My object in living is to unite My avocation and my vocation As my two eyes make one in sight. Only where love and need are one, And the work is play for mortal stakes, Is the deed ever really done For heaven and the future’s sakes.
Out of the mud two strangers came And caught me splitting wood in the yard, And one of them put me off my aim By hailing cheerily “Hit them hard!” I knew pretty well why he dropped behind And let the other go on a way.
I knew pretty well what he had in mind: He wanted to take my job for pay. Good blocks of beech it was I split, As large around as the chopping block; And every piece I squarely hit Fell splinterless as a cloven rock.
Figure it out for yourself, my lad, You’ve all that the greatest of men have had, Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes, And a brain to use if you would be wise. With this equipment they all began, So start for the top and say “I can.”
This life is a wonderful gift .. accept it, embrace it. It starts with a new day .. wake up and greet it. Life is a challenge .. take it head on and meet it. Full of opportunity .. use it, don’t waste it.
This life is a mystery .. unfold it, solve it. It starts with meaning .. wake up and understand it. Life is a goal .. take it head on and achieve it. Full of promise .. fulfill it but keep it.
This life is a tragedy .. face it, accept it. It starts with pain .. wake up and help numb it. Life is a struggle .. take it head on and fight it. Full of sorrow .. sorry, just overcome it.
This life is precious .. hold it, treasure it, It starts with hope .. wake up and feel it. Life is a choice .. take it head on and make it. Full of knowledge .. use it, don’t abuse it.
This life is adventurous .. enjoy it, explore it. It starts with a duty .. wake up and perform it. Life is love .. take it full on and love it. Full of beauty .. praise it and behold it.
That life is life .. live it, learn and grow Life is good .. be good with all that you know.
I. I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.
The two kind of people poem is a great poem by American author and poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox. The final line of the poem asks a simple question:
In which class are you? Are you easing the load Of overtaxed lifters who toil down the road? Or are you a leaner who lets others bear Your portion of labor and worry and care?
There are two kinds of people on earth to-day; Just two kinds of people, no more I say.
Not the sinner and saint, for it’s well understood The good are half bad and the bad are half good.
Not the rich and the poor, for to rate a man’s wealth, You must first know the state of his conscience and health.
Sure, this world is full of trouble I ain’t said it ain’t. Lord, I’ve had enough and double Reason for complaint; Rain and storm have come to fret me, Skies are often gray; Thorns and brambles have beset me On the road — but say, Ain’t it fine today?
The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
I have to live with myself and so I want to be fit for myself to know. I want to be able as days go by, always to look myself straight in the eye; I don’t want to stand with the setting sun and hate myself for the things I have done.
I don’t want to keep on a closet shelf a lot of secrets about myself and fool myself as I come and go into thinking no one else will ever know the kind of person I really am; I don’t want to dress up myself in sham.
Keep yourself in fighting trim. If the worst is bound to happen, Spite of all that you can do, Running from it will not save you, See it through!
‘See It Through’ by Edgar Albert Guest is a poem about navigating the trying and tough times. Guest urged the reader to meet troubles, tribulations and challenges face to face. The poem echos the truism: “Until you handle it with grace, it will stay in your face.”. As Martin Luther King Jnr. once quipped: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” See it through!
“Until you handle it with grace, it will stay in your face.”.
When you’re up against a trouble, Meet it squarely, face to face; Lift your chin and set your shoulders, Plant your feet and take a brace. When it’s vain to try to dodge it, Do the best that you can do; You may fail, but you may conquer, See it through!
The poem “After a while” is mostly attributed to Veronica A. Shoffstall and a Spanish version attributed to Jorge Luis Borges.
After a while you learn The subtle difference between Holding a hand and chaining a soul And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning And company doesn’t always mean security.
And you begin to learn That kisses aren’t contracts And presents aren’t promises And you begin to accept your defeats With your head up and your eyes ahead With the grace of a woman* Not the grief of a child*
And you learn To build all your roads on today Because tomorrow’s ground is Too uncertain for plans And futures have a way Of falling down in mid flight
After a while you learn That even sunshine burns if you get too much So you plant your own garden And decorate your own soul Instead of waiting For someone to bring you flowers
And you learn That you really can endure That you are really strong And you really do have worth And you learn and you learn And with every day, you learn.
Aprendiendo by Jorge Luis Borges.
“Después de un tiempo, uno aprende la sutil diferencia entre sostener una mano y encadenar un alma.
Y uno aprende que el AMOR no significa acostarse.
Y que una compañía no significa seguridad, y uno empieza a aprender ….
Que los besos no son contratos y los regalos no son promesas, y uno empieza a aceptar sus derrotas con la cabeza alta y los ojos abiertos, y uno aprende a construir todos sus caminos en el hoy, porque el terreno del mañana es demasiado inseguro para planes … y los futuros tienen su forma de caerse por la mitad.
Y después de un tiempo uno aprende que, si es demasiado, hasta el calor del Sol puede quemar.
Así que uno planta su propio jardín y decora su propia alma, en lugar de esperar a que alguien le traiga flores.
Y uno aprende que realmente puede aguantar, que uno es realmente fuerte, que uno realmente vale, y uno aprende y aprende … y así cada día.
Con el tiempo aprendes que estar con alguien, porque te ofrece un buen futuro, significa que tarde o temprano querrás volver a tu pasado.
Con el tiempo comprendes que sólo quien es capaz de amarte con tus defectos sin pretender cambiarte, puede brindarte toda la felicidad.
Con el tiempo te das cuenta de que si estás con una persona sólo por acompañar tu soledad, irremediablemente acabarás no deseando volver a verla.
Con el tiempo aprendes que los verdaderos amigos son contados y que quien no lucha por ellos tarde o temprano se verá rodeado sólo de falsas amistades.
Con el tiempo aprendes que las palabras dichas en momentos de ira siguen hiriendo durante toda la vida.
Con el tiempo aprendes que disculpar cualquiera lo hace, pero perdonar es atributo sólo de almas grandes.
Con el tiempo comprendes que si has herido a un amigo duramente, es muy probable que la amistad jamás sea igual.
Con el tiempo te das cuenta que aun siendo feliz con tus amigos, lloras por aquellos que dejaste ir.
Con el tiempo te das cuenta de que cada experiencia vivida con cada persona es irrepetible.
Con el tiempo te das cuenta de que el que humilla o desprecia a un ser humano, tarde o temprano sufrirá multiplicadas las mismas humillaciones o desprecios.
Con el tiempo aprendes a construir todos tus caminos en el hoy, porque el sendero del mañana no existe.
Con el tiempo comprendes que apresurar las cosas y forzarlas a que pasen, ocasiona que al final no sean como esperabas.
Con el tiempo te das cuenta de que en realidad lo mejor no era el futuro, sino el momento que estabas viviendo justo en ese instante.
Con el tiempo verás que aunque seas feliz con los que están a tu lado, añorarás a los que se marcharon.
Con el tiempo aprenderás a perdonar o pedir perdón, decir que amas, decir que extrañas, decir que necesitas, decir que quieres ser amigo, pues ante una tumba ya no tiene sentido.
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 the 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.
Former President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, delivered the ‘Citizenship in a Republic’ Speech at the Sorbonne in Paris on April 23, 1910. The speech is one of the most quoted Roosevelt speeches, and it is popularly known as “The Man in the Arena.” speech. The man in the arena portion is one of the most quoted and notable section in the speech. The speech was part of a larger trip to Europe that included visits to Vienna, Budapest, and Oslo.
After leaving office in 1909, Roosevelt left New York for the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition, a safari in east and central Africa. He served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He remains the youngest person to become President of the United States, he assumed the presidency at age 42.
Man in the Arena Speech
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 the 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.
Shame on the man of cultivated taste who permits refinement to develop into a fastidiousness that unfits him for doing the rough work of a workaday world. Among the free peoples who govern themselves there is but a small field of usefulness open for the men of cloistered life who shrink from contact with their fellows. Still less room is there for those who deride or slight what is done by those who actually bear the brunt of the day; nor yet for those others who always profess that they would like to take action, if only the conditions of life were not what they actually are. The man who does nothing cuts the same sordid figure in the pages of history, whether he be cynic, or fop, or voluptuary. There is little use for the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of the great and generous emotion, of the high pride, the stern belief, the lofty enthusiasm, of the men who quell the storm and ride the thunder. Well for these men if they succeed; well also, though not so well, if they fail, given only that they have nobly ventured, and have put forth all their heart and strength. It is war-worn Hotspur, spent with hard fighting, he of the many errors and the valiant end, over whose memory we love to linger, not over the memory of the young lord who “but for the vile guns would have been a soldier.
Man in the Arena in popular Culture
Former president of post-apartheid South Africa Nelson Mandela is said to have given a copy of the Man in the Arena speech to the captain of the South African rugby team, François Pienaar, before the start of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, in which the South African team defeated the All Blacks New Zealand team.
American author Brene Brown got the inspiration for the title of her 2012 book from the speech. In the book, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, she writes about the speech:
“The first time I read this quote, I thought, This is vulnerability. Everything I’ve learned from over a decade of research on vulnerability has taught me this exact lesson. Vulnerability is not knowing victory or defeat, it’s understanding the necessity of both; it’s engaging. It’s being all in.”
“Vulnerability is not weakness, and the uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional. Our only choice is a question of engagement. Our willingness to own and engage with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose; the level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnection. When we spend our lives waiting until we’re perfect or bulletproof before we walk into the arena, we ultimately sacrifice relationships and opportunities that may not be recoverable, we squander our precious time, and we turn our backs on our gifts, those unique contributions that only we can make.
Perfect and bulletproof are seductive, but they don’t exist in the human experience. We must walk into the arena, whatever it may be—a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation—with courage and the willingness to engage. Rather than sitting on the sidelines and hurling judgment and advice, we must dare to show up and let ourselves be seen. This is vulnerability. This is daring greatly.
Bene Brown also paraphrased the Man in the Arena speech in her 2012 TED talk speech: Listening to Shame.
Lebron James
LeBron James writes “Man in the Arena” on his shoes before every game. In his 2018 podcast interview with author and podcaster Tim Ferris, Lebron speaks about his love for the Man in the Arena quote:
Tim Ferriss: And it’s, I think, the consistency which is such a focus for a lot of, at least, my listeners when they’re looking at your career. It’s been astonishing to watch over time. And many people want to know about the habits or the reminders, things along these lines. And one of the things I came across – I don’t know if it’s true, you could tell me. But did you at one point have Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” quote in your locker?
LeBron James: I still do.
Tim Ferriss: You still do. Why –
LeBron James: I write it on my shoes every game too.
Tim Ferriss: All right. Why is that important to you?
LeBron James: It just hit home for me at a point in time where I was listening to people that I shouldn’t have been listening to, meaning there are always people out there that are going to judge you and critique you and say that you should do this, or you shouldn’t do that.
And at that point in time, I wasn’t mature enough to just believe in the decisions that I’ve made. And I’m a true believer in the more and more that you listen to things like that, then it’ll creep into your mind, and you start to believe it. And once I started to study some of the great leaders that we’ve had in our time, I ran across that quote from Theodore Roosevelt, “The Man in the Arena.” For our listeners that don’t know about it, it’s basically saying that it truly doesn’t matter what anyone says because they’ve never stepped inside the arena. They’ve never had the blood and the sweat and the tears or paid their dues inside the arena. So they can’t really understand or critique you about what’s going on in your life. And that hit home for me. And that stuck with me to this day.
It’s basically saying that it truly doesn’t matter what anyone says because they’ve never stepped inside the arena. They’ve never had the blood and the sweat and the tears or paid their dues inside the arena. So they can’t really understand or critique you about what’s going on in your life.
The Man in the Arena quote is one of my favorite speeches of all time. As a creative, you need to trust the process, ignore the naysayers, bet on yourself, and continue to execute day in, day out. Like Roosevelt aptly said, “It is not the critic who counts; the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.”
All the Best in your quest to get Better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.
A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wing in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.
