On the road ahead or the road behind

While most of the great writings I come across are credited to anonymity, I disco-vered that the person who composed the following poem happens to be George Joseph Moriarty. He was an American third baseman, umpire and manager in Major League Baseball from 1903 to 1940; he played for the Chicago Cubs, New York Highlanders, Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox from 1903 to 1916.

His poem is entitled, “On The Road Ahead or The Road Behind”. Listen to the words carefully:

I think the fates must grin

as we denounce them and insist,

The only reason we can’t win

is the fates themselves have missed.

Yet, there lives on the ancient claim-

We win or lose within ourselves,

The shining trophies on our shelves can 

Never win tomorrow’s game.

So you and I know deeper down

There is a chance to win the crown,

But when we fail to give our best,

We simply haven’t met the test

Of giving all and saving none

Until the game is really won.

Of showing what is meant by grit,

Of playing through not letting up,

It’s bearing down that wins the cup.

Of taking it and taking more

Until we gain the winning score

Of dreaming there’s a goal ahead,

Of hoping when our dreams are dead,

Of praying when our hopes have fled.

Yet, losing, not afraid to fall,

If bravely we have given all,

For who can ask more of a man

Than giving all within his span.

That giving all, it seems to me,

Is not so far from VICTORY.

And so the fates are seldom wrong,

No matter how they twist and wind;

It’s you and I who make our fates,

We open up or close the gates

On the Road Ahead or the Road Behind.

Many people are still living in the past. Some people even long for the past.

What they fail to understand is that nobody moves forward as long as their eyes are still glued to the rear view mirror.

It’s easy to spot who these people are.

Their entire life stories are anchored on what has already happened. And they have no fresh stories to tell.Their favo-rite time frame is never the present tense, neither is it the future tense; it’s always in the past, and this is why they are always tense.

“If there is hope in the future there is power in the present,” says Dr. John Maxwell.

The past is important, but let it stay there. It should not be a place to long for. Instead, it should be a place to learn from. It doesn’t even make sense to long for it – why stay there when you’ve already been there?

The present is the most important moment of our life. And when we waste it, we waste our most important resource. Reminiscing the past, worrying too much about the future, and then allowing our most important resource which is the here and the now to go to waste simply does not make sense.

I’ve written a four-volume book entitled, One Day At A Time, and I guess it captures my entire philosophy for life and living: That my life is a gift from God, but it is my responsibility to live it well. I will make the best of today. I will deal with each task and work on it with excellence. And then I will move on to another one. And when all these are done, I will lie down on my bed, thank my Creator for giving me the opportunity to be productive, and tomorrow will be another day.

What about tomorrow? Tomorrow will be in God’s Hands, and I will lay claim on His promise that, if I delight in Him, He will give me the desires of my heart.

This is the road ahead of me. I sure hope it’s the same for you too.

(Attend a once in a lifetime seminar on “The Leadership Factor” featuring Dr. Harold Sala, Francis Kong and Jim Collins (video) on November 27 at the SMX Convention Center. Call Pam or Kriselle of Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc. at 632-6872614 or 09178511115 for further details.)