THE BATTLE OF LIFE

In the battle of life, it is not
the critic who counts; not the
woman who points out how the
strong woman stumbled, or
where the doer of a deed could
have done better. The credit
belongs to the woman who is
actually on the court; whose
face is marred by dust and
sweat; who strives valiantly;
who errs and comes short
again and again because there
is no effort without error and
shortcoming. She who actually
strives to do the deeds, she
who knows the great enthusiasms,
the great devotion, spends
herself in a worthy cause; she
who at best knows in the end
the triumph of high achievement;
and she who at the worst, if she
fails, at least fails while
daring greatly, so that her place
shall never be with those cold
and timid souls who have tasted
neither victory nor defeat.

Adapted from a speech by
Theodore Roosevelt