The Man In The Arena - USNA

“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.”

Edited by mod.

TMB said:

“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.”

Edited by mod.

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I sent this to my DS this AM after he got the TWE! Thanks for posting it.

Great post!

This is actually one of the first items that a new Plebe at USNA learns. Coincidentally, this has been removed from the Commandant's Reading List from the USMC side of the house.

Love it! My daughter has told me for many years "I don't just want to have a job, I really want to make a difference in the world." When things would be trying for her, I would remind her of her goal and tell her that when you think of people who greatly impact the world, they are almost always those who have faced adversity, those whom others had doubted or discounted (history is full of examples--the guy who invented the microscope was laughed at by his peers for a hundred years!) A rower she knows lost his legs from MRSA. He now is a well known motivational speaker and does great charitable work--doors that would not have been there were it not for that adversity (clearly not part of his original plan). There are countless stories. While "checklist" people may have a nice and successful life, you dont remember them. You do remember the ones who faced adversity and did great things in spite of it or because of it. They are the ones who inspire many. Just my thoughts and ones I reminded my daughter of last year when she got the twe. It does sting, but it's just part of a larger process.

Go Teddy! Our hs football coach had this printed on a birthday card he used to send to all his players. Thanks for the reminder!

Printed out and taped to the bedroom doors of son and daughters. Many thanks for posting.

I was thinking about posting this to the facebook page but someone beat me to it! Such an excellent quote. Me and my dad both love the man in the arena speech. I have this taped to my wall in my bathroom. Many thanks.