Thoughts from a great leader

I've been reading about the great President Theodore Roosevelt. Here are some quotes to inspire you.


“The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first and love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life.”

“The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.”

“The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything.”

“With self-discipline most anything is possible.”

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checked by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

“Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.”

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing”

“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.”

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

“I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!”

“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

“Believe you can and you're halfway there.”

“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.”

“Wars are, of course, as a rule to be avoided; but they are far better than certain kinds of peace”

“We can have no "50-50" allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all.”

“Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.”

“There has never yet been a man in our history who led a life of ease whose name is worth remembering.”

“A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues.”

“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”

“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month.”

“To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a meance to society.”

“The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants them to do, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it”

“Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.”

“There is a homely adage which runs: "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far”

“The boy who is going to make a great man must not make up his mind merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win in spite of a thousand repulses and defeats.”

“War is not merely justifiable, but imperative upon honorable men, upon an honorable nation, where peace can only be obtained by the sacrifice of conscientious conviction or of national welfare”

“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort.”

“Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit softly”