According to Horace, it isn't acquisition and it isn't anything in the future. It is the present. If we get our attitudes right about the present, then we can meet with equanimity any future that we might face.
Life's too short for that.
A life without that focus is a life never really lived. This is a philosopher who is always emphasizing the tremendous value of the present moment. He is the paradigmatic siezer of the day in all his advice. Put down in your books as profit every new day That Fortune allows you to have. Ultimately, for Horace, every day is a good day.