A short YouTube commentary by Brian Johnson reflecting on Rudyard Kipling's poem 'If—'. Johnson reads or paraphrases the poem, references Michael Caine's recitation, and concludes with a personal exhortation to practice philosophy and eudaimonia. The piece emphasizes resilience, self-trust, measured reactions to success and failure, and filling each minute fully.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic plus one. Have you ever heard of the poem if by Rudyard Kipling? It's extraordinary. We're going to talk about in a moment. Now have you ever heard Michael Caine recite the poem and reflect on its personal meaning to him? That's extraordinary as well. We got a link to check it out on YouTube. Now here's Kipling. He tells us 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 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 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 in 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 60 seconds worth of distance, Ron, yours is the earth and everything that's in it and which is more, you'll be a man, my son. And that's today's plus one. Here's to practicing our philosophies and being eudaimons, my friend. Day one all in. Let's go.
