Theodore Roosevelt Quotes on Action
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We stand at Armageddon and we battle for the Lord.
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In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
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Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
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Moreover, and above all, let us remember that words count only when they give expression to deeds, or are to be translated into them. The leaders of the Red Terror prattled of peace while they steeped their hands in the blood of the innocent; and many a tyrant has called it peace when he has scourged honest protest into silence. Our words must be judged by our deeds; and in striving for a lofty ideal we must use practical methods; and if we cannot attain all at one leap, we must advance towards it step by step, reasonably content so long as we do actually make some progress in the right direction.
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Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster.
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Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind.
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I have a perfect horror of words that are not backed up by deeds.
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I took the Canal Zone and let Congress debate; and while the debate goes on, the canal does also.
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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.
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Some men can live up to their loftiest ideals without ever going higher than a basement.
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The human body has two ends on it: one to create with and one to sit on. Sometimes people get their ends reversed. When this happens they need a kick in the seat of the pants.
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The man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic-the man who actually does the work, even if roughly and imperfectly, not the man who only talks or writes about how it ought to be done.
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The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.
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The unforgivable crime is soft hitting. Do not hit at all if it can be avoided; but never hit softly.
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When you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it.
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The canal was by far the most important action I took in foreign affairs during the time I was President. When nobody could or would exercise efficient authority, I exercised it.