One Of My Favorite Poems

I first read this poem when I was a teenager and it has had a profound effect on me over the years. I didn’t fully comprehend its depth and meaning until much later in life. For me, this poem has always been a good guide on how to live. Though I do not agree with everything in the poem, I do agree with most of its philosophical concepts. Over the course of my life, I have had my fair share of ups and downs, good and bad, successes and failures, blessings and curses, and more.

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!

-Rudyard Kipling

It is crazy to think that this poem was written in 1895, but yet it still resonates with many men and women today in terms of its philosophical approach to life. For me, the poem is a guide to living your greatest life, living with authenticity, and always doing good. It is true that we will all encounter bad things and bad people on our journey. However, we must not let those bad things and bad people change us for the worse. It is important always to protect our inner child. To that end, I will always believe in dreams. I will always believe in love. I will always believe in good.

Chatri Sityodtong is a self-made entrepreneur and lifelong martial artist from Thailand. His rags-to-riches life story has inspired millions around the world on BBC News, CNN, Financial Times, Bloomberg TV, CNBC, Channel NewsAsia, and other major media. He is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of ONE, Asia’s largest billion dollar global sports media platform in history with a broadcast to over 150+ countries around the world. He is also the star of the first-ever global edition of The Apprentice, the award-winning reality TV series on Netflix. Sityodtong was named “Asia’s King of Martial Arts” by the Financial Times and was ranked the “2nd Most Powerful Person in Sports in Asia” by FOX Sports. Sityodtong was also selected as one of “Asia’s Top 100 Business Leaders” by Business Insider. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD, Europe’s top business school. Inducted recently into the Black Belt Hall of Fame, Sityodtong is a Kru in Muay Thai under Yodtong Senanan and a Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie. Sityodtong holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Tufts University.