Do external things distract you? Then make time for yourself to learn something worthwhile; stop letting yourself be pulled in all directions.

To the wise, life is a problem; to the fool, a solution

You need to avoid certain things in your train of thought: everything random, everything irrelevant. And certainly everything self-important or malicious. You need to get used to winnowing your thoughts, so that if someone says, "What are your thinking about?" you can respond at once (and truthfully) that you are thinking this or thinking that.

The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.

Don't go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one.

Come, Caesar, even by night - let stars delay; If thou but come, thy folk will find it day