This is a poem by Rudyard Kipling titled If. It is a father giving advice to his son.

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.

Writing music and poetry have been a part of my life for many years, along with science and martial arts. I've written a lot of songs, almost all of which no one has ever heard, including close friends. Me playing covers and reading this poem is a step toward it. My main passion is artificial intelligence (especially engineering of it into real-world systems) but guitar, piano, wrestling, jiu jitsu, and judo have helped me in that pursuit in fundamental ways that I hope to elucidate over time. If this is not your thing, please be patient and ignore it. But if you enjoy it, your support and love are always appreciated.

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If by Rudyard Kipling 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 2 imposters 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 them up with worn out tools.

If you can make 1 heap of all your winnings, and risk it all on 1 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, nerve, and sinew to serve your turn long after they're gone, And so hold on when there's 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 60 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.


Speaker 0: If by Rudyard Kipling 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 2 imposters 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 them up with worn out tools. If you can make 1 heap of all your winnings, and risk it all on 1 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, nerve, and sinew to serve your turn long after they're gone, And so hold on when there's 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 60 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. You

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If by Rudyard Kipling (read by Lex Fridman)