Ryan Holiday

What good is it to Alexander that Alexandria is still named after him?

In fact, in Meditations, Marcus Aurelius says, Alexander the Great and his mule driver, they both died, both entered the earth in the same way.

His point was that how many people remember just a couple emperors before him?

He says, who remembers now the name of Vespasian?

And he lists not just the emperor, but influential advisors, the celebrities of that time.

And he says, they're all forgotten.

And his point is not just that most of us, even the famous people, even people like Marcus are inevitably forgotten, right?

We might be talking about him here in this video, but most people just know him as the old guy in the movie Gladiator, if anything at all.

But he says also, he says the people in the future are not magically gonna be smarter or better than the people are now, right?

So this idea that you're gonna be vindicated by the future is also an empty and a silly hope.

And again, even if you are vindicated in the future,

It won't do you any good because you won't be around to enjoy it.

So do what's right now because it's right, because you want to do it.

Don't do it because you're trying to build this legacy for the future.

Don't defer the love of your family.

Don't defer being present.

Don't defer your health, right?

Because you're striving to make this thing that's going to last for eternity.

It won't.

And even if it does, what good will that do?