It's not the critic who counts...

First of all, a big thank you to Joe James, who generously awarded me a prize for my efforts on one of his caption competitions. My prize was a book: Treasury of Courage and Confidence, by Norman Vincent Peale. It's an anthology of inspiring quotes by great writers.

I've only dipped into it so far, but it looks great. This quote caught my eye this morning:

"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."
-- Theodore Roosevelt


It made me think... although I don't take back anything I said yesterday, I don't want to be remembered as a man who criticised from the sidelines! I'd much rather be in the thick of the action, actually making a difference. That's what counts at the end of the day; not what you said about what others did, but what you did yourself! It's all too easy to criticise....


"When I've walked on the water... then I'll preach about Peter's unbelief. Until then, I tend to be very impressed!"
-- Tony Ling