When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that face has to say.
For it isn’t your father or mother or spouse
Whose judgement upon you must pass
The person whose verdict counts most in your life,
Is the one staring back from the glass.
Some people might think you are a straight-shooting chum
And call you a great gal or guy,
But the face in the glass says you are only a bum
If you can’t look it straight in the eye.
That’s the one you must please, never mind all the rest
That’s the one with you clear to the end
For you know you have passed your most dangerous test
If the face in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on your back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the face in the glass.

– – Og Mandino

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“My thoughts,” said the wanderer to his shadow, “should show me where I stand; but they should not betray me where I am going. I love my ignorance of the future and do not wish to perish of impatience and of tasting promised things ahead of time.”

– Friedrich Nietzsche