"Invictus"

...So normally, I make my blog titles the names of songs but I'm going to break the re-write the rules and go with a poem on this one...

Invictus

OUT of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Now, some of you may be familiar with arguably William Ernest Henley's most popular work, Invictus. This poem was written as Henley lied on his death bed. I'm not sure if you could feel the conviction that he wrote in every word but the meaning of it resonates in my soul for many reasons. For one, William Ernest Henley was not a man who fell on hard times. He was not some rich guy who went broke or some star athlete who lost a step. "Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole. I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul." He was born in 1849 and as a child battled tuberculosis.
Throughout his whole life he met obstacle after obstacle which came with no warning. Yet, in his darkest hour, this physically crippled man was thankful

"Under the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not wince nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody but unbowed." Throughout his life, as despair turned to sorrow, and sorrow turned to misery, he understood that his situation(s) would not get better if he did not approach each day with the outlook that today is mine, there is no tomorrow. Can you imagine!? Some nerve! To live each day to the fullest!? Foolishness, of course. Surely I can finish that assignment tomorrow, surely that project update can be done tomorrow...or maybe more realistic...surely I can call my mom back tomorrow, surely I can send that thank you card tomorrow...surely I can say I love you tomorrow???

"Beyond this place of wrath of tears looms but the horror of the shade. And yet the menace of the years, finds and finds me unafraid." The key to life is to treat each day as its own day. In this world...this cruel world...we have seen in our short lives enough pain to fill a lifetime yet it is important that we do not become merely a product of our environment but instead become a catalyst to it. It is my job and your job to be nothing less than amazing...nothing shy of influential...everything except unafraid.

"It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Has it become so rare to be extraordinary that we only see it on television and old books? Has it become common place to settle for what life is handing us instead of demanding what it has to offer? Is being bold and daring the new out of the norm?

I implore you to, everyday, strive for greatness in everything that you do. I'm sure I saw this on some bumper sticker or something but I think its kind of catchy. "To give anything less than 100% is to sacrifice the gift." Be it a sales rep, a marketing director, a police officer, a mother, a father, a son, a friend...do all that you can because in the end, that is all that will matter. I have always been a proponent to the concept that God makes people equally unequal because my talents may be your weaknesses and your talents may be my weaknesses but the ONE thing that we all have in common is our WILL. The intangible desire to succeed...to accomplish.

So with all that said, on your next day...better yet, from RIGHT NOW...take hold of the reigns of your life! As I close, I leave you with a line from one of my favorite poems..."If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run, yours is the earth and all that is in it, and which is more you'll be a man my son." The poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling is full of statements that if you digest it (yes, digest), you will find is very applicable to some part of your life. What I gather the most from this poem, specifically that line, is that if we stop viewing life as one long minute but instead think of it as 60 individual seconds, your impact...our impact will be more lasting, more memorable, and most importantly...more fulfilling.

...Carpe Diem....