In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins - not through strength but by perseverance.
H. Jackson Brown
Don't settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that's in us.
Angela Bassett
Perseverance consist of two components:(1) always putting forth your best effort; and (2) never giving up. Both require great effort and courage.
For as long as our lives intersect, I will continually ask you to "try your hardest" and to "give yourself your very best". These are not mere words; they are important and powerful concepts that our world and times demand.
Trying your hardest and giving yourself the benefit of your very best is difficult and takes courage. When you do so, your expectations increase and you may not always get what you want. You may actually fail to reach your goal. Is it better to "hang back" and coast? Why do I say that when a person fails to try her hardest, she cheats herself? Here is what President Roosevelt said 107 years ago.
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt, Speech to the Hamilton Club, April 10, 1899
In a later speech he said:
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena...and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while doing greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."
President Roosevelt's words are more relevant today than ever before! You are special and unique. Always give yourself your very best. You, and our world, deserve nothing less.
