Behind the Street Sweeper

“Whatever you are, be a good one.” - Abraham Lincoln

I am reminded from time to time of the words Dr. Martin Luther King spoke and is quoted in numerous sources. I wanted to find out more about when he first used the words, in what context and how he came about those words.

It appears he first used the words in his speech titled “The Birth of A New Age,” on August 11, 1956. This speech was at the Fiftieth Anniversary of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity in Buffalo, NY.

Dr. King used these words in many different speeches but this particular speech was to encourage "African Americans on how they can best prepare for the challenges and responsibilities of the “new order” that is replacing the “old order” of colonialism abroad and segregation at home."

About half way through his speech are the following words,

"As someone said, do it so well that the living, dead, or the unborn could do it no better. If your son grows up to be a street cleaner, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry, sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, “here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well”.

Dr. King attributed the words to Morehouse College president Benjamin Mays during a speech to an Atlanta, GA audience (see King, “Facing the Challenge of a New Age,” January 1, 1957, Paul H. Brown Collection).

He went on to paraphrase from a poem written by Douglas Malloch titled “Be the Best of Whatever You Are” (1926).

"If you can’t be a pine on the top of the hill be a shrub on the side, but be the best shrub on the side of the hill. Be a bush if you can’t be a tree, if you can’t be a highway be a trail, if you can’t be the sun be a star. It isn’t by size that you win or you fail. Be the best of whatever you are and that is the second challenge, that we confront the issues of today and prepare to live in this new age."

It is these words I use to remind you today of the greatness one can achieve regardless of where you are in life.

No matter what you do in life. Even in spite of your current condition in life. With timeless words repeated countless times,

Be the best at whatever it is you do.

Stay inspired my friends!

MLK and Streetsweepers

If a man is called to be a street sweeper,
he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted,
or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry.

He should sweep streets so well
that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say,
"Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."

― Martin Luther King Jr. ―

Inspired Streetsweepers

"If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, 
he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, 
or Shakespeare wrote poetry.

He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well." 

-Rev. Martin Luther King-

We each have inside the yearning to be the greatest at something. We want to be remembered for greatness that will carry our name in the memory of history for others to read about. We want to be remembered like those individuals who remain in the minds and teachings of people well into the future.

Yet we can not all achieve that level of notoriety nor does it mean true success if we do. Success means doing the very best at what we do with our lives; how we live our lives; and what we do for others. Success means trying to be the very best 'streetsweeper' that one can be.

It does not mean that you should not strive for the most majestic of things. What it means to say is that regardless of what you do in life, do it the best way possible.

I will never be the greatest writer to live nor will historians mark my passing. But the words that I do write are done with the best effort I can muster. The words I write will impact people and change their lives in small and big ways. You have the same abilities to impact others and to impact life with how you live your life.

Take that 'thing you do' and do it the very best you can. It will impact the lives of others and inspire them to something greater. In the end there will be those that do say, "here lived a great person who did his job well."

Stay inspired my friends.

Being the best Streetsweeper

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” -Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes

We each will have the opportunity to to great things with what we have in life. While we may want to have greater success, greater abilities and greater impact on the world, we have to be good at what we do now.

Being the best at what we do now creates an atmosphere, a learned characteristic, that will allow us to properly handle our accomplishments in life. Without it, we will simply waste anything that we do gain because we will not know how to handle that success.

So take what you are doing today, be the best that you can be with it. As your dreams come true, turn those accomplishments into even greater things in your life. When all is said and done, people will remark "here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."

Have a great 2012 year and stay inspired my friends.

Street Sweeper

I am reminded from time to time of the words that Martin Luther King, Jr. said in 1956 during a speech in Montgomery, Alabama. It is these words that I use to remind you today of the greatness you can be regardless of where you are in life. No matter what you do in life. Or even in spite of your current condition in life.

"If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, like Shakespeare wrote poetry, like Beethoven composed music; sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper, who swept his job well."

Be the best at whatever it is you do.