Transcription
How to get whatever you want. That's the title of the next set of notes. How to get whatever you want. Here's what it says. If you're ready, it says, "Ask."
That's it. Ask. If there's one art in life to learn extremely well, that's got to be one of them. The art of asking. What does ask mean? Ask means, what do you want? And the formula is staggering. It says ask. And a guy ought to look into that. See, you've got to be better than a good worker. You've got to be a good asker.
Now, here's what nobody tells you. Most people spend their entire lives being excellent at everything except the one thing that actually moves the needle. They work hard. They stay loyal. They never quit. And yet, year after year, nothing really changes. Not because they lack talent, not because life dealt them a bad hand, but because they never developed the one skill that opens every door. The skill of asking. And when you combine that skill with the philosophy the Stoics lived and died by, something inside you shifts permanently. So stay with me because what you're about to hear could be the turning point you've been waiting for.
Let's start with the foundation. Seneca, one of the greatest stoic minds who ever lived, once said that we suffer more in imagination than in reality. And I'd add to that, we fail more from silence than from trying. The number one reason people don't get what they want isn't bad luck. It isn't the economy. It isn't timing. It's that they never opened their mouth and asked.
Asking sets something in motion. A process so powerful, so automatic that most people can't even explain how it works. And here's the truth. You don't need to explain it. You just need to use it. Think about electricity. You don't need to understand how it works to turn on the light. You just flip the switch. Asking is the switch. The moment you ask clearly, deliberately, with intention, you flip something on inside yourself. You start moving in a direction. You start noticing things you never noticed before. you start attracting what you need. The Stoics called this living according to nature, aligning your will with the world around you. But it all begins with one simple act, deciding what you want and having the courage to say it out loud.
Some people spend their whole lives watching others succeed and wondering why it never happens to them. The answer is usually sitting right there, quiet and overlooked. They studied everything except how to ask for what they want.
Now, here's where it gets really interesting. Most people assume the problem is on the receiving end. They think the world is stingy, that success is rationed, that there's only so much to go around. But that's not the problem at all. Receiving takes care of itself once the process is in motion. The real problem, the one hiding in plain sight, is the failure to ask in the first place.
Think about the most dedicated person you know. Up early, works late, never complains, always delivers, and yet somehow still stuck in the same place they were 5 years ago. That person is a master of showing up but they never learn to speak up. Marcus Aurelius wrote in his meditations, "You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this and you will find strength." And part of that strength is claiming what you want, naming it, writing it down, putting it in front of you every single day. Because here's what the Stoics understood that the modern world keeps forgetting. The universe does not reward the quiet wish. It rewards the clear intention backed by committed action.
Now imagine you're standing at the edge of an ocean, vast, deep, endless in every direction. More water than you could ever use in a thousand lifetimes. That ocean is abundance, opportunity, wealth, happiness, connection, growth. It's all there. Always has been, always will be. Now, the question isn't whether the ocean is big enough. The question is, what did you bring to carry it home? Because some people show up to this ocean of possibility with a teaspoon, and then they wonder why they're still thirsty. The Stoics had a word for the order and abundance that runs through all of nature. They called it logos, the rational intelligence woven into everything. And their message was simple. Stop fighting it. Stop doubting it and start drawing from it with intention. Trade the teaspoon for a bucket. Stop thinking small about what life owes you and start thinking clearly about what you're going to go after.
And that brings us to the two most important things you need to know about how to ask. The first is this. Ask with clarity. Not with a vague wish floating around in the back of your mind, but with the kind of precision that leaves no room for confusion. How much do you want? By when? What does your life look like when you get it? What changes? What stays the same? Marcus Aurelius didn't sit on the throne of Rome and hope things would work out. He planned, he wrote, he examined himself every single morning and every single night. The Stoics journaled not to process their feelings, but to sharpen their intentions. When you write down exactly what you want and you define it with detail and specificity, something almost magnetic happens. That goal starts pulling you toward it rather than you having to chase it. The clearer the target, the stronger the pull. So stop mumbling your dreams to the ceiling at night and start writing them down with the same seriousness you'd give a business plan.
The second thing is this. Ask with belief. And I know that sounds simple, maybe even a little soft, but hear me out. Epictetus, who started his life as a slave with nothing, no freedom, no money, no future that anyone around him could see, he built a philosophy of life that outlasted empires. And the core of it was this. The one thing no one can ever take from you is the way you choose to see the world. Choose to believe that what you're going after is possible. Not because someone guaranteed it, not because the odds are in your favor, but because you decided. Make your plans with the discipline of a general and hold on to your belief with the innocence of a child. That combination, adult strategy, childlike faith, is one of the most powerful forces a human being can put to work. Give it 90 days. Just 90 days of asking clearly and believing fully and watch how differently your life begins to move.
Now, here's the second half of this equation and this is where the real wealth lives. If you want to be happy and prosperous for the rest of your life, there is one discipline above all others you need to develop. Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. Your income, your relationships, your health, your peace of mind, none of them will consistently rise above the level of your own personal development. You might get a lucky break here and there. Life might hand you an unexpected opportunity. But if you haven't grown into the person who can hold on to it, it will find its way back out of your hands. Seneca said it plainly, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." And the Stoics were obsessed with preparation, not of circumstances, but of character. Because success is not something you chase down and catch. It's something you become worthy of and then attract naturally. True happiness isn't in what you accumulate. It's in who you become along the way.
So, how do you become that person? Let me give you three things to start doing right now. The first is to find out how things work. Almost every problem you face right now is not a resource problem. It's an idea problem. You don't need more time, more money, or more luck. You need a better idea about how to use what you already have. And where do ideas come from? Study. Read every day. Not half the night, just 30 minutes. 30 minutes a day of the right material will do more for your life than most people realize. Every successful person I've ever come across has one thing in common. They read. Not because someone told them to, but because they're hungry to know. Study what you want to become. If you want wealth, study how wealth is built. If you want health, study the body. If you want wisdom, the Stoics have already written the greatest road map in human history. It's sitting there waiting for you. Beyond reading, listen. Get yourself around people who are already living the life you want and listen to how they think, how they speak, how they make decisions. The conversations happening in the rooms you're not yet in are the ones that could change everything. And third, observe. Watch how people who succeed actually move through the world. Success always leaves clues. The way someone handles pressure, the way they treat others, the habits they keep even when no one's watching, all of it is information. Pay attention wherever you are. Be fully present. See, not just with your eyes, but with your mind. Because when your eyes are open, you see what's there. But when your mind is open, you see what's possible.
The second thing is to go to work. Not just at your job, on yourself. Start with the small disciplines. The morning routine you've been putting off, the book sitting on your shelf unread, the goal written down but never acted on. Small disciplines are not small. They are the training ground for everything bigger that's coming. The Stoics trained themselves daily in discomfort, in self-examination, in delayed gratification. Not because life was easy, but because they knew the muscle you build in quiet moments is what carries you through the hard ones. Self-motivation is not a gift some people are born with. It is a practice. You choose it every morning. You light your own fire and you keep it burning.
And the third thing, don't try to beat the system. Work it. Once you start to understand how life operates, there's always a temptation to look for the shortcut, the angle, the clever workaround. Don't. The Stoics were clear on this. Virtue is the only real wealth. Integrity is the foundation everything else is built on. Cut corners and you build a life on sand. Do it right even when it takes longer, even when no one's watching, and you build something that lasts.
Here's what I want to leave you with today. You are not the same person you were 5 years ago. And 5 years from now, you will not be the same person you are today. The only question is whether that change happens by accident or by design. Marcus Aurelius asked himself every morning, "What am I going to do today that is worthy of the life I've been given?" I'm asking you the same thing right now. What are you going to ask for out loud on paper with clarity and with belief that you've been keeping quiet about until now? Because here is the truth the Stoics lived by and that most people never quite grasp. On any given day, you have the power to change the entire direction of your life. Not someday, not when things calm down. Today, the ocean is right there, vast and full and waiting. The only question left is what are you bringing to it?
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