My favorite story about Marcus Aurelius comes at the depths of the Antonine Plague, which is a horrible pandemic that kills millions of people. Rome’s economy has been devastated. People are dying in the streets, and everyone feels like it can’t possibly get better. And what does Marcus Aurelius do? He walks through the imperial palace and begins to mark things for sale. For two months he sells on the lawn of the Great Emperor’s Palace, the jewels and robes and couches, the fineries owned by the emperor. He’s sending a message. He says, I’m not going to put myself first. I don’t need these fancy things, not when people are struggling. He says, I’m gonna do the little things that make a difference. To me this is like the CEO who takes a pay cut in a bad economy; this is the athlete who renegotiates their contract so the team can bring on new people; this is the leader who sacrifices and struggles, who puts the people first not their own comfort and needs. That’s what greatness is like.