Some of you have been following this series, In Search of Meaning, which is inspired by bits and pieces of literature and other things we happen upon in our day to day lives.
One of our clients pointed the way to this quote; it’s from Theodore Roosevelt’s ‘The Man In The Arena’ speech:
It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
—Theodore Roosevelt, from ‘The Man In The Arena’ speech at the Sorbonne. Paris, France, April 23, 1910.
Read full text of Theodore Roosevelt’s Speech at the Sorbonne
How inspiring for anyone in business. I know this quote well, but get chills every time I read it. Dave
business????? how about us in the military… try getting chills when you hear it in iraq…
Alex,
Thanks for your comment. You have a great point. Perspective and point of view can really change the context of a thing, and context is such a huge part of meaning.