“I want to see you game, boys, I want to see you brave and manly, and I also want to see you gentle and tender. Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. Courage, hard work, self-mastery, and intelligent effort are all essential to successful life. Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.” – Theodore Roosevelt
I count the opportunity to raise my boys, to encourage them into manhood, as one of my greatest privileges in life. We have succeeded as parents, and as a generation, if we hand over a world which has increased because of our stewardship. Conversely, we have failed if the world is diminished as a result of our presence and influence.
Roosevelt’s notion of the “strenuous life” is one which appeals to me immensely. Nowadays we might say “live hard and play hard,” but so saying draws an unhelpful distinction between work and play. Life is one thing. To live it strenuously, you must be willing to accept the challenge that life brings in every area of your living.
By this I do not mean that you have to try harder to overcome lethargy, bad habits or areas of personal weakness, in fact, I think we have the problems we have as individuals and as a nation because of all this trying, which is simply a manifestation of working harder and not smarter.
Life is inherently intelligent, coordinated and forever burgeoning. The key to building character rapidly, efficiently and sustainably is found in learning to let the stuff of life flow more freely through you in a particular area of function. In other words, you need to learn to let better and while giving up the arduous and often painful attempt to try harder.
We as a species have grown to be distrustful of life, despite its constant efforts to keep us in business. Life will come through if you yield to it, if you turn your back once and for all on the desperate attempts to control it. Life is trustworthy. Character flaws are nothing more than restrictions in the normal flow of life. Once the flow is restored, so too is the quality of character which naturally clothes that phase of life expression.
Gregory Hake 
Yes, I agree yielding to the expression of life looking to flow through us brings character and a successful life.
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The balance between robust challenge and tender enfoldment is a key one in the raising of balanced, capable children. As with so many seeming contradictions, these are two absolutely compatible qualities of experience. Sensitivity to the oscilations between these two vital poles is crucial. I appreciate your constant concern for this balance!
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Thanks for your very specific and inspiring words this morning Gregg. When you mention Character, it reminds me of the last fundamental to success that I personally discovered many years ago. Today I identify that as “Becoming More Valuable”; historically I identified it as “Working On Yourself”
Regardless of the title, when you scrape away the surface you find that in its most fundamental form it is the building of character. And this building of character is our, as individuals, responsibility. The lack of character is not something that we can blame others for but instead must take total responsibility for ourselves.
On the other hand, we can, as you mentioned you are doing with your sons, Gregg, offer a perfect example of great character in our own living so that those who we are responsible (our children, our employees, our employers etc.) for and to can be so inspired so as to raise their own standards and expectations of high character in their own living.
This is a lifetime project incidentally.
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Character flaws are often personal road blocks that create detours which alter our life opportunities. I don’t think we realize how much we miss, not so much by the road we didn’t choose but by the road that never opened as we lacked the character to even initiate that aperture. Building character is a lifelong pursuit that starts the day you realize it is a more powerful asset than education, privilege or intelligence. Wise people are those that protect this aspect and are always seeking those opportunities to invest in its expansion. Great post, thank you.
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I’ve enjoyed reading about Teddy Roosevelt. On the surface his life may have looked privileged but the facts were he dealt with physical limitations, tragic loss and myriad other complications just like everyone else. What I noted was his unabashed wiilingness to continue on to make a difference. His compassion and courage seemed to remain out front even with a political career. I got the feeling his strenuous life was to not cave in or dodge his responsibility but to allow for the best possible outcome by staying with it; being available for the solutions to come through his life.
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Great comment. You clothed the spirit of Gregg’s post today. Thank you! Your words can be posted as a specific example for our living.
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One of my favorite quotations by Theodore Roosevelt is “The best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” His life was an amazing revelation of this. I have often heard “Work smarter not harder”, but if the work isn’t worth doing in the first place it doesn’t matter either way. The “strenuous” life is the life worth living, doing the work worth doing. I love today’s post – such an exciting jump into the new week!
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great points!
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I think that most of us hold far to much in reserve, and for what? What are we saving ourselves for?
I have noticed that often the more you give of yourself, the more you have to give. Being miserly with your energy and with your time only makes it so your overall output becomes more and more diminished. It is only through pushing the envelope of your presumed capabilities that you find out actually what you can do.
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