Very Short Scoutmaster Minutes.

[nivipi]

This might be longer than the rest, but still it only takes a minute to read

 

[iF]

 

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 worn-out tools:

 

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breath 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!

 

--Rudyard Kipling

 

My brothers have it in their rooms and I know it almost by heart , is veery beautifull and inspirational

[acco40]

Not to go against the grain but ...

 

I think the younger boys relate more to a story than a phrase or quip. A short phrase alone doesn't hold much water. The best method is to relate a quick story and then state the phrase synopsis.

 

Of course, a long winded story is the worst of all.

[The Mighty Chief]

"Inexperience is what makes a younger man do what an older man says is impossible."

--Herbert B. Prochnow

 

"You miss 100% of the shots you never take."

--Wayne Gretzky

[summit911]

After a short (true) story about an 11 yr old boy saving his mothers life by doing CPR via 911 instructions;

 

"There is only one hero. He has a thousand faces. One of them is yours."

-Gandolf the Grey

[summit911]

After another short but true story dredged from seventh grade.

 

My 'friend' Ryan stole some calculators from school, gave one to me. I turned it in anonymously to lost/found the next day and encourged him to do the same. When he wouldn't, I wrote about the entire incident in my English class journal (which I knew would be read by the teacher.)

 

I never heard what happened except for the fact that the calculators were returned. I stopped hanging with Ryan after that. Twenty five years later I still feel right about the choice I made. Ryan? I'll probably never know.

 

". . .choose wisely . . ." or "He chose poorly"

-Grail Knight, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

 

 

 

Wow, do I have to come up with one of these evey week? I previewed this one with my son, he pronounced it good. Actually, I think he is the first person I've ever told this story.

[Big_Dog]

"Do not quarrel with a fool, a bystander won't know which is which"

-King Solomon

 

"No one is so worthless they can't be used as a bad example" ??

 

bd

[Mommascout]

"Fail to plan and you plan to fail."

 

A thought for those scouts who are always in a hurry and usually forget an important item on a campout or just another way of saying "Be Prepared!"

[Eamonn]

Same thing with slightly different words

"Plan your work and work your plan".

Eamonn

[johndaigler]

The true art of growing up is leaving behind all that is childish while clinging dearly to all that is childlike.

[johndaigler]

I've seen this attributed to Confucious and also described as an Arabian Proverb. The repetitive tongue twister nature of it creates a bit of chaotic fun, but once the kids get it, they keep it.

 

 

He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool.

Shun him.

He who knows not, and knows that he knows not is a child.

Teach him.

He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep.

Waken him.

He who knows, and knows that he knows is wise.

Follow him.

 

jd(This message has been edited by johndaigler)

[johndaigler]

"It is easier to adjust your sails than redirect the wind."

 

But I've also seen it with an added little bit that comes in handy if the conversation heads toward "history changers" like Galileo, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, BP, NASA scientists and astronauts, (and many, many others)etc. ...

 

"It is easier to adjust your sails than redirect the wind. But sometimes, ya just gotta BE the wind!"

 

Less practical, but more heroic. . . . Though, we know what often happens to heroes . . .

 

jd

(This message has been edited by johndaigler)

[johndaigler]

 

BTW, is Ok for Very Tall Scoutmasters to have "minutes"????????

 

[cajuncody]

As a future CM I had to try my hand at this too so here goes:

 

"There are good ships and wood ships and ships that sail the sea,

But the best ships are friendships and may they always be." Irish

 

and a little longer:

 

It Couldn't be Done

 

Somebody said that it couldn't be done

But he with a chuckle replied

that "maybe it couldn't" but he would be one

Who wouldn't say so until he had tried.

So he buckled right in, with the trace of a grin

On his face. If he worried he hid it.

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn't be done, and he did it.

 

Somebody scoffed "Oh, you'll never do that;

At least no one ever has done it";

But he took off his coat and he took of his hat,

And the first thing he knew he'd begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin

Without any doubting or quiddit,

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn't be done, and he did it.

 

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,

There are thousands to prophesy failure

There are thousands to point out to you, one by one

The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,

Just take off your coat and go do it;

Just start to sing as you tackle that thing

That "cannot be done" and you'll do it

 

- Edgar A. Guest

 

 

 

[reminisc]

Hi friends, I am a first time poster...I heard this in a story told by Vietnam Navy Vet Capt. Charlie Plumb at The MOVING WALL

 

"Whether you think you're a winner or whether you think you're a loser....You're right!"

 

See him if you can and take your Scouts! POSITIVE! POSITIVE! POSITIVE!!!

[Greg78]

Hi everyone,

 

Working at a lone outpost for a year while in the military I came up with this one:

 

What's really important is not what comes before you - It's what you leave behind!

 

Thanks for all the sayings - so true!