The Master of Your Fate

Dear Son,

In the year 1875, an English poet named William Ernest Henley wrote an inspired poem called Invictus. He concludes the poem with these powerful words: 

“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.”

It is said that Henley wrote the poem after having his foot amputated due to infection. I can only imagine the impact something like that would have on your life. You would have to relearn how to do everything. But Henley is saying that no matter what obstacle comes his way, he is still the master of his fate. I want you to know that this is a true and eternal principle.

There will be many influences in your life that would have you believe otherwise. The media, your friends, teachers, coworkers and neighbors will tell you how they think you should act. They will tell you what you can and can’t do. They will try to tell you what it means to be a man. They will tell you things like, “Everybody else is doing it.” Or “It’s the only way to get ahead.” They would have you believe that when bad things happen in your life, there is nothing you can do about it. You just need to accept your fate, and try to keep your head above water.

You need to know that those are all false ideas. They always have been, and they always will be. In his book,The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey says, “Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions.”

He explains that the world wants us to believe that we are programmed a certain way and there is no way around it. People often say things like, “He made me”, “She left me know choice”, “He pushed my buttons” They think that if stimulus X happens, their only choice is response Y.

Covey explains, that this is not the case at all. Between every stimulus and response there is a very brief moment where something amazing happens. CHOICE.

He goes on to say that being Responsible or “response-able” means being able to choose your response. Son, great men act, they are not acted upon. If you always remember to choose your response, you will be happening to the world, not simply standing idly by and letting the world happen to you.

I urge you to decide today what kind of person you will be. Know where you stand. Every time you encounter stimulus X you can ask yourself, What kind of son am I? What kind of brother am I? What kind of friend am I? What kind of student am I? What kind of employee am I? What kind of man am I?

If you already know the answers to these questions, it will be easy to choose your response. Always remember that you are the master of your fate, and the captain of your soul.