Teddy Roosevelt, Perseverance & “The American Boy”

Roosevelt’s essay, “The American Boy,” has some good wisdom for boys growing into manhood, and I have enjoyed reading it to my boys. This excerpt underlines the importance of perseverance.

Perhaps there is no more important component of character than steadfast resolution. The boy who is going to make a great man, or is going to count in any way in after life, must make up his mind not merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win in spite of a thousand repulses or defeats. He may be able to wrest success along the lines on which he originally started. He may have to try something entirely new. On the one hand, he must not be volatile and irresolute, and, on the other hand, he must not fear to try a new line because he has failed in another.