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. -Theodore Roosevelt
Obviously if you’re following this website, you probably have an interest in getting smarter and also getting fit.
One of the greatest American Presidents throughout history is Theodore Roosevelt.
His list of accomplishments is one that would make even the most successful people in our current generation feel unaccomplished.
Not only was he a President, but he also was a police commissioner, owned a ranch, was a governor in New York, fought in wars, wrote 35 books, explored the rain forests, could read several books a day, survived his wife and mother dying on the same day, went to Harvard and graduated magna cum laude, rowed and boxed throughout college, and not to mention, he also took a bullet to the chest during one of his speeches and still delivered his speech before going to the hospital.
Thinking about this on my days when I complain about being sore after working out makes me feel incredibly lazy.
As a child, Theodore was born with severe asthma. He never slept well, he hurt often, and wasn’t determined to have an active life.
While sick, he developed a natural inclination toward studying zoology. Many hours were spent reading and learning. After observing his son for quite some time, Theodore’s father came to him and said, “Theodore, you have the mind but you have not the body, and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should. You must make your body.”
That is exactly what he set out to do.
He exercised every single day, continuing all through college.
During a physical after college, a doctor told him that his heart was weak and it was best for him to avoid exercise at all costs.
He did exactly the opposite.
Staying fit was the exact reason he was able to accomplish the rest of the big goals he did.
The goal of Writers Lift Too is to help people get in shape so they have the strength to build the life they have always imagined. You can’t build your dream life when you feel weak.
There is a lot to learn from some of our great leaders in history, and I know there are so many people out there with incredible minds that simply do not have the body to create the energy they need. Building resilience isn’t something that happens overnight. Many people would LOVE to write one book, much less 35.
Theodore Roosevelt called it the strenuous life, and I invite you to think about how you can live the strenuous life.
I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph. -Theodore Roosevelt
Here is also a great comic you can share with others summarizing this story for some motivation: Click here.
Writers Lift Too 