8. THEODORE ROOSEVELT: The Man in the Arena
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) is probably my favourite historic figure and this is my favourite quote. Roosevelt was a naturalist, ornithologist, cowboy, conservationist, ranchman, war hero, writer, hunter and politician. Growing up, Teddy was severely asthmatic, too scared to play outside and would instead spend all his time reading. Finally, his father told him to ‘man-up’ and overcome his physical frailty through will power and mental toughness. Theodore not only overcame his asthma, he went on to embrace what he called ‘the strenuous life’ – a life filled with physical activity, adventure and action. He had a fierce intellect as well, writing several books, mediating wars, winning political duels and oh yeah … he was President for 8 years too. Teddy has probably led the fullest and most action-packed life of anyone I’ve ever read about.
- This quote was only part of the speech Roosevelt delivered in Paris in 1910. It was reprinted in papers around the world and was later named The Man in the Arena and sold as a pocketbook.
- Fun fact 1: The Teddy Bear was named after Teddy Roosevelt.
- Fun fact 2: In his Ranchman days in the badlands of North Dakota, Roosevelt became good friends with Seth Bullock, who was the main character played by Timothy Olyphant in one of my favourite shows, Deadwood.
- This quote is the only one I’ve ever printed and stuck on my wall.
- Who’s the historic figure you admire most and do they have any great quotes that inspire you? Maybe I can adapt them into a Zen Pencil.
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Brilliantly illustrated. Would love to buy a print of this!!
Thanks Juli – prints coming soon!
Awesome comics! When will prints of these be available?
Today is one of the good days in my life. i landed in this very good website. Nice illustrations. made me think after looong time. I will follow regularly. Cheers
what a nice comment – thank u
These comics are really great! Would love some prints for my office!
prints coming soon!
What have you got against accountants??
I think its cuz its stereotipically* THE boring job.
I’m an accountant… and it really is boring!!
I bet there are accountants who climbed the everest. You are not your job.
Yes, you aren’t your job, And there are probably accountants that have climbed Everest.
But not *that* accountant who wanted to be an Astronaut.
This is my favorite Roosevelt quote as well Gav. I actually bought a portrait of him for my brother for Christmas. Thinking about buying one for myself, Ha! Really dig the artwork.
Really outstanding work. Is this your full time job?
If not it should be. How great to be able to get paid handsomely doing what you love. Your ork is great. Just stay on track.
Thanks Cam I will. I quit my job to work on this website.
You probably don’t know the amount of people you’ve inspired!
Good one!! Love the illustrations!
This quote played a big part in me deciding to quit full-time employment and become a freelancer, back in 2006. I managed five pretty great, successful years, and then one terrible almost life-ending year. Now I’m back into regular employment, older and wiser. I have known victory and I have certainly known defeat, but I press on into new arenas.
Hey Gav (nice name), sounds like you’re the living example of this quote
Awesome. Congrats on quitting your job to pursue your passion!
Your website is outstanding! Glad to have found it.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful work.
The badlands are in South Dakota, not North Dakota. No worries though, people always mix us up
But TR National Park is in North Dakota, also Badlands
Well, after looking it up, I feel silly. I guess North Dakota has badlands too. Who woulda thunk it
I’ve just checked out your art and I’m quite frankly feeling like the lightbulb has been reinvented. I LOVE the work of Teddy, even though I may fall into the Democrat spectrum myself. In a more personal note, I would love some MLK or Malcolm X. Not saying that its a must. But just some suggestions to keep in mind. PS: Please dont stop making this. It really does help a lot to understand this kind of quotes maybe a little too deep for those that dont have english has a first language such as myself. Thank you for this artwork. THANK YOU!
Glad you found the site Mario – def plans for MLK and Malcolm X in the future.
This is incredible! You can feel a torrent of intensity pouring out of the first everest frame, thanks, wonderful work…
Hi Gav,
I could not stop once I got on the homepage…
…and saw all your art and all beautifully written descriptions.
Must say…your work…marvelous !
Not only inspiring but also amusing, beautiful and informative.
And hence, commenting on your favorite post, especially !
Keep it up, brother !
Waiting for more awesomeness from you !
P.S. : If you could please en-cartoon great philosophers with simplistic approach like Miyamoto Musashi (Book of Five Rings), Chanakya, Niccolo Machiavelli (The Prince) and Sun Tzu ( The Art of War )…it would really be worth a try !
and yes…thanks in advance !
Good idea, i’m a fan of Musashi
Awesome Idea! Quotes from these greats would come to life in an illustration!
Your site has been my regular passtime since I discovered it about 2 weeks ago.
As an artist: I appreciate the ability to summarize a concept in a minimal frame of images;
As a thoughtful person: I am inspired by your choice of quotations;
As a multicultural being: I am thankful that you have a wide scope of intellectual background supported by imagery that incorporates cultural diversity;
As a fan: Thank you for not being completly politically correct and using my favorite forms or artistic communication.
I love you work – keep inspiring me!
Thank YOU Natasha for the lovely comment!
I found your site and started at #62.
I just love this quote, and I was hoping and praying you had done a cartoon of it.
It’s so perfect! Thank you!
=)
I am a tax accountant, and though most of the world think our work is dull, it’s not. It’s exciting and full of challenges. We are not a boring bunch. Hehe.
You are so friggin AWESOME!!! I am already in love with this quote, but I think it’s amazing how you extended Theodore’s words with your illustration. The astronaut dreamer and the mountain climber and everything. Go you for doing what you love and sharing it with the world!
your work is amazing. i love it. i love everyone of these. thank you so much. i am glad you escaped your 8 hour prison and can live doing what you love
LOVE your work.. can’t believe I haven’t found it before now.
You should really consider picking up a pinterest hover plugin (http://codecanyon.net/search?utf8=&term=pinterest) so that users can hover over your images and automatically pin to pinterest. I see a lot of your work on pinterest already, but this would definitely cause a huge increase. Just a thought.. keep doing what you’re doing. Your talent is amazing!
Thanks Jeff, you can pin to Pinterest using the share button next to the fb and twitter buttons
Right on.. I missed it but I see it now! Thanks!
You forgot to mention the time he was shot before a speech, proceeded with the speech with the bullet still there.
Right, and he said something like “It would take more than that to stop a bull moose!”
this one really speaks to me and i feel like the man he’s speaking of from time to time.
thanks for sharing, creating, inspiring and being inspired
Just discovered your site. Will be a life time subscriber. Thanks for all the fish
For being your favorite quote you totally misinterpreted it, or at least erroneously simplified it in your illustration. This is not what Teddy intended in the slightest.
no es el crítico el que cuenta, el que señala cómo tropezó el hombre fuerte o cuando el hacedor de obras podría haberlas hecho mejor.
el crédito pertenece al hombre en la arena, cuyo rostro está desfigurado por el polvo, el sudor y la sangre que se esfuerza valientemente. que se equivoca y se que corta una y otra vez, que conoce los grandes entusiasmos, las grandes dedicaciones y se pasan en una buena causa. quien a lo mejor, conoce al final el triunfo del gran rendimiento y quien en el peor de los casos si falla por lo menos falla atreviéndose grandemente
De modo que su lugar nunca estará en las partes de esas almas frías y tímidas que no conocen ni la victoria ni la derrota
you’re awesome gav
I’m a grown man and your stuff makes me cry. (not in a bad way)
Great comic. I love your work.
The factoid about how Teddy knew Seth Bullock is out of this world. I love Deadwood.
Your comics tend to make me feel really bad about myself, rather than motivating me
I’m a junior at a military school and my platoon sergeant taught this quote to our platoon of freshmen. They reacted really well to it. what an incredible leader, thanks for posting.