Welcome to the Inspirational Living Podcast.

Today's podcast has been edited and adapted from the book, The Power of Truth, by William George Jordan, published in 1902.

The reformers of the world are those men and women of mighty purpose.

They are leaders with the courage of individual conviction who dare run counter

to the criticism of the crowd. They are the souls who voluntarily bear crosses for what they

accept as right, even without the guarantee of redemption. They are the heroes who gladly go down

into the depths of silence, darkness, and oblivion,

only to emerge finally like divers with pearls in their hands.

The individual who labors tirelessly toward the attainment of some noble aim, with eyes fixed on the star of some mighty purpose, is a reformer.

The scientist who follows the thin thread of some revelation of nature in any of the sciences,

follows it in the spirit of truth through a maze of doubt, hope, experiment, and questioning,

till the tiny guiding thread grows stronger and firmer to their

touch, leading them to some wondrous illumination of nature's law, is a reformer.

The spiritual seeker who goes up alone into the mountains of truth, and glowing with radiance

of some mighty revelation returns to encourage

the hurrying world to listen to their story is a reformer.

Whoever seeks to work out for themselves their destiny, the life work that their nature

tells them should be theirs, bravely, calmly, and with due consideration of the rights of others is a reformer

Those brilliant minds who denounce the commonplace and conventional for higher things are reformers

Because they are striving to bring about new conditions, are consecrating their lives to

ideals. They are the brave aggressive vanguard of progress, the soldiers who can stand a

siege, who take long forced marches without a murmur, who set their teeth and bow their heads

...