Victory or Defeat -- T.R. Roosevelt

Victory or Defeat…


“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 and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcomings, who knows the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows in the end the high achievement of triumph and who at worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows his place shall never be with those timid and cold souls who know neither victory or defeat.”


–Theodore Roosevelt

This is a great quote. Historically, I’ve been one of the "timid and cold souls who know neither victory or defeat."

Ya know, I had never seen this quote before. And now, I’ve seen this quote twice in less than a week. To me, it’s another reminder that no matter the outcome, there is great courage in simply trying.

Thanks for the daily affirmation.

Duck my friend, my wife & soul-mate, Wendy, found this and gave it to me when I felt the chips were down. I was on the verge of throwing in the towel. Rejected by the one school I KNEW was a gim’me…Wendy gave a copy of this this exerpt to me…and every since, a copy has hung over my desk. Whenever I feel down, overwhelmed or that maybe I can’t handle all of this…I simply read it and I filled with a firm resolve to succeed.

Were it naught for my wife and the unconditional support she gives to me, I would not be here. If it were not for the unquestioning devotion, drive and discipline that I possess – I would not be here.

That excerpt, in my opinion, emb odies what being a non-trad is all about!

Great post! I hadn’t seen that quote before either.

My wife plans to have a very high quality printing of it made and then nicely framed to go over my desk. And, once I have my own office…it will continue to hang over my desk.

Just moving this post back to the top of the thread…I believe that this quote truly summarizes what being an OldPreMed is all about!

“To make a great dream come true, the first requirement is a great capacity to dream; the second is persistence-- a faith in the dream”
Hans Selye, MD


my mantra that I live by…