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.

This was “The Man in the Arena,” a passage from Theodore Roosevelt’s 1910 speech in Paris, and one of the most quoted texts ever. Before the 1995 World Cup, Nelson Mandela gave its copy to Francois Pienaar, captain of the South African rugby team—and they won, defeating the favored All Blacks of New Zealand. American singer Miley Cyrus even tattooed a part of it on her arm! There must be some truth of life in it…

What does it mean to you?