One of my faves...

One of my most favorite quotes is from Theodore Roosevelt, delivered in Paris back on April 23, 1910. Roosevelt always seems to ring true and I find that a great deal of Presidential speeches and comparisons/ models for presidential candidacies center around "The Greats". There is a reason that these "Greats" have their faces memorialized in rock both in Washington and in a mountain in South Dakota.
During this time of resolutions and new year beginnings, I submit these words for your thought and perusal:

"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."

So true and so poignant. It is a motto I strive to emulate and encourage my students to embrace. Never ever EVER live your life in a "Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda" type of situation. You have to live it for the way you want. If something does not make you happy, why are you doing it? Why are you still in it? Why are you in an arena, getting all dusty and sweaty and riled up, if it truly does not bring you boundless joy? Why are you standing by the wayside watching others speed by on the racetrack when you should be shifting your own gears to make tracks of your very own?

Here's to the racetrack of 2012. Bring it ON!

Thank you Mr. Roosevelt!