Theodore Roosevelt was an American statesman and writer who served as the 26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He also served as the 25th Vice President of the United States from March to September 1901 and as the 33rd Governor of New York from 1899 to 1900. As a leader of the Republican Party during this time, he became a driving force for the Progressive Era in the United States in the early 20th century. His face is depicted on Mount Rushmore, alongside those of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. In polls of historians and political scientists, He is generally ranked as one of the five best presidents.
After taking office as Vice President in March 1901, he became President at age 42 following McKinley’s assassination that September, and remains the youngest person to become President of the United States. As a leader of the Progressive movement, he championed his “Square Deal” domestic policies, promising the average citizen fairness, breaking of trusts, regulation of railroads, and pure food and drugs. He expanded the Navy and sent the Great White Fleet on a world tour to project the United States’ naval power around the globe. His successful efforts to broker the end of the Russo-Japanese War won him the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize.
Here are 25 Inspirational Roosevelt Quotes On Success
1. “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” Theodore Roosevelt
2. “If I must choose between peace and righteousness, I choose righteousness.” Theodore Roosevelt
3. “We need the iron qualities that go with true manhood. We need the positive virtues of resolution, of courage, of indomitable will, of power to do without shrinking the rough work that must always be done.” Theodore Roosevelt
4. “Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.” Theodore Roosevelt
5. “The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything. Do not be afraid to make mistakes providing you do not make the same one twice.” Theodore Roosevelt
6. “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” Theodore Roosevelt
7. “Our chief usefulness to humanity rests on our combining power with high purpose. Power undirected by high purpose spells calamity, and high purpose by itself is utterly useless if the power to put it into effect is lacking.” Theodore Roosevelt
8. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” Theodore Roosevelt
9. “In life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: hit the line hard.” Theodore Roosevelt
10. “No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his body – to risk his well-being – to risk his life – in a great cause.” Theodore Roosevelt
11. “We must remember not to judge any public servant by any one act, and especially should we beware of attacking the men who are merely the occasions and not the cause of disaster.” Theodore Roosevelt
12. “There is only one quality worse than hardness of heart and that is softness of head.” Theodore Roosevelt
13. “It is impossible to win the great prizes of life without running risks and the greatest of all prizes are those connected with the home.” Theodore Roosevelt
14. “The men and women who have the right ideals, are those who have the courage to strive for the happiness which comes only with labor and effort and self-sacrifice, and those whose joy in life springs in part from power of work and sense of duty.” Theodore Roosevelt
15. “Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.” Theodore Roosevelt
16. “Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checked by failure than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt
17. “The person who succeeds is not the one who holds back, fearing failure, nor the one who never fails but rather the one who moves on in spite of failure.” Theodore Roosevelt
18. “Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind.” Theodore Roosevelt
19. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Theodore Roosevelt
20. “Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.” Theodore Roosevelt
21. “With self-discipline most anything is possible.” Theodore Roosevelt25. “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” Theodore Roosevelt
22. “Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great nation, we must not merely talk; we must act big.” Theodore Roosevelt
23. “We are face to face with our destiny and we must meet it with a high and resolute courage. For us is the life of action, of strenuous performance of duty; let us live in the harness, striving mightily; let us rather run the risk of wearing out than rusting out.” Theodore Roosevelt
24. “Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.” Theodore Roosevelt
25. “People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.” Theodore Roosevelt
Final Thoughts
Which of these quotes inspired you the most? If you like to get notable quotes, see these quotes to encourage teamwork.