To My Magnificent Agents, Staff and Friends:
One of the wisest and most prolific motivators of all time whose moniker is familiar to us all yet still remains mysteriously anonymous is Author Unknown. Here is one of his/her bits of poetic wisdom that I discovered this past week:
The Race
Defeat! He lay there silently, a tear dropped from his eye.
“There’s no sense in running anymore – three strikes, I’m out – why try?”
The will to rise had disappeared, all hope had fled away.
So far behind, so error prone, to finish he could see no way.
“I’ve lost, so what’s the use?” he thought. “I’ll live with my disgrace.”
But then he thought about his Dad who soon he’d have to face.
“Get up,” a voice sounded from within, “Get up and take your place!
You were not meant for failure here, so get up and win the race!”
With borrowed will, “Get up,” it said, “You haven’t lost at all,
For winning is no more than this – to rise each time you fall.”
So up he rose to run once more, and anew he did commit.
Resolved was he that win or lose, at least he would not quit.
So far behind the others now, the most he’d ever been,
Still he gave his all despite the odds, and ran as though to win.
Three times he’d fallen stumbling, three time he rose again,
Too far behind to hope to win, still he’d run until the end.
The crowd cheered the winning runner as he crossed the line first place,
Head high, proud and happy; no falling, no disgrace.
But when our fallen runner crossed the line last place,
From The crowd arose a greater cheer for his finishing the race.
For even though he came in last, with head bowed low, unproud;
You would have thought he’d won the race by listening to the crowd.
And to his Dad he sadly said, “I didn’t do so well.”
“To me, you won,” his father said, “for you rose each time you fell.”
So when things seem hard and dark, and life’s difficult to face,
The memory of the fallen runner should help us in our race.
For often we encounter trials, that make us feel so small,
But all you have to do to win – is rise each time you fall.
“Quit! Give up, you’re beaten,” still may be words you face,
But heed that voice within that says, “Get up and take your place!
You weren’t meant for failure here, for it’s not about first place,
Just get up, get up and win, by finishing the race!”
Have a glorious and AWE-full weekend!
Bill