In The Arena

A CEO of a large international company shared with me his adopted philosophy on leadership and life. He is someone who I have known for many years, and who has consistently demonstrated strong leadership. Here is what he shared with me… the words of Theodore Roosevelt:

"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 spreads 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". - Theodore Roosevelt

Thanks Charlie, for sharing these powerful words.  Choose to live life in the arena and you will make a difference. 

Larry