If—: The Blueprint for Becoming Unshakable

I talk a lot about culture. About standards. About what it means to grow into the kind of teammate, leader, and person others can depend on. 

Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem over a century ago called “If—.” It might be old, but every line still describes what elite culture looks like today — not just in sports, but in life. Joe Paterno used to reference it often, in fact it was on the pamphlet at his funeral.  After recent set backs, interim head coach Terry Smith has brought it back to life in Penn State football. The team was wearing shirts with a huge IF on the front as they entered the stadium to play Iowa.

When I read this poem, I see the DNA of every great team ever established: calm under pressure, confident yet humble, patient through struggle, and relentless when things get hard.

      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 wornout 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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It’s an old poem, It may be hard to comprehend for some.  I decided to break it down line by line 

1. “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you”

Composure is leadership.

When chaos hits — when the match is tight, when mistakes pile up, when others panic — great players stay centered. They slow the moment down instead of letting emotion take over. 

                   Calm Is Contagious

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2. “If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too”

Confidence without arrogance.

Trust the work you’ve done. Believe in your training; but don’t become so proud that you stop listening. Even criticism can hold truth if you’re humble enough to hear it.  This is what maturity looks like.

               Conviction With Teachability

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3. “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”

PATIENCE   INTEGRITY  HUMILITY 

Not every season goes your way. Not every role comes when you want it.  The great ones wait well, they don’t cut corners, gossip, or get bitter. They stay honest, kind, and humble no matter what’s said about them.

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4. “If you can dream and not make dreams your master; if you can think and not make thoughts your aim”

Dream big, but stay grounded.

Goals are meant to motivate you, not own you. Thought matters, but action defines you.

You can have all the dreams and strategies in the world, but nothing replaces consistent, daily work.

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5. “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same”

Never get too high. Never stay too low.

Wins don’t make you immortal, and losses don’t make you broken.  Both are temporary, the real question is how you respond.

   Emotional Balance

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6. “If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools”

Not everyone will understand your words or your intentions. Let your consistency speak louder than your explanations.  In a world that twists truth for attention, authenticity is power.

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7. “Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, and stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools”

That’s resilience in its rawest form.

You pour your heart into something, a team, a system, or a goal and it falls apart. You rebuild.

Even when you’re tired, even when it’s unfair, you pick up what’s left and start again.

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8. “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”

That’s courage.

You take risks. You go for it. You compete with your whole heart knowing you might lose everything.  When you do lose, you move forward quietly, no excuses, no pity, and no “what if.” That’s real strength.

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9. “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!’”

This is what separates good from great.

Every athlete hits that wall, when the body quits, when fatigue takes over. The great ones find one more gear through sheer will.  Hold on. Not for comfort, but for purpose.

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10. “If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch”

Stay the same person in every room.

Whether it’s a packed gym or an empty one, whether people praise you or overlook you, stay true.

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11. “If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, if all men count with you, but none too much”

Don’t let opinions control your emotions.

Criticism doesn’t define you, and compliments don’t complete you.

Grateful for support, grounded in truth, that’s balance.

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12. “If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run”

Effort is the great equalizer.

You don’t control talent, height, or luck, but you do control effort.

Every drill, every rep, every second on the court should be max effort. That’s what “sixty seconds’ worth” means. Nothing wasted.

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13. “Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, and—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!”

This last line is about maturity.

Kipling is saying, If you can live this way, calm under pressure, humble in success, and relentless in adversity, you’ll become someone capable of leading, loving, and lasting.

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Culture isn’t built by chance, it’s built by people who live “If—“.