Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

If you think you are beaten, you are; If you think you dare not, you don't. If you like to win, but you think you can't, It's almost a cinch you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you've lost; For out in this world we find Success begins with a fellow's will, It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you're outclassed, you are; You've got to think high to rise. You've got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't always go To the stronger or faster man; But sooner or later the man who wins Is the one who thinks he can.

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!

Figure it out for yourself, my lad, You've all that the greatest of men have had, Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes, And a brain to use if you would be wise.
With this equipment they all began, So start for the top and say “I can.”
Look them over, the wise and great, They take their food from a common plate And similar knives and forks they use, With similar laces they tie their shoes,
The world considers them brave and smart. But you’ve all they had when they made their start.
You can triumph and come to skill, You can be great if only you will. You’re well equipped for what fight you choose, You have legs and arms and a brain to use,
And the man who has risen, great deeds to do Began his life with no more than you.
You are the handicap you must face, You are the one who must choose your place, You must say where you want to go, How much you will study the truth to know,
God has equipped you for life, my son, With His own great gifts, and He’s only one To know what is best for you, you’ll find, So you must use your gifts with the wise in mind.
Use the brains you have, use the legs you’ve got, Use the hands you have; if you will not, You will never get anywhere, my friend, And you’ll never be anything in the end.