A face marred by dust and sweat and blood

In the CES fireside address which ended about 30 seconds ago, President Faust quoted Teddy Roosevelt:

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 not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, 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 he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

That’s copied from ThinkExist.com. There’s another quote on the same page along similar lines:

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checked by failure…than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

Great quotes, they are. My Beyond project has felt like a mammoth undertaking (and I’m still barely getting started), and lately I’ve been wondering if it’s worth it, if I’m insane, if I oughtn’t just forget about it and move on with my life. Can I really pull it off? But then I heard this quote, and the spirit of greatness flared up within me and exclaimed that I must try, must “strive to do the deed,” spending myself “in a worthy cause.” And if I fail? “At least [I fail] while daring greatly.” This idea — of shooting for the stars and not being afraid of failure — has taken hold of me these past few months, and I don’t think it’s letting go. It’s a good thing. It’s how great things happen. Would that all men and women sought greatness… There’s so much unused potential out there, so much creative talent wasting away undiscovered. ~sigh~

Anyway, both of these quotes are going on my wall for motivation… :)