"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."
"Citizenship in a Republic,"
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
Around this time last year, I was given an opportunity which put me in a position to make choice. I was given a choice whether to embark on a new adventure in my career, or to stay where I was. This was a very difficult decision for me, because I very much enjoyed the place I was in in my career and was very comfortable with it. But my mind kept coming back to this quote. I really believe in its message. If I was to try to personify what I believed in, I would have to become "the man in the arena", and step out of my comfort zone. This type of thinking has guided my actions in the past as well; the idea that if you don't try, you will never know if you can do it. This was the thought that led me to join the Corps of Cadets when I was in college. I don't know yet whether my efforts now will end in victory or defeat, but at least I know my place will never be with those "cold and timid souls" who know neither.
