Do I have what it takes?
I was at Seattle Town Center this past Friday night with Chris McNeece, Matt Randall, and my housemate Jimmy listening to the McLellan/O’Donnell Living History Series, sponsored by The Seattle Public Library. The night featured humanity scholar Clay Jenkinson as Theodore Roosevelt, delivering an unscripted monologue as Roosevelt himself. It was a very impressive show (so much better too that it was free), and I was especially mesmerized by this particular quote in the end.
“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.”
It pretty much says it all; no need to elaborate any further. What is in a man can only be known in the battlefield, both to himself and to the others. The king has drawn the sword and asked his legions to follow closely behind…and have we just crossed the point of no return?
“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.”
It pretty much says it all; no need to elaborate any further. What is in a man can only be known in the battlefield, both to himself and to the others. The king has drawn the sword and asked his legions to follow closely behind…and have we just crossed the point of no return?
posted by Andrew Chen at 12:56 AM
2 Comments:
a very manly statement. don't we all crave "credit".
That's like asking a chicken or egg question, or what makes anyone successful his passion for money or drive for dreams. You've known me for years how could I fight for the glory of reward on anything I wouldn't know either.
When the quote was said I can't help but seeing the image of Maximus Decimus Meridias leading his calvary charging down the field. I suppose I let my imagination got a better hold of me...
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