The Stoics held a simple, demanding idea: the only true good is a good character. Money, status, even health are things we'd prefer, but they can be taken, and they don't make a person good. What you can always keep is how you choose to act, with honesty, fairness, courage, kindness. On a day when much is out of your hands, this is steadying. You may not control the result, but you can always control whether you meet it well. A good action is never wasted, even when no one sees it. That is wealth no one can reach into your life and remove.

Inspired by the old idea of virtue as the only good. Written by Ugo Charles.