Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor, the most powerful man on the planet was still humble enough to sit and write each night. He would write to remind himself of the types of behaviours he should exhibit. These were often behaviours excusing people for deeds that other emperors would not hesitate in having the perpetrator executed for. Marcus understood the power of mindset:
"Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself: in your way of thinking"
Another famous Stoic, Seneca, riches beyond your wildest imagination and advisor to Nero himself, he would spend a few days each month, living on the street in rags, begging for food. Why? Because a Stoic does not just philosophize they practise and behave as Stoics. Seneca would live on the streets a few days at a time as a reminder to himself that all the wealth in the world could be gone tomorrow and what would he still be? Could he still be a just and upright man despite having nothing. By living on the streets each month he forged an Iron Will and a humbleness that he would not have achieved if he did lost himself in the luxuries his life provided for him.
Marcus and Seneca are role models for the Iron Exec. Just as the Iron Exec has forged an Iron Will, an unbreakable belief in their own abilities, so too had these ancient Stoics because they looked beyond the present. They saw what was in front of them without telling lies to themselves. Marcus once wrote that even though he would attend these very opulent banquets in his name he knew that it was just some rotting meat and vegetables pulled from the ground.
The Iron Exec has on countless occasions felt enormous weight on their back yet still have descended into a deep squat, courageous in their belief they could stand back up with it. The stoic's did the same with challenge in their daily life. Through the practise of Stoicism they forged an Iron will like the Iron Exec, knowing that because they had visualised, considered and even on occasion lived through such challenges (think Seneca on the street for 2 days with no food) they could continue day in day out in the face of incredible struggles. This is what been an Iron Exec is about. Having a stoic take on life. Not just a philosophy, but a behaviour, a growth mindset not a fixed, closed mind, which in turn leads the individual to been emotionally hijacked anytime something significantly challenging crosses their path.
The Iron Exec knows, that that meathead in the gym who try's to tell you that the way they lift is the right way and what you are doing is wrong, is just a lifter who is yet to understand a growth mindset, they haven't considered alternatives like the Stoic Iron Exec. As a result instead of telling that meathead to go copulate with themselves, the Iron Exec respectfully nods, gets back under that bar and continues on their path to Iron Exec strength levels and successes in life the meathead will never experience.
"Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one." Marcus Aurelius