The world would be a whole lot better if people just did the right thing. If they stopped waiting for some grand moment to be good and just… were good.

Not tomorrow. Not when it’s convenient. Today.

Marcus Aurelius—who, let’s not forget, was running an entire empire while also trying to be a decent human—put it simply:

"Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one."

No debates. No overthinking. Just be one.

Sounds simple, right? Until real life kicks in.

Take marriage. I know I should be a good husband—listening more, being present, showing appreciation. But then, my wife tells me a story about something that happened at work, and I’ve zoned out halfway through, nodding like a bobblehead while internally thinking about what’s for dinner.

Or when she asks me to take the bins out, and I say “Yep, I’ll do it in a minute”… only to completely forget until she’s staring at me, arms crossed, like she’s mentally writing my obituary.

In that moment, do I launch into some speech about being a work in progress? Do I explain how the Stoics believed in daily self-improvement?

No. I get off my ass and take the bins out. Because doing the right thing isn’t about words—it’s about action.

Same with parenting. I want to be a dad who leads by example, who’s patient and present. But then my kid does something absurd, like taking my car keys and dropping them inside a vase for no apparent reason. Suddenly, my patience is getting the ultimate stress test.

I could snap. I could lecture. Or I could remember that kids are just like us—flawed, learning, figuring things out. And the way I react now is the example I’m setting for how they’ll react to challenges later in life.

Because that’s the truth: People don’t learn from what you say. They learn from what you do.

• Want your kids to be kind? Show them kindness.
• Want your marriage to be stronger? Show up, listen, and actually take the bins out the first time.
• Want to be a better person? Don’t wait for some perfect moment to start acting like one.

I know it’s not always easy. Some days, you’ll handle things like a modern-day Marcus Aurelius—calm, wise, unshakable. Other days, you’ll be standing in your kitchen at 8 AM, wondering why your toddler is crying because their toast “feels weird.”

But the goal isn’t perfection. The goal is consistency.

So whatever you’ve been thinking about doing—apologising, being more present, being the example you wish you had—stop thinking. Just do it. Today.

Reflection: What’s one way you can lead by example today? Not tomorrow. Today.

Until next time,

Broden Johnson