I was a cross-country and track runner in high school, and I memorized an inspirational poem called "Don’t Quit."

On those endless runs in the middle of nowhere, I would recite it over and over in my head.

When it was 95 degrees and there was not a breeze to be found along that corn-lined road in rural Indiana, that poem kept my thoughts cool.

When it was 4 degrees and 7 a.m. and I was competing in my first 5k, the poem kept me moving.

I’m not a runner anymore, but I was thinking about the poem again recently, and thought it might inspire those of us who are paying off debt or saving money.

Here’s a link to a sweet video version of the poem, and I’ve pasted the full text below. Hope you like it!

Don’t Quit — Author unknown

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit!

Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victors cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit!

(Photo credit: Jacob Garcia)