Pegasus NLP Blog

Well, how about that! Another year almost through…

And, yes, it’s once again that time… when many of us take stock. And look backwards over the past year or so, and look forwards towards the coming year and, perhaps, reassess how we are living our lives and how ‘on track’ we are for fulfilling our personal values.

As I was driving home a little while ago I was half-heartedly pondering such thoughts and Herbert Kaufman’s great little poem popped into my mind:.

Victory

You are the man who used to boast

That you’d achieve the uttermost,

some day…

–

You merely wished a show,

To demonstrate how much you know

And prove the distance you can go …

–

Another year we’ve just passed through.

What new ideas came to you?

How many big things did you do?

–

Time …left twelve fresh months in your care

How many of them did you share

With opportunity and dare

Again where you so often missed?

–

We do not find you on the list of Makers Good.

Explain the fact!

Ah no, twas not the chance you lacked!

As usual, you failed to act!

(Herbert Kaufman,  American poet, 1878-1947)

I first came across this poem in Frank Bettger’s “How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling” back in the 70’s when I was trying to do just that!

At the time I was great at dreaming the Big Dream but not very good at actually doing anything to turn my dreams into reality! So I made a large poster of the poem and put it where I would see it every day.

And the ‘Ouch Factor’ in the final paragraph worked for me. In NLP we call this the Away From Motivational style i.e. motivating by building up discomfort till it reaches the point were we are motivated to move away from it!

(Incidentally Bettger’s book, though published in 1947 and quite out of date in many of its practical selling tips, is nevertheless a very inspiring read. Before writing this I searched for it but must have given it away at some stage. So I’ve ordered another copy from Amazon for a fiver!)

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