Discipline is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control

The inscription on the Oracle of Delphi says: 'Nothing in excess.' C.S. Lewis described temperance as going to the 'right length but no further.' Easy to say hard to practice - and if it was tough in 300 BC or in the 1940s it feels all but impossible today. Yet it's the most empowering and important virtue any of us can learn. Without self-discipline all our plans fall apart. Here Ryan Holiday shows how to cultivate willpower moderation and self-control in our lives. From Aristotle and Marcus Aurelius to Toni Morrison and Queen Elizabeth II he illuminates the great exemplars of its practice and what we can learn from them. Moderation is not about abstinence: it is about self-respect focus and balance. Without it even the most positive traits become vices. But with it happiness and success are assured: the key is not more but finding the right amount.