15 February 2009: It seems quite appropriate to re-blog this entry, at the beginning of a new chapter in the American story…
“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 them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly…who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in 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 fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat.” – Teddy Roosevelt
“Citizenship in a Republic,” Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
Originally posted January 27 2009…
Thank you, Barry! That and the “never give in” speech by Churchill are amazing inspirations.
Thanks for sharing this, Barry! It is indeed quite apropos to the moment. We have a lot of hard work ahead, and everyone’s contribution to it is important.
Thanks for reminding of this quote. Always been a fan of TR.
I saw another great use of this quote when looking for project post-mortem resources, and found a discussion where the ‘man in the arena’ is the project manager trying to get the best results, while dealing with all sorts of external influences from those outside the arena. Those of us in the project management game know this feeling only too well, particularly in a political environment…
The slide deck and discussion are worth checking out – http://tinyurl.com/bge6r2