Americanism is a question of principle, of idealism, of character. It is not a matter of birthplace, or creed, or line of descent.
Theodore RooseveltRead
If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We often contribute to our own problems through our choices and actions.
This quote humorously suggests that we are often the architects of our own dilemmas. By acknowledging that most of our troubles stem from our decisions, it prompts us to take responsibility for our actions rather than blaming external forces or others.
Themes
ResponsibilityTroublesChoicesHumorSelf-Reflection
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational talk about accountability, you could start with this quote.
More from Theodore Roosevelt
All quotes βIt tires me to talk to rich men. You expect a man of millions, the head of a great industry, to be a man worthhearing; but as a rule they don't know anything outside their own business.
Theodore RooseveltRead
No man should receive a dollar unless that dollar has been fairly earned.
Theodore RooseveltRead
Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.
Theodore RooseveltRead
Conservation means development as much as it does protection._x000D_ _x000D_ A man's usefulness depends upon his living up to his ideals insofar as he can.
Theodore RooseveltRead
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 at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.
Theodore RooseveltRead
Similar quotes
You have discovered the spiritual universe. Many others have discovered this same world, but each must make the discovery for himself. You are going to have a lot of joy sailing around this world of yours. Don't fight the opinions of others, or waste your time arguing over these things. Follow the inward gleam of your consciousness and you will arrive.
Ernest HolmesRead
For years I bore the crippling weight of anger, bitterness and resentment toward those who caused my suffering. Yet as I look back over a spiritual journey that has spanned more than three decades, I realize the same bombs that caused so much pain and suffering also brought me to a place of great healing. Those bombs led me to Jesus Christ.
Phan Thi Kim PhucRead
To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.
Thomas A. EdisonRead
When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name; the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new. It shall exclude example and experience.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
We can often do more for other men by trying to correct our own faults than by trying to correct theirs.
Francois FenelonRead
You proceed from a false assumption: I have no ego to bruise.
Leonard NimoyRead