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Rudyard Kipling
IF-
BY GROUP 4
About The Poet
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( 1865-1936) was born in
British India. As a poet, short story writer, journalist
and novelist, Kipling described the British colonial
empire in positive terms, which made his poetry
popular in the British Army. His works include the
most famous The Jungle Book and Kim. In the 19th
and 20th century, he was among the united
kingdoms most popular writers. In 1907, he was
awarded the Nobel prize in literature at the age of
41, its youngest recipient to date.
If you can keep your head when all
about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on
Each one is engaged in a desperate exercise to pass the you;
buck and avoid the responsibility and accountability for If you can trust yourself when all men
failure. Keeping ones cool and adopting a “take charge” doubt you,
But make allowance for their
approach by seizing the leadership opportunity in
doubting too:
adversity, is a powerful way to assert, establish and If you can wait and not be tired by
demonstrate leadership. The poem advises that if you can waiting,
remain calm and confident when others doubt you or Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to
blame you, and if you can overcome hatred and
hating,
impatience, you will succeed. And yet don’t look too good, nor talk
too wise
The lesson here is that dreams fuel success only
If you can dream—and not make when accompanied by hard on ground actions.
dreams your master; Merely living in dream world will achieve nothing. At
If you can think—and not make
thoughts your aim,
some point thinking has to be converted into
If you can meet with Triumph actions. The poet says here, a setback or failure is
and Disaster not the end but an opportunity to learn, move on
And treat those two impostors
just the same: towards success and should not be a reason to give
If you can bear to hear the truth up. Keeping this balanced approach helps us to face
you’ve spoken
both situations in a mature and pragmatic manner
Twisted by knaves to make a
trap for fools, such that we are not carried away or overwhelmed
Or watch the things you gave when faced with either “Triumph” or “Disaster”.
your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up
with worn-out tools;
If you can make one
heap of all your
The important lesson here is not to spend time in
winnings
And risk it on one turn lamenting, blaming or seeking sympathy. It is far
of pitch-and-toss, more fruitful to re-engage one’s energy and focus on
And lose, and start rebuilding and fighting back. A strong leader has to
again at your beginnings draw upon reserves of strength to face and
And never breathe a overcome situations of adversity. It is important that
word about your loss: even after failure, the focus should continue on
If you can force your learning from mistakes and getting on with the task
heart and nerve and of rebuilding by maintaining self-confidence as well
sinew as the confidence and trust of the team. The qualities
To serve your turn long
of tenacity, resilience and both physical and mental
after they are gone,
stamina are vividly explained in these lines.
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
These lines emphasise the fine nuances of virtue,
managing interactions both at a personal and Or walk with Kings—nor
professional level. A good leader knows that
lose the common touch,
while it is crucial to be in touch with, interact and
If neither foes nor loving
communicate with teams, it is also important to
friends can hurt you,
maintain the fine balance between excessive
familiarity and aloofness. These lines add If all men count with
further dimensions to the importance of you, but none too much:
maintaining a balance in life. We are If you can fill the
instinctively drawn towards loving friends and unforgiving minute
shun our enemies. It is important not to be overly With sixty seconds’
swayed by either because it may impair our worth of distance run,
judgement and prompt actions which are not Yours is the Earth and
necessarily in our best interest. everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—
you’ll be a Man, my son!
IF-
It should be remembered that Rudyard
Kipling wrote this poem for his son, as it is
addressed in the very last line. Rudyard
Kipling wanted to impart life lessons to his
son and show the right way to be a
complete leader in the future. However, this
powerful message is for all of us who are
seeking to achieve our true potential in any
form of human endeavour.

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Rudyard Kipling

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