First practice not letting people know who you are—keep your philosophy to yourself for a bit. In just the manner that fruit is produced—the seed buried for a season, hidden, growing gradually so it may come to fully maturity. But if the grain sprouts before the stalk is fully developed, it will never ripen… That is the kind of plant you are, displaying fruit too soon, and the winter will kill you.
—Epictetus, Discourses, 4.8.35b-37
After all you’ve read, it might be tempting to think: This stuff is great. I get it. I’m a Stoic. But it’s not that easy. Just because you agree with the philosophy doesn’t mean the roots have fully taken hold in your mind.
Fooling with books so you can sound smart or have an intimidating library is like tending a garden to impress your neighbors. Growing one to feed a family? That’s a pure and profitable use of your time. The seeds of Stoicism are long underground. Do the work required to nurture and tend to them. So that they—and you—are prepared and sturdy for the hard winters of life.
* Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman