Be The Best
If you can’t be a pine on top of the hill,
Be a shrub in the valley, but be
The best little shrub at the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can’t be a tree.
If you can’t be a bush, be a bit of the grass,
Some highway happier to make;
If you can’t be a muskie, then just be a bass,
But be the liveliest bass in the lake.
We can’t all be captains; some have to be crew,
There’s something for all of us here;
There’s big work to do and lesser to do,
And the task we must do is the near.
If you can’t be a highway, then just be a trail.
If you can’t be the sun, be a star;
It isn’t by size that you win or fail—
Be the best of whatever you are.
Success
To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
to leave the world a little better place than we found it, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life breathed easier because you lived.
This is to have succeeded.
One Talent
I have no voice for singing;
I cannot make a speech;
I have no gift for music;
I know I cannot teach.
I am no good at leading;
I cannot “organize”;
And anything I write
Would never win a prize.
But at the roll call at the meeting
I always answer “Here”.
When others are performing,
I lend a listening ear.
After the program is over,
I praise its every part.
My words are not to flatter,
I mean them from the heart.
It seems my only talent
Is neither big nor rare;
Just to listen and encourage,
And to fill a vacant chair
But all the gifted people
Could not so brightly shine
Were it not for those who use
A talent such as mine.
~Columbia Station Bulletin
A Winner’s Creed
If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t;
If you’d like to win, but think you can’t
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost;
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a person’s will,
It’s all in the state of mind.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the strong or faster hand;
But sooner or later
The person who wins
Is the one who thinks, “I can”.
~Author Unknown