If by Rudyard Kipling

This weekend I was going through some notes and came across one of my favorite poems "If" by Rudyard Kipling. Written in 1895, I absolutely love this one as it speaks to the deepest truths of being a man and I wanted to share it with you today. It can be a little wordy as it was written 127 years ago, but the meaning behind the words have never been more true.

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.

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 impostors 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 worn-out 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!

Every time I read this, I feel inspired. Inspired to be a better leader, to have more discipline, and too ultimately be a better man. Kipling's words cut through the modern day noise and speak to the soul of being a man and I feel like we could spend an hour unpacking the wisdom in his words, but for the sake of time, I’ll just share my favorite themes.

In the first section, I love how he talks about keeping your head, when everyone around you is losing there’s, and trusting yourself when everyone doubts you, and making allowance for their doubting to.

There is so much power here, Kipling is talking bout being a strong, grounded dude who has faith in himself and has the grace and compassion to support those who have a difference in opinion. As men, we must be the calm in the storm, and have faith in ourselves regardless what others think or say.

He also talks a lot about being humble, staying focused and never allowing outside circumstances hold us back, or keep us down. I love the part about dreams. “If you can dream, but not make dreams your master,” is such a powerful thought followed up by the idea that triumph and disaster are both imposters and we must treat them just the same.

After all, what is triumph, and disaster? It’s nothing more than how we choose to view each situation. Success and failure are both 100% subjective and therefore, we must treat them the same.

My favorite part is when he talks about loosing it all, and building it back with worn out tools, and then never breathing a word about the loss.

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.

And this part, definitely this part:

And so hold on when there is nothing in you,
Except the will which says to them: ‘Hold on!'

So powerful! In my humble and bias opinion, this is the type of man we should all strive to be. A man a principle, of faith, of conviction and character that leads by example, walks with compassion and is guided by grace. If this poem speaks to you, I challenge you to save it on your phone and read it daily as a reminder of the type of leader we can call be and should strive to become.

Have an amazing week, and let us know if you need anything. We’ve always got your back!

P.S. If you have a moment, shoot us a message and let us know what you think of this poem and what’s your favorite part.