The Work is What Counts

Hi everyone,

A week ago my Assistant Head of School, Mr. Damon, read a speech from Theodore Roosevelt to my class. When I heard this speech, I was moved and felt it was something I had to share.

In 1902, Theodore Roosevelt spoke to railroad men, praising them for their hard work under immense pressure. 

Hard working railroad men  

 The speech: 

“ The Work is What Counts”

Theodore Roosevelt

Your work is hard. Do you suppose I mention that because I pity you? No; not a bit. I don’t pity any man who does hard work worth doing. I admire him. I pity the creature who doesn’t work, at whichever end of the social scale he may regard himself as being. The law of worthy work well done is the law of successful American life. I believe in play, too - play, and play hard while you play; but don’t make the mistake of thinking that that is the main thing. The work is what counts, and if a man does his work well and it’s worth doing, then it matters but little in which line that work is done; the man is a good American citizen. If he does his work in slipshod fashion, the no matter what kind of work it is, he is a poor American citizen.

Theodore Roosevelt adressing the nation.

This speech is so great because Roosevelt shows the importance of working hard for your country. Personally, I love this speech because hard work is what’s going to carry us through life, support our families and give us self esteem. Hard work is vital to our society. 

Roosevelt emphasizes we not only should work hard but we should also play, and play hard. Working hard is important, but a mixture of working and blowing off steam is great to relax and to stop and smell the roses.

When I work hard, and try my hardest, I gain confidence and pleasure knowing I've completed a hard task. I like to reward myself by drawing historical maps, playing tennis or diving into a game of Empire Total War. 

This year my classmates and I must apply out to Middle Schools, which requires great grades, a rocking interview, and not bombing the ISEE standardized test.  Throughout this semester, I'll keep in mind Roosevelts words and work my hardest....and also give myself free time to PLAY HARD. 

Tell me in the comments what you're working hard on now, or how you like to reward yourself after achieving your goal. 

Thanks,

Emmanuel