“In short, in life, as in…” — Theodore Roosevelt

In short, in life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard; don't foul and don't shirk, but hit the line hard!

— Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), "The American Boy", published in St. Nicholas 27, no. 7 (May 1900), p. 574

Courage and overcoming setbacks

What it means

Roosevelt borrows from football: commit fully, play fair, and do not shirk. Wholehearted, honest effort is the rule for life as well as sport.

Theodore Roosevelt — President of the United States from 1901 to 1909.

Source: "The American Boy", published in St. Nicholas 27, no. 7 (May 1900), p. 574
Reference: Theodore Roosevelt on Wikiquote
Checked: Wording and source taken from the sourced section of the author’s Wikiquote page, which cites the work given here (accessed 2026-10-11).
Copyright: Public domain: the author died in 1919.

The explanation above is ToDoMatriX’s own reading of the quote, not the author’s words.

“Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.”

Albert Einstein

“I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life; I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”

Theodore Roosevelt

“Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”

Maya Angelou