# Fail While Daring Greatly by Theodore Roosevelt > “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 shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; 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 fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” > **— Theodore Roosevelt**, *“Citizenship in a Republic,” Sorbonne, April 23, 1910* ## Sources and Context - **Direct or authoritative text:** [“Citizenship in a Republic,” Sorbonne, April 23, 1910](https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-sorbonne-paris-france-citizenship-republic) — American Presidency Project transcript. The Reminder uses one contiguous passage and marks no invented joining. - **Why it belongs here:** The passage describes improvement, revelation, learning, or increased capability through opposition, error, difficulty, or adversity. It does not imply that unlimited injury is beneficial. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Book:** [[books/Chimping Out|Chimping Out]] - **Article:** [[articles/Ideas as Lindy Organisms|Ideas as Lindy Organisms]] - **Article:** [[articles/artificial-intelligence/Cybernetic Domestication Syndrome of Men and AI|Cybernetic Domestication Syndrome of Men and AI]] - **Article:** [[articles/Authorship After the Threshold|Authorship After the Threshold]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Antifragility|Antifragility]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “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 shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; 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 fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” — Theodore Roosevelt, “Citizenship in a Republic,” Sorbonne, April 23, 1910 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-theodore-roosevelt-daring-greatly ```