The Wisdom Of Poets - 1 - The Gratitude Breakfast Club

Read - Listen - Reflect

Even when we "fail," we set the stage for our later success or the success of those who come after us, perhaps even a long time after us. We stand on the shoulders of those who succeeded as well as those who failed.

So, when you need a boost today, take a moment to listen to "For the Man Who Fails" by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Reflect in your gratitude journal on the following appreciation accelerators:

1. When was the last time you felt appreciation for an attempt you made, regardless of the outcome? Take some time to journal and revel in the foundation you laid. If an occasion doesn't immediately come to mind, think back through relationships, school, entrepreneurial endeavors, parenting, or career steps to see what you can find.

2. Who are the ancestors on whose shoulders you stand - personal or communal - for whom you feel gratitude or appreciation?

With love, appreciation, and gratitude,
Karen

Transcript

For The Man Who Fails by Paul Lawrence Dunbar The world is a snob,

And the man who wins is the chap for its money's worth,

And the lust for success causes half of the sins that are cursing this brave old earth.

For it's fine to go up,

And the world's applause is sweet to the mortal ear,

But the man who fails in a noble cause is a hero that's no less dear.

Tis true enough that the laurel crown twines but for the victor's brow,

For many a hero has lain him down with naught but the cypress bow.

There are gallant men in the losing fight,

And as gallant deeds are done,

As ever graced the captured height,

Or the battle grandly won.

We sit at life's board with our nerves high-strung,

And we play for the stake of fame,

And our odes are sung and our banners hung for the man who wins the game.

But I have a song of another kind than breathes in these fame-wrought gales,

An ode to the noble heart and mind of the gallant man who fails.

The man who is strong to fight his fight,

And whose will no front can daunt,

If the truth be truth and the right be right,

Is the man that the ages want.

Though he fail and die in grim defeat,

Yet he has not fled the strife,

And the house of earth will seem more sweet for the perfume of his life.