When it matters most, when the odds are against me when precedent says no, there I will be.

When the right path happens to be the lonely path, and victory is separated by a drop,

a million feet deep or a cliff, two million feet high, there I will be.

When they expect failure, anticipate defeat, celebrate each setback, there I will be.

Standing tall and ready.

When there appears no way in, when my demons push me out, when my senses advocate retreat

and the path forward is cloaked in doubt, there I will be.

Standing tall and ready.

When I feel alone in my pursuit of tomorrow or tempted by the comfort of yesterday, when

pride whispers of their relentless criticism and my legs cry out in exhaustion, there I

will be standing tall and ready.

When hell rains down, when faith lets up, when my reason for beginning is replaced by a

million little reminders of all that can go wrong, there I will be standing tall and ready.

When the sky looks like a ceiling, when the floor feels like home, when every light

dims and every beer illuminates, when eyes roll and doors lock, when the sun submits,

the clouds emerge, gravity blackses and my knees tremble, there I will be.

Never will I back down, never will I power or settle for the present when our future

is limitless, I will get back up until I've made my point, won my battle, secured

with my fight, the world is simple, moving forward is not without its tests or lessons,

but as long as I continue on, I evolve, with the extent I win, there's no running away

or white flag or surrendering to the man in the mirror, the only conqueror capable

of bringing me down, no nothing will tell me what I can be, I will always be there.

...