I appreciate how Marcus Aurelius begins the day by focusing on the values he wants to live and exhibit through his behavior. I also love this lesson and promise: "From Alexander the Platonic, not frequently nor without necessity to say to any one, or to write in a letter, that I have no leisure; nor continually to excuse the neglect of duties required by our relation to those with whom we live, by alleging urgent occupations."
Note: The version I read was translated by George Long and was published in a Harvard Classics edition that also includes Plato's The Apology, Phaedo, and Crito, as well as Epictetus' The Golden Sayings.
