harvard study noted that gratitude enhances not just mental health and happiness but also contributes to longer life expectancy.

“Even on those bad days where life seems difficult, that effort is worthwhile,” said Tyler VanderWeele of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Seize the Day!

Anyone who’s seen the movie “Dead Poets Society“ likely remembers the phrase carpe diem, a Latin expression that means “seize the day.” The English poet Robert Herrick (1591–1674) reminded us that “the flower that smiles today, tomorrow will be dying.”

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In our modern world of comforts, it’s easy to forget that time is fleeting. In his daily writings, Marcus Aurelius reminded himself that time was precious. “Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years,” he wrote. “Death hangs over you.” The message of carpe diem is simple: seize opportunities when they arise and don’t procrastinate, because life is short. This sounds easy, but it’s not—particularly in the digital age. The latest research shows that nine out of ten Americans own a smartphone, which they check 144 times a day, on average, and use for four and a half hours daily. Put the phone down and seize the day; you won’t regret it.

Resist Envy

In “The Canterbury Tales,” Geoffrey Chaucer’s Parson called envy the worst sin because it “takes sorrow in all the blessings of his neighbor.” Christian thinkers such as C.S. Lewis and Dante offered similar sentiments, and they were joined by Marcus Aurelius, who saw envy as irrational. “Why should I be disturbed by the success of another?” he asked.

Unfortunately, envy is ascendant today. Scholars have noted that many modern evils stem directly from this resentful emotion. Meanwhile, an abundance of research shows that envy is deleterious to mental health. Seneca, writing more than 2,000 years ago, noted that we are unhappy not because we lack things but because we desire things we don’t have. Resist the impulse.

Do What You Say You’ll Do

If you listen to anyone from CEOs of major corporations to small business owners, they’ll tell you the same thing: finding dependable people is hard. Research shows that a stunning percentage of people can’t even show up for a job interview, let alone work.

They say half of life is simply showing up, which is another way of saying: be dependable. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. People will notice. “Nothing is more becoming to a man,” Cicero said, “than to keep his word, to stand by his promises.”

By following through on your word, you’ll not just be more dependable in the eyes of others. You’ll also improve yourself.

Learn to Take Responsibility

Warren Buffett said three traits he looks for in employees are intelligence, energy, and integrity. Taking responsibility is a cornerstone of integrity—something the ancients understood. Thinkers from Confucius and Laozi to Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius all saw that owning your actions—and your reactions—lies with you, not others.

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“It is the act of an ill-instructed man to blame others for his own bad condition,” Epictetus wrote in “Enchiridion.”

I’ve been watching “The Sopranos.” The biggest theme is the inability of characters to take responsibility. They blame coke. They blame booze. They blame their mother, boss, or customers. In life, things go wrong. But when they do, resist the urge to blame others. Ask instead: What could I have done differently? Anyone who learns how to do this will be setting themselves up for greater success in life.

Appreciate the Little Things

The Beatles famously observed that “the best things in life are free”... only to ruin the sentiment by saying money was what they really wanted. (In their defense, they didn’t write the song.) There’s nothing inherently wrong with money, of course, which is merely a means of exchange. But Seneca saw that true wealth is finding happiness in what you already possess—not longing for the things you don’t. Augustus McCrae, the protagonist of Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Lonesome Dove,” understood this.

“If you want any one thing too badly, it’s likely to turn out to be a disappointment. The only healthy way to live life is to learn to like all the little everyday things, like a sip of good whiskey in the evening, a soft bed, a glass of buttermilk ...”

It’s human to desire treasure, but many ancient thinkers saw that a content life is built from simple pleasures, not endless acquisition—a lesson revived in modern minimalist movements. If you learn to appreciate nature’s wonders—like the stars at night, which Emerson noted men would adore forever if they “should appear one night in a thousand years”—your soul will find great fulfillment.

Tend Your Own Garden, First

Children today are often taught that they should “change the world.” The philosopher Plato saw that a wise man first “sets his own house in good order and rules himself.” There’s a humility in the idea, but Plato saw it as essential. “The first and best victory is to conquer self,” the philosopher wrote in “Laws.”

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Psychologist and author Jordan Peterson has echoed this idea, urging people to put their own lives in order before trying to fix the world. Cleaning one’s own room doesn’t sound important, but it is. Only once we master ourselves and begin to grow our own gardens are we capable of helping those around us.

Respect Property (Yours and Others’)

There’s an ancient Latin legal maxim: Iustitia suum cuique distribuit, which translates as, “Justice renders to everyone his due.” Cicero popularized this phrase in his philosophical writings, expressing the principle of suum cuique—that each person should receive what is rightfully theirs, including their property.

Douglass C. North, a Nobel laureate in economic history, argued that securing property rights is “the single most important institutional change that a society can undertake.” The importance of private property is also found in the Bible and the works of Aristotle.

Though modern philosophies deny it, strong property rights are a civilizing force. I teach my children not to waste—not because we are poor, but because basic economics teaches that resources are scarce. Learning to respect property—yours and others’—is a foundational lesson in responsibility.

Choose Your Company Wisely

My grandfather once gave me the best advice I ever received: “Nothing good ever happens after midnight.” The second-best advice I received was this: “Choose your company wisely.”

The friendships we make in life are not just a reflection of us. They help determine who we become, Aristotle observed. “The friendship of bad men turns out an evil thing (for because of their instability they unite in bad pursuits, and besides they become evil by becoming like each other),” he wrote in “Nicomachean Ethics,” “while the friendship of good men is good, being augmented by their companionship ...”

Few things are more important in life than relationships. If you choose your company wisely, you’ll surround yourself with people who tell you the truth, hold you accountable, and inspire you to be a better person. Do not be mercenary in friendship, but be judicious—because their habits, values, and attitudes will also shape your own.

This article first appeared in The Epoch Times.