A blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it.

My mentor Marcus Aurelius said this nearly 2,000 years ago. As the Emperor of Rome, he was one of the most powerful humans on earth and practiced stoic philosophy.

From him I learned to embrace both the things we can and cannot change—and to differentiate how we respond to them.

I was mowing my lawn on a hot, muggy day. After feeling raindrops, I started to mow faster.

Clank! I ran over part of the new pool cover I had just bought. I destroyed it and broke the mower. I felt a rush of rage overcome me.

I stopped. Rather than waste energy on something I couldn’t control (I can’t rewind time), I re-focused my energy on what I could control: the solution.

I embraced what happened, because it meant that I had the opportunity to learn more about mechanics.

After a couple hours of troubleshooting, I fixed the mower myself. The feeling of accomplishment was rewarding and my new knowledge of machinery is still empowering.

Modern leaders of all kinds practice stoicism to be more successful: Senator Cory Booker, author J.K. Rowling, sports reporter Michele Tafoya, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey…. and marketing strategist Anthony Pica.

The philosophy is my superpower. It helps me solve problems under pressure, be a strong leader, and focus my energy on things I can change and improve.

Keep in mind: Outside your comfort zone is where growth hides.