The Man in the Arena
is a part of a speech delivered by Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne in Paris
over a century ago on April 23, 1910. The following is what historians call the
Man in the Arena paragraph.
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.
Over a half century ago, I stood in front of my English
teacher in high school and recited Man in the Arena.
While I was able to memorize that paragraph, I did not fully understand
Roosevelt's message. A half century later, I have gotten the message. Over
those five decades since memorizing that single paragraph, I have been
successful in some very important things. However, I have not always succeeded.
I have failed at both petty and important things during my adult life.
My personal experiences of success and failure are like
everyone else's. We win some battles in the arena of life while we lose some. Some
people cringe at loss and do not try again. Others fill themselves with hubris
and strut upon the stage of life as Macbeth did "full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing." Roosevelt wants us all to enter the arena and fight the
good fight not all puffed up with talk.
Roosevelt challenges us to live life to the fullest. Then he
adds, "...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."
Once you are able to internalize Man
in the Arena and make it a part of your being, it is
transformative in every aspect of life. Fifty years ago, I was able to memorize
this paragraph, but I did not fully comprehend what Roosevelt meant. I get it
now.
This is a video about Roosevelt's trip to the Sorbonne and a
reading of Man in the Arena.
