This was coming from one of the most successful entrepreneurs of his time. Rockefeller was the founder of Standard Oil, the man who built the first true oil empire in the United States. At one point he was the richest man in the world and became the country’s first billionaire. His name is still synonymous with wealth and industry.

He believed that all the anxiety wasn’t worth it. “All the fortune that I have made has not served to compensate for the anxiety of that period,” Rockefeller said about his time of excessive worry.

You will never get back the time you spend worrying, beating yourself up, and walking around with a depressed state of mind. When you face hardship in life, it’s easy to get down and think, “Why me? Why can’t life be easy for once?”

Well, I’ve been there many times too, and here’s what I’ve come to realize every single time: Life is never easy… And that’s exactly why we need to be tough.

You can have everything going for you and get hit with a disease. You can have all the money in the world and lose your child. You can love your career and have it taken away from you in an instant because of the economy.

The science of mental toughness

The word mental toughness sounds modern, but the idea isn’t. Athletes and coaches started using it in the late 20th century, and by the early 2000s, psychologists began to study it seriously.

In 2002, researchers Graham Jones, Sheldon Hanton, and Declan Connaughton published a landmark paper in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology that tried to answer the question: What is this thing called mental toughness?

Put simply, mental toughness means having a psychological edge that allows you to cope better than others with the demands of life, and to stay focused, confident, and in control under pressure.

Mental toughness is your ability to perform when everything feels like it’s falling apart. It’s not about ignoring fear or stress. It’s about showing up to the best of your ability despite the hardships of life.

Science just gave a name to something our ancestors already understood. The Stoics talked about it two thousand years ago.

Seneca said:

“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”

Obstacles are normal (don’t believe what you see)

We live in a world where people want to hide their obstacles. We only see the highlights of everyone’s life: the vacations, new jobs, business milestones, excessive stock returns, babies being born, completion of marathons, and so forth.

What we don’t see is that all people face the same issues of life. We all deal with moments of weakness. We all deal with obstacles and hardships.

But because our view of life is not edged in reality, our expectations of what a normal life is are messed up.

Are the following things normal?

• Being happy every minute of every day?
• Making more money every single year?
• Never arguing in your relationship?
• Going on a vacation every other month?
• Spending everything you earn?
• Always being healthy?

You’re probably saying no to these things. But secretly, you probably are expecting some of these things to happen to you, right?

Social media is really a disease of our times. Believing what you see online can seriously disturb your mental peace. Instead of believing that a perfect life is normal, believe that a hard life is normal.

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said:

“Life is deeply steeped in suffering, and cannot escape it: our existence is in fact a tragedy.”

That’s basically his core idea: life is tragedy. Not because everything is bad, but because pain and hardship are unavoidable.

Everything is training

Just because life is hard doesn’t mean we should bend the knee. I’ve adopted the philosophy of Bruce Lee when it comes to this. Here’s what he believed:

“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.”

As the platitude goes, the only way out of challenges is through. Don’t wish life was easy, wish you were stronger.

You know, the stuff they talk about on motivational posters. The truth is that you need mental toughness to endure a hard life. And since a hard life is the rule and not the exception, we all need to be mentally tougher.

But there’s a difference between reading a quote and living according to a principle. If you live according to the idea that you should focus on building mental toughness, you see everything as training.

Every time you notice some form of friction within you (complaining, giving up, anger), tell yourself:

THIS IS TRAINING

One of the most mentally tough people in my life is my dad. For all his adult life, he lived far away from his parents and siblings. He worked himself up from a cleaner at an industrial laundry to a manager.

He lost his parents relatively young, and he also lost his youngest brother. He built a business from scratch in a country he did not grow up in. And even though he can complain and get grumpy at times, he always took care of his responsibilities.

Forget about the Michael Jordans and Elon Musks of the world. Mental toughness is taking care of your own. It’s showing up every day to your best ability and making sure your life is in order.

And if that’s hard to do, don’t be surprised. Life’s supposed to be hard.

Just remember, you can’t make an omelet without cracking eggs.

The post Mental Toughness Part I: Life is hard appeared first on Darius Foroux.

Yeah right.

Meanwhile, the real world was full of gatekeepers, job interviews, unpaid internships, and rejections at every step you tried to take. That version of manifesting always felt disconnected from reality.

But I’ll be honest, I never completely dismissed the idea. Something about it stuck with me. Maybe not the mystical part, but the part about belief. 

The part that said: If you can imagine something clearly enough, and you’re willing to work for it, maybe you can make it happen.

In 2015, I did just that. I slowly started turning nothing into something. I wrote a book. Didn’t cost me anything. I uploaded it through Amazon KDP and a few people bought it. That felt pretty good. I wasn’t rich, but I proved to myself that I could earn money from ideas. That moment changed the way I saw the internet — and myself.

Later, I started a newsletter. Then came courses. I spent $2400 on a Kajabi Pro subscription which I still use to host my courses. That first year, I made about five grand. Not much. But every year after, it grew. Within three years, it became a six-figure business. Just by sharing what I knew and helping people solve problems.

All with very little investment. Just time, effort, and ideas. I didn’t hire a team. I didn’t raise money. I just focused. Wrote every week. Stayed consistent. And kept at it.

It was still hard to start. But now? It’s even easier. The tools are better. The gatekeepers are gone.

You can build solo, and you can do it straightaway. You don’t need to take out loans or chase investors. You can get your first sale within days or weeks.

Forget the woo-woo. Manifesting is about FOCUS.

This isn’t about vision boards or magical thinking. This is about aligning your thoughts with your actions. It’s about identifying what you want and then designing your day around making it real.

Modern manifesting means thinking clearly and focusing on the ONE thing you want to accomplish.

If you chase every idea you have or opportunity you see, you end up with nothing.

It’s clarity, commitment, and creation. That’s it. That’s the formula. And most people still miss it because they want shortcuts. But there are none. The only “secret” is doing the work.

You simply start working towards one thing and then improve as you go. You get in the game. You don’t just dream about it.

And what if it doesn’t work out? You adjust!

Right now, you’ve got access to:

• AI tools that make you work so much faster
• Platforms like Amazon KDP, Substack, and Kajabi
• YouTube and social media to distribute your message
• Communities that can support your growth

We’re talking leverage on a scale that didn’t exist 10 years ago. Most people sit on digital gold mines without even realizing it.

You don’t need permission. You don’t need a team. You don’t even need a lot of money. You just need the guts to start — and the discipline to keep going when it’s not glamorous.

What if you don’t want to start a business or do anything online?

Ever since the start of modern civilization, people have gotten rich through investing and speculation.

People bought land, stocks, and real estate. That was always hard because you needed a lot of money to make money.

That’s no longer true. You can trade stocks for free and you can start with little money.

That has brought in many new participants in markets over the past decade. That means there are always buyers and sellers. And that’s the only thing you need to make money.

It’s just as risky as starting a business. If you start a business, you invest time and money, and many times it doesn’t work out.

Trading stocks or other assets is the same. Like any money-related thing in the world, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you will lose it. 

So if you want to make money with stocks or trading, the key is once again focus.

Since 2020, I’ve beaten the market consistently, not by gambling or day trading, but by:

• Being patient
• Staying invested
• Making selective bets on stocks I deeply understand

I track them daily. I research a lot. I don’t try to predict everything. I just focus on knowing my edge. I don’t jump on hype. I look for companies I believe in. Then, I wait for the right time to buy them at the right price.

What’s the right price?

No one knows. You can make up your own mind about it. And if you’re right, you win, if you’re wrong, you lose. That’s the hard part about investing.

For example, I bought Tesla in the summer of 2024 in the $160s and at a PE ratio in the 40s. Then it ran up to the $400s and a PE of 200. So I sold it in January 2025 because it was just way too expensive for me to hold. And I made a good return.

This kind of manifesting doesn’t get talked about as much. But it’s real. You can turn five figures into six. Six into seven. Not by luck. By learning, by studying, and by acting on what you know. That’s how real wealth is built.

You can still make money from AI and business. But there’s also a serious opportunity in the markets. If you’re willing to learn, this is one of the best times in history to build wealth faster than most think is possible.

What’s stopping you?

It’s not a lack of knowledge. You’re drowning in information. It’s not a lack of tools. You have more power in your pocket than NASA had in the ’60s.

It’s often the normal reasons like hesitation, doubt, and fear of failing. 

Just remember that fear is temporary. Regret is permanent.

But there’s one kind of regret that you want to have in life.

Every single time I do well in the stock market, I think, “I should’ve bought more.” I’d rather feel that way than say, “I wish I bought.” 

Because the latter is the worst. It means I didn’t act.

And it’s the same with any endeavor. If you want to accomplish something, start working on it. I guarantee you that you will not regret that decision because you will always learn something.

I’ve done many things in my life that seemed stupid or a waste of time at the time, but in hindsight, I’m always glad I did them.

You don’t need to believe in yourself to begin. You just need to act. Belief comes from action, not the other way around.

Despite all the uncertainty and weird things that are going on in the world, this is the best time in history to build something of your own. 

Don’t waste it. Make it happen.

The post Manifesting Sounds Silly, But It’s Real appeared first on Darius Foroux.

In 2011, I finished grad school. The economy was still recovering from the 2008 crash. I wanted to work in finance. But no one wanted to hire me. Not a single company gave me a shot.

So I did what a lot of people do when they’re out of options. I started a business with my dad.

By 2013, I’d been working with him for two years. And I hated it. I didn’t like the industry, felt no passion for the work, and couldn’t see a future in it. 

That’s when I thought, “Maybe I just need to do my own thing.” So I started a marketing agency. But I couldn’t even get a single client.

In 2014, I took a corporate job. To be honest, it felt good at the beginning. After all, that’s what I wanted when I was in university. 

But within a year, I felt completely empty. The dream I had of climbing the corporate ladder and becoming a CEO? Gone. I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t even want to get out of bed. I was depressed, uninspired, and completely lost.

Then I started writing.

And you’d think that once I found something I actually enjoyed, everything would click into place. It didn’t. I’ve felt stuck every single year since. Sometimes in my work. Sometimes in my personal life. Sometimes just in my own head.

But here’s the thing. Every time I felt stuck, something good happened afterwards. So all hope is not lost.

If you’re currently stuck, here’s what I want to share with you.

First, change your perspective: Feeling lost is GOOD

If you’re stuck in a gloomy mindset, I know this is not what you want to hear. Because right now you’re probably thinking:

• Everything sucks
• Nothing will be fine
• The world is a bad place
• It’s hopeless, so why even try?

Wrong.

Let’s cut the crap. Enough feeling sorry for yourself. It’s time to snap out of your negativity.

First, understand that you’re feeling lost for a reason.

There’s something you need to change. When you feel bad, it’s your body and mind’s way of telling you that you can’t keep doing what you’re doing. It’s just not working.

Every time I was stuck, I made a change.

What’s something you’re going to change?

Second, you have enough time

Let me guess why you’re feeling bad right now.

You didn’t get what you wanted in the timeframe that YOU expected.

Am I right?

• I have to make 200K a year by the time I’m 35
• I should’ve been married by now
• I need to have my life together by the end of this year

Who told you that? Who made those rules?

You have time.

Most people only figure things out after years of trial and error. The people who act like they knew exactly what they wanted at 22? They’re lying to you and themselves.

The real game is about learning, adjusting, and staying in motion. You don’t need to be perfect today. You just need to keep moving.

Third, don’t be a sour companion for the people in your life

Feeling sorry for yourself is selfish and it drags down the people around you too.

No one wants to hang out with someone who constantly complains, blames others, or acts like life is out to get them.

If you want better relationships, stop making everything about you.

Change your focus to OTHER people. Stop thinking about yourself for a second. You can always come back to that!

Ask how your friends are doing. Check in with family.

Offer help, even if you feel like you need it more. Being useful to others is one of the fastest ways to stop feeling useless yourself.

Show up as someone worth supporting; someone who’s trying, someone who’s honest about their struggles but also willing to do the work.

Fourth, focus on the basics: Exercise, sleep, journaling, learning, and progress

When you’re stuck, your mind tricks you into believing you need some grand solution. But most of the time, it’s the simple things that get you moving again.

Move your body every day, even if it’s just a short walk.

Get serious about your sleep. Bad sleep ruins everything else.

Start writing down your thoughts. Journaling helps you process your emotions and spot patterns.

Learn something new. Read books. Watch useful videos. Feed your brain with ideas that make you think.

That’s EASY today. Don’t know what to learn? AI. AI. AI all day! This is the most exciting time in technology ever. 

Just focus on the basics and the rest will follow.

Time to move

Start by dropping the self-pity and taking ownership of your life.

You’re not lazy. You’re not broken. You’re just stuck.

That’s temporary….as long as you don’t give up. 

Do one thing today to create momentum, even if it’s small. That’s how you start over. That’s how you find your way out.

Time to go!

The post Feeling Lost and Unmotivated? Read This. appeared first on Darius Foroux.

I stalled last year. I got comfortable. I stuck to what I knew. And guess what? My energy dropped. My motivation faded. Everything started feeling a little… stale.

It was a familiar feeling.

After graduating from university, I also drifted for a few years, not really pushing myself, just going through the motions.

Then in 2015, I snapped out of it and got serious—writing, publishing, teaching, copywriting, investing. I was all in. Every day, I was developing new skills, improving, sharpening my mind.

But last year?

After my book came out and my finances were in great shape, I got complacent. Without even realizing it, I stopped learning. And I felt it.

No challenge, no progress—just a routine that looked good from the outside but felt stagnant on the inside.

Then AI got better. It wasn’t just a silly tool anymore; it was something real, something powerful, something that could change the way I work and think.

And suddenly, I was excited again. I wanted to learn how to use it, not just as a shortcut, but as a skill. I wanted to understand its capabilities, push its limits, and make it work for me.

Just like that, I was back.

Learning is supposed to be hard

Most people avoid learning because it makes them feel stupid. Nobody likes struggling. Nobody likes being a beginner. It’s easier to stick with what you know and keep doing things the way you’ve always done them. But that’s how you get stuck.

Marcus Aurelius put it perfectly:

“Practice even what seems impossible. The left hand is useless at almost everything, for lack of practice. But it guides the reins better than the right. From practice.”

That’s how all skills work. At first, you’re terrible. You fumble, you hesitate, and nothing feels natural. But if you keep showing up, if you keep putting in the reps, eventually, what once felt impossible becomes second nature.

The problem is, most people never make it that far. They quit as soon as it gets uncomfortable.

You always need a new challenge

Growth doesn’t happen by accident. If you don’t actively push yourself into new territory, you’ll stay exactly where you are.

So what’s your next challenge?

• Master persuasion—learn how to make people feel something with your words.
• Improve your thinking—train your mind to be sharper, faster, and more strategic.
• Learn AI—figure out how to work with it instead of fearing it.
• Become a better decision-maker—stop second-guessing and start acting with confidence.
• Build something real—start a business, create a product, or turn an idea into reality.

It doesn’t matter what you choose, as long as you’re learning something. Because once you stop learning, you stop growing. And once you stop growing, you start dying.

So—what new skill are you learning right now?

The post What New Skill Are You Learning Right Now? appeared first on Darius Foroux.

Being a Stoic makes you better at money, wealth-building, and investing. Stoic Investing strategies teach us to manage our emotions and focus only on things within our control (and let go of those that we cannot).

As the ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca urged:

“You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head, of how much time has already gone by you take no heed. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, though all the while that day which you bestow on some person or thing is perhaps your last.”

Stoics acknowledge that time – unlike money – is finite. That’s why a lot of Stoic investing strategies rely on living in the present moment and making time your ally.

How do you apply Stoicism to investing?

Stoicism is about thinking long-term rather than short-term. When applied to investing, it means investing your money now so you won’t have to work as hard in the future.

In the practical sense, Stoic Investing can mean doing the following:

1. Invest to build long-term wealth, not to make major purchases — Many people invest with the goal to make a lot of money so they can buy a bigger house, a new car, or to travel more. As a Stoic investor, you shouldn’t look at investing like that. Simply see investing as a way to compound your money so you can buy freedom, not things.
2. Only speculate with money you can afford to lose — If you do want to trade stocks for short-term profits, protect the downside. Only make riskier bets with the  money you can afford to lose.
3. Stay invested even during market downturns — The stock market goes up and down unpredictably. Your job is to invest during it all.
4. Invest consistently — The key is to invest a certain percentage of your income every month (10% is a great start). As you earn more, you will also invest more. 

What did the ancient Stoics say about money?

We have the “big four” ancient philosophers of Stoicism: Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Musonius Rufus. You can learn more about them in my book, The Stoic Path to Wealth.

All four of these philosophers emphasized the importance of living a simple, frugal life and not being overly attached to material possessions.

Epictetus said it well:

“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”

However, it is NOT true that the ancient Stoics were averse to money. Instead, they underlined the importance of non-attachment. As Seneca said:

“For the wise man does not consider himself unworthy of any gifts from Fortune’s hands: he does not love wealth but he would rather have it; he does not admit into his heart but into his home; and what wealth is his he does not reject but keeps, wishing it to supply greater scope for him to practice his virtue.”

It takes money to be free, but chasing wealth shouldn’t consume us. The key is finding a balance between financial stability for ourselves and our loved ones, and understanding that true happiness isn’t found in material possessions alone.

As Marcus Aurelius said:

“Greatness lies not in wealth and station, as the vulgar believe, not yet in his intellectual capacity, which is often associated with the meanest moral character… True greatness lies in the consciousness of an honest purpose in life, founded on a just estimate of himself and everything else, on frequent self-examination, and a steady obedience to the rule which he knows to be right.”

Finally, Musonius Rufus reminds us that we shouldn’t be overly focused on our journey to building wealth. Our life and career ambitions can sometimes push us towards the pursuit of money. And that’s okay as long as we remember to not waste our most important asset, which is time. As Rufus said:

“It is not possible to live well today unless you treat it as your last day.”

The ancient Stoics argued that true wealth and contentment come from satisfaction with what one has, rather than always wanting more. The key lies in staying non-attached to material wealth or possessions.

The Stoic Triangle of Wealth

How can you set investment goals with a Stoic approach? I’ve found three strategies to build wealth while still living a fulfilling life.

• Focus on your true desires
• Compound your money
• Protect your capital

I call that the Stoic Triangle of Wealth. This idea allows us to live a life that’s both fulfilling and financially abundant.

Focus on your true desires

Here’s a thought experiment: What would you be doing on an “ideal day”?

Consider your ideal daily activities, from waking up to going to bed. For me, it’s writing, reading, running, cycling, and quality time with loved ones. Do fancy cars and lavish vacations appeal to me? Sure. But, I’m not going to invest significant energy and time chasing them.

Financial freedom means living days without being tied to a job you dislike. Because our desires fall into two categories: What society expects us to want and what we truly desire.

Many of our desires are influenced by external pressure. Some people purchase specific brands to impress, and so forth. Indulging in these isn’t inherently bad, but problems arise when we pursue a life valued by others over what we genuinely want.

Compound your earnings

Building wealth like a Stoic means prioritizing peace of mind. Our time is limited, and we can’t rely on a high-paying job indefinitely. Therefore, finding ways to build wealth outside of work is crucial. Warren Buffett said it best:

“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.”

Also, everyone needs an emergency fund. If you haven’t started, aim to save a month’s expenses in a savings account, then work up to three, six, and perhaps even a year’s worth. I believe six months is sufficient.

By saving and investing regularly, you’re on the path to financial freedom.

Protect your capital

The famous stock trader, Paul Tudor Jones, said:

“The secret to making money is playing defense. You must protect your capital and resist the urge to make wild bets that have a low probability of success.”

Many investors chase high-risk, high-yield investments without grasping the need to protect their capital. To avoid this, educate yourself on investing basics to safeguard your assets. It’s wiser to gradually build wealth while protecting your money than to risk it all for a get-rich-quick scheme that might cost you your life savings.

5 Stoic Investing Principles

To better understand Stoic investing, we can look at the following key principles.

1. Focus on the things you can control

In investing, you can’t control everything, like market swings or the economy. Stoic investing tells you to concentrate on what you can control, like your investment plan, how you spread out your assets, and how you manage risk. By focusing on what you can change, you’ll make smarter choices and reduce stress.

2. Manage your emotions

Stoicism teaches the value of staying emotionally strong and not getting too caught up in external events. This approach involves not panicking and selling off investments during market dips or getting swept up in investment fads because of the fear of missing out (FOMO) or the Fear of Better Options (FOBO). Investors who follow Stoicism strive to keep a cool head and make decisions based on long-term goals, not on fleeting emotions.

3. Remain consistent and fearless

Again, Stoicism is about accepting what we can’t control. Stoic investors know that to succeed, you need to be consistent and focus on long-term goals. Adopting a Stoic mindset means staying strong during market ups and downs. This leads us to:

4. View market volatility as an opportunity

Stoic investing is all about accepting that markets will always go up and down. Instead of worrying about drops in the market, Stoic investors see them as chances to buy assets cheaply. They know that these ups and downs are just short-term and that over time, the market trend will eventually keep going up.

5. Focus on the real value of a business

Stoic investors prefer companies they understand and that show real profit and value. They don’t invest in something purely out of hype. When you focus on real value, you make investment choices with an eye on the long-term rather than short-term profit. It’s all about knowing the true worth of an investment and making well-informed decisions.

Living well is the opposite of mindless consumerism

Some time ago, I sold a car I was fond of because I was planning to move abroad. I wondered, why keep the car? Letting go wasn’t easy, but when I handed over the keys, I realized that the car was never truly mine. It reminded me that you can’t lose what you never owned.

The truth is, we don’t really own anything. We’re just passing through, and the things we buy and call “ours” aren’t truly ours.

I’ve always loved the idea of a simple life. There’s something freeing about owning less. It feels liberating not to be burdened by too many possessions.

The real essence of Stoic Investing is to be able to pursue what we truly want and ignore what we don’t. It’s about investing in the things, people, and experiences that actually matter to us.

Order The Stoic Path to Wealth

My new book, The Stoic Path to Wealth (Portfolio / Penguin), is out now.

Learn more here: stoicpathtowealth.com

The post What is Stoic Investing? (And how Stoicism can make you wealthy) appeared first on Darius Foroux.