How to Make Your Mark in Life #250233

'Twixt what thou art and what thou wouldst be, let<br>No "if" arise on which to lay the blame.<br>Man makes a mountain of that puny word,<br>But, like a blade of grass before the scythe,<br>It falls and withers when a human will,<br>Stirred by creative force, sweeps towards its aim.<br><br>Thou wilt be what thou couldst be. Circumstance<br>Is but the toy of genius. When a Soul<br>Burns with a God-like purpose to achieve,<br>All obstacles between it and its goal<br>Must vanish as the dew before the sun.<br><br>"If" is the motto of the dilettante<br>And idle dreamer: 'tis the poor excuse<br>Of mediocrity. The truly great<br>Know not the word, or know it but to scorn;<br>Else had Joan of Arc a peasant died<br>Uncrowned by glory and by men unsung.<br><br>- Ella Wheeler Wilcox.