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, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; 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 fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt said this in 1910. And nearly 100 years later, it’s still applicable and perhaps, even more true. We’ve now got hundreds of television and radio channels where anyone can (and does) froth at the mouth about the most trivial things. Millions of blogs where people say anything…The world is full of critics.

I’m interested in people who get into the arena. I’m there, many of you are there. Let’s get dirty, bloody, sweaty, and let’s fail again and again. It is only through failure that the most important lessons are learned. My mantra has been, if you’re not failing periodically, you’re not trying hard enough. But, when you fail, make sure that your failure is original to you!

Tip of the Hat: TechCrunch