Recently, VistaTek ownership had the opportunity to bring a group of employees and family members to Minneapolis to hear author Ryan Holiday speak about a subject that has become especially meaningful to us: Stoicism.
For those unfamiliar with Ryan Holiday, he is a bestselling author who has helped introduce the ancient philosophy of Stoicism to a modern audience. His books explore lessons that date back thousands of years, yet somehow feel as relevant today as they must have felt to Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, and others who wrestled with many of the same challenges we face today.
Danny Mishek has been a student and fan of Stoicism since the pandemic. During a period when the world seemed particularly uncertain, the philosophy's four core virtues, Courage, Wisdom, Justice, and Temperance, provided a framework for keeping perspective and, perhaps, a little sanity in a crazy world.
Those lessons have also found their way into everyday life at VistaTek.
If you visit our facility, you may notice a book sitting open in our community area. Each day, it is turned to a new reading containing a lesson or thought inspired by Stoic philosophy. It is nothing elaborate, just a small daily reminder to think about how we respond to the circumstances around us.
That is one of the things that made seeing Ryan Holiday in person so enjoyable. It wasn't simply about listening to an author speak. It was seeing the engagement from our employees and their families as Holiday shared stories, lessons, and a little yarn spun from people who lived thousands of years before us.
And yet, their experiences sounded remarkably familiar.
The world has always had conflict and uncertainty.
"No man ever steps in the same river twice."
Everything changes, including us.
"We suffer more often in imagination than in reality."
How much energy do we spend worrying about things that haven't happened?
These aren't new ideas. That may be exactly why they are so powerful.
It is easy to believe that our challenges are uniquely difficult because we are living through them right now. But generations before us faced wars, political division, economic uncertainty, personal loss, business challenges, family struggles, and countless situations beyond their control.
They endured. They adapted. They kept moving forward.
Stoicism doesn't teach us that difficult things won't happen. It teaches us to focus on what we can control: our actions, our decisions, our character, and how we choose to respond.
At VistaTek, those ideas fit naturally with how we think about challenges. Problems are inevitable. Manufacturing is full of them. Business is full of them. Life is full of them.
The question is what we do next.
Do we complain about the obstacle, or learn from it?
Do we allow uncertainty to stop us, or have the courage to move forward?
Do we react emotionally, or have the temperance to pause and choose our response?
Do we simply do what is easiest, or have the wisdom and sense of justice to do what is right?
It was a great evening in Minneapolis, but perhaps the best part was sharing the experience together. Employees, families, and ownership had the opportunity to step outside the normal workday and spend some time thinking about ideas that have survived for more than two thousand years.
The world will continue to throw challenges our way. That isn't something we can control.
How we meet those challenges is.
The obstacle is the way.