It was one thing after another for Marcus Aurelius, as we’ve said. Floods and famines. Wars and coups. Disorder and destruction. Matters of life and death.
These crises are instructive, naturally, and more specifically, can be opportunities for virtue. But they are also, in their overwhelming and tragic nature, often much more than we need, at least for learning purposes. No one would choosesomething like what Marcus Aurelius went through. No one would choose to learn the way Zelenskyy has had to or Churchill did. No one would want to trade places with Queen Elizabeth during her annus horribilis.
What is valuable (and much more practical), however, are small crises. Those wake-up calls. Those close calls. It’s these situations—significant but hardly mortal—that can make us focus. That can drive creativity, connection, and clarity. They are serious…so we have to get serious. They are challenging…and challenge us to rise up and meet them. They can make us better, if we insist on it.
In the moment, they may seem like they are great. Greater than we can manage. Yes, we might lose some things in the process. Yes, there might be consequences. But, in the grand scheme of things, we are still alive (and mostly our safety was never in doubt). If we’re alive, we can learn.
In fact, it’s typically when we don’t pay attention to and learn from the small crises that the world sends the big ones—the ones that come crashing down on us to finally get the lesson through our thick skulls.
When we stop resisting and start learning, the obstacle becomes the way.
Don't wait for a bigger crisis to force the lesson.
For ten years, The Obstacle Is The Way has helped millions of people stop fighting their circumstances and start using them. The ancient Stoic insight at its core is simple but not easy—the thing blocking your path is the path.
The 10th Anniversary Edition includes new reflections on how that principle applies to the challenges we’re all navigating right now—and what it actually looks like to put it into practice.
Whatever you’re up against, this book won’t just help you survive it. It’ll show you how to be stronger for it.
Your Phone Number Is for Sale (And Scammers Are Shopping)
The BBC caught scam call center workers on hidden cameras as they laughed at the people they were tricking.
One worker bragged about making $250k from victims. The disturbing truth? Scammers don’t pick phone numbers at random. They buy your data from brokers.
Once your data is out there, it’s not just calls. It’s phishing, impersonation, and identity theft.
That’s why we recommend Incogni: They delete your info from the web, monitor and follow up automatically, and continue to erase data as new risks appear.
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