Americanism is a question of principle, of idealism, of character. It is not a matter of birthplace, or creed, or line of descent.
Theodore RooseveltRead
If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month.
Interpretation
We often contribute to our own problems through our choices and actions.
This quote humorously suggests that we are often the architects of our own dilemmas. By acknowledging that most of our troubles stem from our decisions, it prompts us to take responsibility for our actions rather than blaming external forces or others.
In practice
In a motivational talk about accountability, you could start with this quote.
Americanism is a question of principle, of idealism, of character. It is not a matter of birthplace, or creed, or line of descent.
It tires me to talk to rich men. You expect a man of millions, the head of a great industry, to be a man worthhearing; but as a rule they don't know anything outside their own business.
No man should receive a dollar unless that dollar has been fairly earned.
Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.
Conservation means development as much as it does protection._x000D_ _x000D_ A man's usefulness depends upon his living up to his ideals insofar as he can.
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 at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.
Part of making any endeavour is that each one has its own special problems. It's the nature of the process.
But what's worth more than gold?" "Practically everything. You, for example. Gold is heavy. Your weight in gold is not very much gold at all. Aren't you worth more than that?
Yield not thy neck_x000D_ _x000D_ To fortune's yoke, but let thy dauntless mind_x000D_ _x000D_ Still ride in triumph over all mischance._x000D_ _x000D_ In the difficult are the friendly forces, the hands_x000D_ _x000D_ that work on us.
With six weeks' worth of recuperation time, you'll also be able to see any glaring holes in the plot or character development. And listen--if you spot a few of these big holes, you are forbidden to feel depressed about them or to beat up on yourself. Screw-ups happen to the best of us.
Listen closely to your invisible thoughts. What do you hear? What are your words implying? That is their potency. What do you want? Name it and rearrange the structure of your mind to imply you no longer desire it, because you already have it!
...we all must admit that everything is fine and there's no need in the world to worry, and in fact we should realize what it would mean to us to UNDERSTAND that we're not REALLY worried about ANYTHING.
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