Poems for entrepreneurs

I believe literature and history books have more lessons to teach entrepreneurs, professionals and leaders than management or business books.

It is no coincidence that not a few of the greatest leaders in world history loved and wrote poetry, from Greek conqueror Alexander the Great and Roman emperor Julius Caesar to China’s  enlightened emperors. The Tang Dynasty’s great Emperor Li Shimin and 20th-century revolutionary Mao Zedong were not only talented poets, they were also accomplished calligraphers.

US presidents John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton loved poetry. Kennedy said: “When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.”

Today, March 21, is “World Poetry Day,” as declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO in 1999.  Its  purpose is “to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world.”

Poems As Currency

To promote the love of poetry, I am holding a “Coffee or Tea for Poem” the whole day today to celebrate World Poetry Day in Quezon City’s 77-year-old artisanal Kamuning Bakery Cafe, which I bought and revived. It is also now the venue for the newsmakers’ “Pandesal Forum” with media and intellectuals, as well as a place for art exhibits, book launchings and other events.

On March 21, customers are welcome to pay for their coffee or tea with their original poem at Kamuning Bakery Cafe, located at 43 Judge Jimenez St. corner K-1st Street, Kamuning, Quezon City.  All poems will be shared on Kamuning’s Facebook page, and the ones with the most “likes” and poems also chosen by judges will be given a free dinner and coffee for two people.

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One of my favorite poems  is “If,” written by the English poet and Nobel Prize for Literature winner Rudyard Kipling, who lived from 1865 to 1936.  This poem is ideal not only for leaders and entrepreneurs, but for all people who want to maximize their potential and live life to the fullest. Below are Kipling’s four, eight-line stanzas of advice to his son, John, written in 1909.

If

By Rudyard Kipling

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 impostors 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 ’em 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 and 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 sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And — which is more — you’ll be a Man, my son!

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Even modern-day leaders love poetry. Let me share an original poem written by billionaire Richard Branson of the Virgin Group. He said:  “I certainly wouldn’t call myself a poet, but I have tried my hand at a few verses over the years — have a read of this love poem I wrote when I was 15 years old. So when Vasanthan Philip from Bangalore sent me a #ChallengeRichard to write a poem of 16 lines for entrepreneurs, I got excited.”

Branson added, “As a grand-dude I’ve recently been revisiting a lot of Dr. Seuss classics, so in tribute to his wonderful work, I wrote this poem in rhyming couplets.”

A Poem For All Entrepreneurs

By Richard Branson

The road to success is paved with tests,

So you’ve got to believe in yourself above the rest.

Dream big, and let your passion shine,

If you don’t, you won’t end up with a dime.

Challenge the status quo, disrupt the market and say YES!

And remember that innovation is an endless quest.

Don’t forget to change business for good,

If you want to change the world then you should.

If you think with your head and listen to your heart,

I promise you’ll get off to a flying start.

Make bold moves, but always play fair,

Always say please and thank you — it’s cool to care.

Do what you love and love what you do,

This advice is nothing new.

Now, stop worrying about whether your business will be a hit,

Rise to the challenge and say ‘screw it, let’s do it!’

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