Man in the Arena

"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 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 up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for 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 knew neither victory nor defeat."

I remember reading this quote for the first time when I was in Anchorage, AK. I remember the fire it stirred within me. I remember wondering if I knew the great devotions, if I ever strived valiantly. Now I wonder no more.

I have completed all the steps for Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. I wait now to see if my best foot forward was good enough. There was no point in the process where I said, "I could have done more, or better." I did everything I could and now wait for over a month to find out. If I fail, then I fail greatly because I have done my best. If I succeed, then all my efforts were worth it. I will know what Theodore Roosevelt meant by the triumph of high achievement or I will understand the failure for daring greatly. It is a feeling I am excited to have. I pray I continue to never settle for my own personal second best.