“Each person’s life is a kind of battle,” the philosopher Epictetus wrote more than 2,000 years ago.
What was true then is true now. After all, what is life if not a series of challenges, even small ones? The baby has colic, Joe’s late for work, traffic on I-95 is backed up for miles, and it’s starting to snow. Oh, and the cat just peed on the new rug in the hallway.
So if life is a battlefield, as many have described it—and especially if we feel we’re losing the war—is it possible that history’s greatest military leaders might offer us some worthwhile advice? Let’s consider a few examples….