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 and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, 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 he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
–Theodore Roosevelt (thanks, David Schrott)
the long way home 
This is a spectacular quote.
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I’m not crazy about this modern fetish of hurling quotes back and forth at one another, but I do have an awfully lot of respect for Teddy Roosevelt.
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@old jules, first of all welcome to the blog! I absolutely agree with you that there is far too much quoting and not enough original thought in the world today. I must admit, though, that this post was merely filler because I haven’t posted in a little bit. But, feel free to peruse the rest of the site, and you’ll be sure to find a wealth of ideas to engage with that are not mere regurgitations of other people. Thanks for the comment.
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