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.
Sorrow is a kind of rust of the soul, which every new idea contributes in its passage to scour away. It is the putrefaction of stagnant life, and is remedied by exercise and motion.
By our pontifical assertions, our superior impatience, and our casual brushing aside of their curiosity, we do not encourage their inquiry, for we are rather apprehensive of what may be asked of us; we do not foster their discontent, for we ourselves have ceased to question.
A compliment is something like a kiss through a veil.
I can choose either to be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It's all a question of how I view my life.
We've been programmed, from the time that we were very, very little, about what we can't do - about what is impossible.
Remember: your bosses prefer to keep you in dependent positions. It is in their interest that you do not become self-reliant, and so they will tend to hoard information. You must secretly work against this and seize this information for yourself.
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