Gentlemen: you have now reached the last point. If anyone of you doesn't mean business let him say so now. An hour from now will be too late to back out. Once in, you've got to see it through. You've got to perform without flinching whatever duty is assigned you, regardless of the difficulty or the danger attending it. If it is garrison duty, you must attend to it. If it is meeting fever, you must be willing. If it is the closest kind of fighting, anxious for it. You must know how to ride, how to shoot, how to live in the open. Absolute obedience to every command is your first lesson. No matter what comes you mustn't squeal. Think it over - all of you. If any man wishes to withdraw he will be gladly excused, for others are ready to take his place.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Roosevelt urges officers to commit fully to their duties, emphasizing obedience, courage, and the inability to back out once engaged.
- In plain terms
- Once you join a mission, you must see it through without complaining or quitting.
- What can you take from it?
- Commitment requires seeing duties through to the end regardless of danger.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When does duty require standing firm?
- What makes a commitment real?
Another view
Blind obedience without moral judgment can lead to harmful actions.
More from Theodore Roosevelt
There is a curse on this house.
Permalink to quote #2 I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life.
Permalink to quote #4 The light has gone out of my life.
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