A dynamic speaker named Bill Sanders invited me to join him one day when he was visiting Jackson prison. That would be around 1980. We went into the maximum security section and visited with prisoners serving life sentences and then we would each gave a little speech and talked with prisoners privately. I asked one prisoner why he was in prison and he told me he had murdered a couple of people when he was a young man. It was quite an experience and I will never forget the sound of that big gate clanging behind me when we entered.
I wanted something stronger to share with these men who could well be spending the rest of their live in the prison. I wrote my Self-Esteem Credo and on a later visits I shared it with some prisoners.
Sometime later I received an e-mail from a New Zealand prison counselor who advised me he had obtained a copy of my Credo from a friend and had been using it with prisoners for many years now and says it makes a real difference in the behavior and attitudes of prisoners that he works with.
Several years ago thanks to Christopher’s News Notes over a million copies of my Credo have been distributed to teens.
The Self Esteem Credo
© Art Fettig
God made me – I was no accident,
No happenstance. I was in God’s plan
And He doesn’t make junk, ever.
I was born to be a successful human being.
I am somebody special, unique,
Definitely one of a kind
And I love me.
That is essential so that
I might love you too.
I have potentials, yes,
There is greatness in me,
And if I harness that specialness
Then I will write my name
In the sands of time with my deeds.
Yes, I must worker harder, longer,
With greater drive
If I am to excel,
And I will pay that price.
For talents demand daily
Care and honing.
I was born in God’s image and likeness
And I will strive to do God’s will.
