"The Man In The Arena" By US President Theodore Roosevelt

The following is an excerpt from the Speech of President Theodore Roosevelt delivered in Paris in 1910 entitled; "Citizenship In A Republic":

"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 could have done them 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 short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; 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 know neither victory nor defeat"

The first time that I read about this quote was when I applied for registration to join the San Diego 100-Mile Endurance Run few years ago. It was written at the last page of the Instruction Manual of the said event. Now, I am posting the said in my blog to serve as a reminder for me in my future endeavors as an endurance athlete. However, the whole speech talks a lot about politics, education, character of a man and society, leadership and other matter about governance and citizenry. How I wished I should have read this speech when I was still in college. I suggest that if you have time, google the title of the speech and read it. I know that you will learn a lot from it. Happy reading!