Shakespeare's Ward

A few years ago, I wrote this article about this infamous "quote" from Shakespeare:

"I always feel happy. You know why? Because I don't expect anything from anyone; expectations always hurt. Life is short, so love your life. Be happy and keep smiling. Just live for yourself and always remember: Before you speak... Listen. Before you write... Think. Before you spend... Earn. Before you pray... Forgive. Before you hurt... Feel. Before you hate... Love. Before you quit... Try. Before you die... Live." 

At the time I debunked it as NOT-Shakespeare but left it at that. But a few days later I came across it on Reddit...I had to unearth the notebook in which I had written down a similar poem by William Arthur Ward which goes: 

"Before you speak, listen.
Before you write, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you invest, investigate.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.
Before you retire, save.
Before you die, give."

I had noted it down for future reference and also in order to track its source. I had never taken the time to do this, so today I did. NO-EFFING-WHERE! Zilch, nada, rien, nought. Couldn't find the original source for the poem to save my life. Does anyone know? That's a question for Quora, since Reddit people took the bait.

Not quite the same poem. Lines 3 and 4 are missing from the Shax ref. Two lines are inserted in the Shax ref after "pray, forgive". Penultimate line is skipped, last line is altered (give/live). The Ward poem (I'll call it that for the time being) definitely has rhyming patterns: listen/earn; investigate/wait; forgive/give (even save). We do hear echoes in the pairs: speak/think; invest/investigate; wait, pray, save. I'm not a Ward specialist, but that's arguably a better disposition, phrasing, tone, structure, than the Shakesparean "equivalent". Less schmaltz, more pragmatically inspirational.

Ironically enough, when you google "William Arthur Ward", one first look won't yield the quote: you need a second, more careful look to find it. Not exactly buried, yet not in plain sight. My guts tell me we haven't seen the last of this affair [insert smiley of your choosing]. 

All in all, I'm still amazed that this quote still roams the outskirts of the Internet. 

Edit: I published this post, and then had an epiphany and found this Snopes article, for all intents and purposes.