The Power in Me 570.3
When my daughter Samara was eight, she wrote a poem. When she showed it to her mom, she said, "Don’t show it to Daddy because he’ll want to read it on the radio."
She was right. I did want to share it, but she asked me not to. It took me over a year of wrangling to cut a deal.
She wrote the poem as a song for friends who were thinking of starting a band. It’s called “The Power in Me.”
When morning comes and the sun rises in the east,
I think of the power in me.
When I stand up for what is right and what I believe,
It is because of the power in me.
No matter who it is or what they want me to do,
I will stand up for my beliefs because of the power in me.
When you are mad, sad, or scared,
What will help you through is the power in you.
That power comes straight from the heart.
Believing is what creates the power in anybody.
If you don’t believe in yourself,
Then say goodbye to the power in you.
When I go to sleep,
before I close my eyes,
I look at the sun setting in the west,
And I thank God for giving me the power in me.
The power Samara is talking about reveals itself as resourcefulness, tenacity, integrity, self-control, and courage.
She’s right. It’s in all of us, and it’s called character.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Comments
This poem is outstanding. Truly they are words to live by. Recently, my wife and I have been discussing cheating in high school. I think the following phrase sums up what is happening.
"If you don’t believe in yourself,
Then say goodbye to the power in you."
I think this could be the reason for rampant cheating. When I was in high school 35 years ago, my attitude was: "Why should I believe the person sitting next to me has the answer? Why should I lay my bet on somebody else before I lay my bet on myself?"
With this mindset, I had no interest in copying somebody else's homework or test. Unless we can cultivate an attitude of self-reliance and self-confidence, we will not make much progress in abating cheating.
Posted by: Andy | June 10, 2008 10:22 AM
This is very life changing. At a young age, children are being raised well enough to decide right from wrong. It is great!
Posted by: Anonymous | June 10, 2008 10:56 AM
I MUST COMPLIMENT YOU SAMARA FOR WRITING A LOVELY POEM. YOUR PARENTS I AM SURE ARE PROUD OF YOU FOR BEING SO INSIGHTFUL. YOU ARE A REFLECTION OF A FINE UPBRINGING.
CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND YOUR PARENTS. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS WITH US.
Posted by: ANITA | June 12, 2008 10:51 PM
One word -- WOW!
Posted by: Sylvia | June 13, 2008 8:57 AM
I am so impressed that I am making a copy for my granddaughter who will be going away to college soon.
The message is indeed POWERFUL.
Posted by: Ann Leisy | July 1, 2008 10:37 AM
I will be reading this to our students on the announcements tomorrow. The message is all about character and I am the messenger for my school where for 10 years we believe that Character Counts and promote it to our students. Thank you.
Posted by: Vicki | August 25, 2008 12:30 PM
This was beautiful and powerful. Michael, you have been a personal hero of mine for years. Your daughter is now one too. Another personal hero of mine is singer/songwriter David Cook, whose high degree of integrity, kindness, humility and generosity epitomizes so very much of what you talk about every day. I just shared your daughter's poem with fans on his official website. I hope you and Samara don't mind. I think as many people in the world as possible should have an opportunity to read Samara's brilliant words.
Posted by: Scott | November 9, 2008 7:11 AM
One more thing, I proudly put a link to this page and to your website's home page in the post at davidcookofficial.org. Many of his fans mirror his ethics and yours. It's not about religion, it's not about morality. It's about ethics and character. And humanity.
Posted by: Scot | November 9, 2008 7:13 AM