Man in the Arena
On April 23, 1910, in Paris, France Theodore Roosevelt gave one of the most profound speeches in history. The original speech is much longer than this most quoted insert.
"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 who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who 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 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 neither know victory nor defeat."
How to use this tactic in everyday life:
How often do we put far too much credence into other people’s opinions? Especially from people that aren’t even on our level. Imagine if athletes took criticism from the people in the stands to heart. What if they ignored the motivation of their fellow teammates? We are all guilty of this at some point or another. We’ve allowed people to tell us who we are. We’ve allowed them to tell us we are wrong in doing something we feel very passionately about. For their opinions to matter one should have respect for the advisor. If not, then why should it matter. And those you respect should also be the ones that will support your dreams. Choose wisely.
"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 who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who 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 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 neither know victory nor defeat."
How to use this tactic in everyday life:
How often do we put far too much credence into other people’s opinions? Especially from people that aren’t even on our level. Imagine if athletes took criticism from the people in the stands to heart. What if they ignored the motivation of their fellow teammates? We are all guilty of this at some point or another. We’ve allowed people to tell us who we are. We’ve allowed them to tell us we are wrong in doing something we feel very passionately about. For their opinions to matter one should have respect for the advisor. If not, then why should it matter. And those you respect should also be the ones that will support your dreams. Choose wisely.
