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From Alexander the Platonist I learned not to tell people "I'm too busy" unless it's really necessary. And not to keep putting off what we owe our friends and family by claiming we have urgent business.
Of Alexander the Platonic, not often nor without great necessity to say, or to write to any man in a letter, 'I am not at leisure'; nor in this manner still to put off those duties, which we owe to our friends and acquaintances (to every one in his kind) under pretence of urgent affairs.
We can define our highest good in different ways. The same idea can be expressed with different words. Think of an army — it might spread out wide or pull together tight. It might curve its wings back or form a straight line. No matter how it's arranged, its strength and loyalty stay the same. Our definition of the highest good works the same way. Sometimes we can explain it with many words. Other times we can say it briefly. Both ways mean the same thing. I could say, 'The highest good is a mind that ignores the ups and downs of fortune and finds joy in virtue.' Or I could say, 'It's an unbeatable strength of mind that understands the world well, acts gently, and treats everyone with courtesy and kindness.'
Our highest good may also be defined otherwise, that is to say, the same idea may be expressed in different language. Just as the same army may at one time be extended more widely, at another contracted into a smaller compass, and may either be curved towards the wings by a depression in the line of the centre, or drawn up in a straight line, while, in whatever figure it be arrayed, its strength and loyalty remain unchanged; so also our definition of the highest good may in some cases be expressed diffusely and at great length, while in others it is put into a short and concise form. Thus, it will come to the same thing, if I say "The highest good is a mind which despises the accidents of fortune, and takes pleasure in virtue": or, "It is an unconquerable strength of mind, knowing the world well, gentle in its dealings, showing great courtesy and consideration for those with whom it is brought into contact."