Success Poems

Published: October 2019

Poems About Success And Hard Work

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.

15 Poems About Success And Hard Work

  1. If

    Famous Poem

    Rudyard Kipling was an English poet who lived from 1865-1936. He also wrote many children's stories. The poem's line, "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same," is written on the wall of the players' entrance at Wimbledon.

    in Famous Inspirational Poems

    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:

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    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...

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  2. Keep Going

    Famous Poem

    Edgar Guest (1881-1959) was a prolific American poet – publishing a poem every day in the Detroit Free Press for 30 years. Known as the People’s Poet, Edgar Guest wrote easy-to-read poems about many relatable topics. He wrote encouraging life messages about topics such as family and work. This particular poem encourages readers not to give up when they are faced with challenges. Even when things are not going well, keep pushing on. You never know how close you are to success and making it to the other side.

    in Famous Inspirational Poems

    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,

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    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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  4. Equipment

    Famous Poem

    Edgar A. Guest was born in 1881 in England, but his family moved to the United States when he was 10. It is believed that he wrote more than 11,000 poems. Guest wrote about family, work, children, and God. In this poem, he shows that each person has the ability to do amazing things, but we must each work hard to get to where we want to be. We must look within ourselves to find the strength and courage needed to do great things with what God has given us. This is a poem of encouragement and motivation. Within each stanza are sets of rhyming couplets.

    in Famous Inspirational Poems

    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.

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    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.

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  5. It Couldn't Be Done

    Famous Poem

    Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959) published more than twenty volumes of poetry and over 11,000 poems. His first published poem and many more were published in the Detroit Free Press where he was a columnist. He later had both popular radio and television shows. Guest has been called "the poet of the people." Of his poems he said, "I take simple everyday things that happen to me and I figure it happens to a lot of other people and I make simple rhymes out of them."

    in Famous Inspirational Poems

    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.

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    Yes, I too memorized this poem, probably over 70 years ago since I am now 85. I was looking it up today to be sure I was quoting it accurately in an e-mail to my son, bragging about...

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  7. If You Must Go

    • By Terry Gouveia
    • Published by Family Friend Poems April 2015 with permission of the Author.

    These are a few things I have learned from my experiences in life.

    in Life Lesson Poems

    If you must go, then go for a while
    Remember that first step is a hard traveled mile.

    To learn what lessons life has in store,

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    Poem With Words Of Advice, If You Must Go

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    I, too, was motivated by your poem. Like Arimoon, I also allow my past to hold me back. I am so hard on myself for my past mistakes, regret, bad decisions, etc... but with each new day that...

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  8. If You Stand For Nothing You Will Fall For Anything

    • By Lydia Preston
    • Published by Family Friend Poems December 2018 with permission of the Author.

    As a person, I believe in standing up for what I believe in no matter what the cost may be. Experience has taught me that it is a rare quality, one not easily found in people today. Many believe in something but soon relent as they start to buckle under its weight. This poem is the result of a lesson I've leaned over time. That lesson being, if you believe in something with all your heart, you must be prepared to stand alone.

    in Courage Poems

    A time has come
    and it is now.
    Will you take a stand
    or bend your knee and bow?

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  9. If You Believe

    This was inspired by an experience I had in school years ago. A long story, but I emerged with an uplifting lesson I often share with students: Faith in God with diligence - against all odds - works wonders.

    in Inspirational Poems

    When your mind is set
    On a splendid thing you want to do,
    There are some who will shrug,
    Like you don't have a clue.

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  10. Don't Quit

    • By M. Tarun Prasad
    • Published by Family Friend Poems October 2016 with permission of the Author.

    Are you depressed or down in the dumps? Do you want to give up on your goals and just quit? If this applies to you, this is exactly what you have been looking for to motivate you to come back even harder and achieve your dreams.

    in Inspirational Poems

    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.

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  11. How Do You Measure Success In This Life?

    This is a poem about how to measure if your life has been a success according to the way you lived. That is an impossible question to answer.

    in Meaningful Poems

    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?

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  12. Successful Life

    • By Eugene Grinman
    • Published by Family Friend Poems September 2018 with permission of the Author.

    People too often measure their success by the material possessions they have acquired or their status in society. I think a successful life is all of the troubles and experiences that a person goes through and what they gain from them.

    in Inspirational Poems

    Death is an inevitable fate.
    Someday we have to go.
    You hope you did
    your best in life,

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  13. The Path To Success

    • By Saarah Shekha
    • Published by Family Friend Poems June 29, 2023 with permission of the Author.

    I really enjoy writing poems and have a book full of them. But this one really stands out to me because it has a positive and meaningful message. I really enjoyed writing this, and when people read it I hope they will receive the same enjoyment I felt.

    in Life Lesson Poems

    There's a goal in mind
    Of riches and fame
    There's a goal in mind
    Of a well-known name

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  14. Success

    • By Niderah
    • Published by Family Friend Poems July 2008 with permission of the Author.

    Don't ever think success can't be achieved. Inspiration is here, and you need to read this for encouragement.

    in Faith Poems

    The road to success is not straight.
    There is a curve called Failure,
    A loop called Confusion,
    Speed bumps called Friends,

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    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!

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  15. Success Does Not Possess

    • By Camryn Covert
    • Published by Family Friend Poems November 2015 with permission of the Author.

    This poem is about the reality of success and how it is not possessions that make us successful; it's finding our true happiness that makes us successful.

    in Meaningful Poems

    Success is not engraved
    on the pieces of paper
    that control our very lives.

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    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.

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  16. Promises To Keep

    • By Hemant Bohra
    • Published by Family Friend Poems December 2021 with permission of the Author.

    I am a storyteller, entrepreneur, and author. I am like that high ropewalker with only a pole in hand to balance. At one end of the pole is my heart that seeks inspiration and at the other end is my mind that needs motivation. But I am the one who must balance both while traversing through this world. There is no room for procrastination. I want to live every year in a moment and moments in every year.

    in New Year's Poems

    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

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  17. Who Will You Be?

    • By Laila M. Beard
    • Published by Family Friend Poems June 2017 with permission of the Author.

    I had to write a poem for the 8th grade graduation, so I decided to do it about succeeding because a lot of people don't even try at all.

    in Graduation Poems

    Who will you be?
    Will you pass?
    Can you succeed?

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