‘IF’ by Rudyard Kipling, is my favourite poem which I have adapted (my apologies to him) on a number of occasions.
If you can keep your head when all about you,
Have five thousand Twitter followers to your one,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
And feel that your duty has been done;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
And plan ahead so your intentions don’t surprise,
If you let your brain be constantly creating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master,
If you have patience for the long-term game,
If you can meet with triumph and disaster,
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to master new social media,
When you really would rather go and get your lunch,
If at first your audience doesn’t heed ya,
But you back yourself and trust your hunch;
If you can keep your mind fixated,
On others, rather than on you,
If you’re working harder than anticipated,
But know your strength will see you through;
If you manage to keep smiling,
When your nerves are wearing thin,
And hang in there when the pressure’s piling,
And take your setbacks on the chin;
If you can follow the LEAPS Model,
And learn its points off by heart,
If finding the path ahead is a doddle
And you step out with pride to make your start;
If you can fill your unforgiving diary,
With two hours’ worth of good work done,
Yours is the Earth, and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll have influence, my son!
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