How a Roman Emperor Prevented a Road-rage Disaster

This happened on Sunday…

I was driving southbound on Kingshighway Blvd. in St. Louis, heading to the Festival of Nations in Tower Grove Park when — out of nowhere — a 1980s-vintage Toyota Tercel zoomed from behind and nearly rear-ended me.

The driver was in a hurry. She zigged to the left. Then she zagged to the right. As if she were going to thread the four-foot needle between my car and the traffic in the other lanes.

The traffic was thick. I would have gone faster if I could. But I had nowhere to go.

Neither did she, and that fueled her rage.

She flashed her lights. She screamed and screamed. She waved her arms. She wanted me to GET OUT OF HER WAY.

I watched all of this in my rearview mirror.

The more I watched, the more tense I got.

I began to grip the wheel tightly. I clenched my jaw. I braced for battle.

And just as I was about to turn my head and fire back at the woman in the Tercel, I thought…

“What would Marcus do?”

Marcus Aurelius, that is. The Roman emperor. The Stoic philosopher. The guy who faced constant battles, betrayals, plagues, and political pressure most of us couldn’t imagine — yet still managed to keep his cool.

He would have told me to treat this with “preferred indifference.”

Not worth my peace.

Not worth my rage.

Not worth a single ounce of my energy.

Instead of spiraling into road rage, Marcus would have shrugged and said:

“You always own the option of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can’t control. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone.”

With Marcus’ words echoing in my brain, I loosened my grip on the wheel, unclenched my jaw, lowered my gaze from the rearview to the world ahead, and continued my leisurely Sunday drive to the park.

Thank you, Marcus Aurelius. Thank you, Stoicism.

Marcus Aurelius is a central character in Ryan Holiday’s book “The Obstacle is the Way.”

The book is about Stoicism and how this ancient philosophy can guide you to a calmer, more productive life.

This is not just a way to prevent road rage incidents. This is a recipe for business success.

That’s why Ted Prodromou and I chose “The Obstacle is the Way” as this month’s selection for the Mastermind Book Club.

Every month, Ted and I choose a great business book for Club members to read and discuss.

We meet live on Zoom on the fourth Thursday each month to discuss what we’re reading.

This month’s live meeting is this Thursday, August 28 at 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT.

There’s no cost to join the Club and attend the meetings. And you don’t have to read the book to benefit from the discussions.

But you have to join the Club in advance if you want to receive the Zoom link.

Join now at: MastermindBook.club.

Then join us on Thursday as we discuss what would Marcus do.

Bring your roadblocks.

Bring your frustrations.

Bring your simmering rage.

We’ll find the Stoic way through them.