I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon if I can.
I seek opportunity – not security.
I will refuse to be a kept citizen, to be humbled and dulled by having my state and nation look after me.
I want to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed – never to be numbered among those week and timid souls who have known neither victory nor defeat.
I know that happiness can come only from the inside through hard constructive work and sincere positive thinking.
I know that the so-called pleasures of the moment should not be confused with a state of happiness. I know that I can get a measure of inner satisfaction from any job if I intelligently plan and courageously execute it.
I know that, if I put forth every iota of strength that I possess – physical, mental, spiritual – toward the accomplishment of a worthwhile task, ere I fall exhausted by the wayside, the Unseen Hand will reach out and pull me through.
Yes, I want to live dangerously, plan my procedures on the basis of calculated risks, to resolve the problems of everyday living unto a measure of inner peace.
I know if I know how to do all this, I will know how to live, and if I know how to live, I will know how to die.
Written by H. B. Zachry