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PoemI recently came across this poem by Dale Wimbrow, which first appeared in 1934.  While it is over 80 years old with some words such as “pelf” which are strange to us, I believe his message is still quite relevant.

First, a bit about the author.  Wimbrow’s early career was in music and radio. Under his own name and as Old Pete Daley of Whaleysville, he became known for his records and radio performances with orchestras. Perhaps his best-known musical composition was the 1930 jazz tune entitled “Accordion Joe.”  Played by Duke Ellington‘s band, it appeared that same year as the soundtrack to an animated short film of the same name, starring Betty Boop.

Wimbrow wrote The Guy in the Glass for publication in The American Magazine. The poem became a popular clipping passed between people, and the author’s credit was often dropped.  Ann Landers printed the poem in her column in 1983, incorrectly attributing it to an anonymous man who died as a result of struggles with drug abuse. Landers received numerous letters that attributed or claimed different authorship of the poem, but only one of the letters published later that year correctly identified the author.

The message is one we’ve heard time and time again, but can so often forget.  To one degree or another, we all can put up fronts for a number of reasons.  Maybe it’s to impress someone else, or to protect ourselves from criticism from others which sometimes can be hard to take.  Maybe it’s because we don’t want others to know that we didn’t live up to their expectations of us.  There’s a multitude of reasons, but whatever the reason, in the end, it really is a waste of our precious time and energy.  What is important for all of us to remember is that honesty is so important.  Being honest with others however begins by being honest with yourself.  As a business coach, it’s something I’ve forced myself to do, and it’s something that I ask of my clients.  As one long-time client recently said, “After half my life, I finally believe I found my true motivation for what is best for me and the people I value most in my personal and my business lives.

Get the mirror out and give it a try!

Stephen