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
What this quote means
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.
Themes
ResponsibilityTroublesChoicesHumorSelf-Reflection
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational talk about accountability, you could start with this quote.
More from Theodore Roosevelt
All quotes βIt 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.
Theodore RooseveltRead
No man should receive a dollar unless that dollar has been fairly earned.
Theodore RooseveltRead
Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.
Theodore RooseveltRead
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.
Theodore RooseveltRead
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.
Theodore RooseveltRead
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The idea that to make a man work you've got to hold gold in front of his eyes is a growth, not an axiom. We've done that for so long that we've forgotten there's any other way.
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