1. If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
Published: October 2019
We all want to be successful. But what is success? Too many times, we measure it by a person's wealth or status. We often use those markers to determine whether or not we have been successful in life. Basing it on that criteria alone means that a lot of people will never meet the world's definition of "success."
Success is attaining a purpose or goal you have set out to accomplish. The poems in this collection take a deeper look at other definitions of success. It's not about living up to the world's standards. Being successful is much more than money or popularity. It's about being yourself, working hard to achieve your dreams, learning lessons from your mistakes, and living your best life.
The start of a new year is marked with many resolutions. Some look at keeping those resolutions as a marker for success. But for many, it's challenging to accomplish the goals we have at the beginning of the year. This year, instead of resolutions of losing weight or getting organized, why don't we focus on our character? Let's look for ways to be kinder, more encouraging, and present with those around us. Let's not get distracted by the expectations of the world. Instead, let's live out our own definition of success.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
I was never an avid reader nor appreciated poetry most of my life. My dad sent me this poem for my 28th birthday, printed along with a lovely card. Living many miles away from him I often...
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
I've had this poem on my desk for the past 40 years of my life. In my darkest moments, it's given me light and a way to look beyond the clouds around me. It's a classic motivational...
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Figure it out for yourself, my lad,
You've all that the greatest of men have had,
Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes,
And a brain to use if you would be wise.
I lost my wife Donna in April 2021. Edgar Albert Guest's poem is inspiring me to carry on and get on with things. Life is too short.
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
I memorized this poem more than 30 years ago and though I'm now 72, I still find myself quoting it often. In fact, I quote it almost every time I find myself engaged in an extremely difficult...
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A time has come
and it is now.
Will you take a stand
or bend your knee and bow?
How do you measure success in this life?
And who should decide if you fail?
Do life's sweet temptations guide you along?
Or in the end does your conscience prevail?
The road to success is not straight.
There is a curve called Failure,
A loop called Confusion,
Speed bumps called Friends,
This poem really moved me. It made me think of my little sister Dana! Oh, how she is such a cutie. When I grow up, I was thinking about asking her to live with me! Ha! Ha!
When times are hard, you might stop for a bit,
But it's not over until the moment you quit.
On a river's bridge, failures are the planks;
Take one step at a time until you reach its banks.
Death is an inevitable fate.
Someday we have to go.
You hope you did
your best in life,
We resolve to turn a new leaf in our lives
Yet go back to whining old ways in no time
Why do we break promises ever so often
Success is not engraved
on the pieces of paper
that control our very lives.
Well I met the author of this poem in 4th grade, and she's one of the most remarkable people I have ever known or ever hope to know.
Follow your dreams.
You won't disagree.
Failure is in the past,
So get over that fast.
I loved the poem "Follow Your Dreams." I wonder how old the author was when she wrote it. I hope she keeps at it. I wrote poetry when I was in grade school. -Scott Schaeffer-Duffy
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