This morning I would like to issue a challenge to you, my readers, one that you are perfectly capable of meeting if you are honest with yourself, honest with your Creator and honest with your fellow man. The nature of this challenge is as simple as it is profound and if you aspire to be a man or woman of greatness, of substance, overcoming this challenge is a necessary hurdle along the way.
The challenge I’d like to reissue this morning is contained in this fantastic reading by Dennis Hopper of Kipling’s poem “If”, recorded on the Johnny Cash show in 1970. Enjoy:
One seemingly persistent peculiarity of humanity is the way in which it receives the revelation of genius or the expression of greatness. Have you ever taken note that those who have dared to reveal greatness in their living and expression throughout history are initially met, more often than not, with rejection? Think Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Gallilei, Nikola Tesla or perhaps of the most notable spiritual leaders throughout recorded history. The evidence is there. Raising the bar and challenging falsely held convictions comes with great personal risk.
That said, we should thank our lucky stars for those men and women through history who have embraced “decent boldness,” who have withstood the slings and arrows of those fearful that the status quo might be improved upon and who answered, with impressive consistency, the challenge inherent in Kipling’s dynamic and powerful poem.
What of your life? Have you been sufficiently bold when your name was called? Are you consistent in your support of others who have dared to rise up and meet the challenge? There is no better time than the present to consecrate your life to a higher ideal, to let go of the inhibitions that bind you to mediocrity and to release yourself from self-concern, from the need for approbation and from the fear of retaliation from those who would rather destroy the evidence of greatness than live up to it themselves.
There is a dearth of principled, honorable and decently bold leadership in our world today, my friends, but the question is: will you step up to the plate in the world you center or will you waste a perfectly good life by shrugging your shoulders and waiting for another to reveal greatness as so many before you have done?
That, my friends, is the nature of the challenge I lay before you this morning. Have at it!
“If”, by Rudyard Kipling
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;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run –
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man my son!
Gregory Hake 
I shared this poem with my 3 sons last evening – they range in age from late teens to early twenties. They seemed very ripe and eager for it’s call to be men of character. If every one of your readers took this message to heart for themselves and then shared it with their children or other young person, we’d be on our way to really shoring up some qualities of character which our world needs now more than ever.
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Thanks for sharing the poem, Ed. I’m sure Kipling would be delighted to hear that it is still working to inspire humanity, even in the 21st century!
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I recently took the opportunity (finally!) to read “The Go-Giver” while on a cross-country flight – a delightful and powerful short story which you had mentioned early on in your blog. Your challenge is well laid out today and I can see the possibility for myself of breaking down the leadership principles in the poem and working with one each day – you can probably see how The Go-Giver has influenced my thinking on this! In any case, I am excited to work in depth with what you’ve initiated today. Many thanks!
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One of my favorite poems. A powerful depiction of how to contribute to making our world a better place, making our own lives count for something.
Well said by you both. Thank you.
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You’re very kind. Thank you.
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In this day……
I eagerly accept this opportunity to “consecrate my life to a higher ideal”
May the bar be raised!
I deeply appreciate what you bring to focus,
Thank-you.
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I accept, nothing like a call to action on
the Monday of a huge week!
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I hope that you’re continuing strong as we approach the mid-point of the week. IF you truly accepted Kipling’s challenge, you will no doubt be riding atop the wave and not tumbling under it.
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Whole heartedly accept this challenge! Thank you!
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That the poem is addressed from Kipling to his son does not diminish its value for all. My grandfather used to recite this poem to my brothers and I, making sure he was addressing all of us in the last line – that my brothers would know the value of being true men and I would know the value of being a true woman. My grandfather was convinced of the effectiveness of Kipling’s words as a leadership manual, and we were blessed to have such love and vigor for life backing Kipling’s words while our grandfather was alive to recite them. So your post today is near and dear to my heart, and it is great to have renewed passion for the leadership qualities we are all meant to give evidence of.
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Sounds like your grandfather was a great man, Tiffany. Glad to be of service in rekindling your love for this remarkable poem…
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I am confident that every single person in the world has the opportunity, daily, to reject or embrace at least one of these amazing qualities. You are either raising the bar or lowering it. I know which chioce I’ll make. Thanks, Gregg
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Appreciate your comments on raising or lowering the bar, Colin. Life is like bench pressing: raise the bar and you can set it back on the rack for you or another to carry later; lower it too far and you’ll eventually choke.
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WOW.
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I just read your comment backwards…it didn’t change. That’s what I said when I first read the poem! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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Fabulous entry!
I have loved this poem by Kipling since I first read it in college. To me it is a perfect recipe for a happy and successful life, so the challenge you issued is an easy one for me to accept. And you are right, it is we who need to get to the doing of the ‘greater works’ as you mentioned yesterday, and not waste our lives and our planet’s resources waiting for someone else to get around to the doing.
To you and all your readers I wish you a great week!
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Echoing some of your other readers – Awesome! YES!!!!! Count me in!
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Definitely words to live by.
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Important words you issue today. I feel strongly that the measure of my worth during my time on earth can be greatly increased by taking to heart this challenge. Thank you!
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Powerful comment, Josh. Thank you.
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A worthy tribute to the late Dennis Hopper. Kipling’s words, Hopper’s reading, and your further perspective have me convinced of the importance of accepting this as a very personal challenge.
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What a noble challenge to accept for oneself – count me in!
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I accept’ thank you for this timely challenge.
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With such a direct challenge it comes down to that we directly accept it and live it, or we don’t. So there isn’t much more for me to say than a robust “I accept” and get to it!
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YES!!!!!!
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I accept ……Thank you!
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Kipling’s poem says all that a father could hope to exemplify for a son – thanks for this post – good food for thought and a welcomed challenge
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He really summed it up well, didn’t he!?!
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Awesome!
What a wonderful inspiration for the start of a new day, a way for each to live their lives with honesty and integrity in our words and actions.
Thank you!
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I am glad to see you inspired by this remarkable poem. Kipling really nailed it!
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