Tuesday, January 5, 2010

An excellent reminder




be you critic or criticized. . . . .


"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so."
~One of the many brilliant writers at Pixar



"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
~Theodore Roosevelt

1 comment:

Christa said...

i know this post it old, and i read it when it first came out, but seeing it again while scanning i just have to say "amen!"

we went to see the Blind Side the other day for our anniversary, and cause i was curious, i read some of the reviews about it afterward. they just seemed so shallow and arrogant after seeing this moving, beautiful movie and it made me think of this post again. it's a good reminder to be less critical and more accepting.

i love a great quote. =)