This is the Durable Dad podcast . I'm your host , tommy Geary . This show is going to give you the skills and tools you need to be a rock solid man for your work , your community and , most importantly , your family . Alright , what's up guys ? Today I'm just going to dive right in .
Today I'm going to read and reflect on the man in the Arena speech by Teddy Roosevelt , and it's a speech that is motivating . It was given in the early 1900s and people are still quoting it , using it as inspiration today .
I know that I get fired up when I listen to it and it's come up a few times with the guys that I coach , and my buddy , craig , named his podcast after the speech and I wanted to kind of explore it a little bit . So the first thing I'm going to do is I'm just going to read it , and it's actually not the whole speech .
Teddy Roosevelt was given a speech in Paris called Citizens in a Republic , and it was about growing a successful society , in a way . I read a little bit more before this podcast and it's pretty interesting , but what's really been pulled out of it is this part , and it's been called the man in the Arena . So here we go .
It's not the critic who counts , not the man who points out how strong men stumble or where the doer of deeds could have done them better .
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena , whose face is marred by dust , sweat and blood , who strives valiantly , who errs , who comes up short again and again because there is no effort without air and shortcomings , but who does actually strive to do the deeds .
The man who knows great enthusiasm , the great devotions , who spends himself in 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 fails while daring greatly , so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat .
So that's the segment of the speech . I want to take that and look at it through the lens of a man , a father in this world . I'll say real quickly I know there's women that listen to this podcast too . So this totally could be the woman in the arena , women too . This podcast I talk to the guys .
So guys , like I said before , this speech always inspires me and when I was thinking about doing this podcast I was kind of Lost , like why does it inspire me ? What does being in the arena look like ?
So I brought it to my workout group and this morning I let a workout and Towards the end of it I read this speech and I just asked them what does being in the arena mean to you ? What's an example in your life of being in the arena ? And the first couple guys brought up work and , I think , dad's men .
We do a really good job putting on that work face , diving in , being confident in the professional life that we have , and Then , when we get home , as being a dad , it's not always as easy and there's this Transition in between the two . They're both different arenas .
There's the arena at work and there's the arena at home , and this free class that I'm teaching is Talking about this transition and it what it looks like to go from your work mode to your dad mode , so that all that information is on the website . I'm not going to talk about the transition so much as what it looks like to be in the arena as a father .
And when I was at the workout this morning , this one dude brought up falling on his face with the arguments with his daughter . He was just like . I have these arguments that are very unreasonable . Between a 35 and 11 year old they shouldn't be happening . But they kind of keep happening . And he's still there . He's still showing up as a dad .
Being in the arena is a huge accomplishment . We can go all in 100% dad mode and it looks like being vulnerable and Acknowledge the lack of confidence you might have as a dad . Right , we have so much confidence at work outside of the home and then , when it comes to being a dad , we question ourselves .
I was talking to one buddy before I had kids and just asked him what it was like being a dad and he said I thought I would be a much better dad than I am and and that kind of landed surprised me . I think we get into being a dad and Think we're gonna have kids and it'll come naturally to me I can be a dad , and then that's not what happens .
So I just want you to notice what your brain is saying . You can even notice right now what's your brain saying . Where is it placing judgment on yourself on this speech ? Where are you telling yourself you're in the arena playing hard ? Where are you telling yourself that you could step it up ? And when are you sitting on the sidelines .
All right , we're gonna have some drinks , we're gonna eat like shit . Once in a while we're gonna skip workouts that's part of it . We're gonna yell at our kids . You know this guy that said I'm arguing more with an 11 year old and it's unreasonable . He's in the arena , he keeps showing up .
He knows that he messed up , feels a little guilty about it , but he's not gonna beat himself up into Spin of checking out and that part of the speech .
The man who airs , who comes up short again and again because there is no effort without air and shortcoming , and Instead of checking out or zoning out on your phone or pouring a stiff drink , you pay attention to your family . The man in the arena is the man who knows great Enthusiasm's , the great devotions , who spends his time on a worthy cause like .
The great Enthusiasm's are the small moments when you actually see your kid , when you Celebrate something with them , when you laugh with them , when you look them in the eye and you actually see them . Those are the Enthusiasm's , those are the exciting times .
You watch them work hard and accomplish something and get to feel proud of them , proud of yourself and that worthy cause that you're fighting for , I mean , nothing is more worthy than our families .
That is a cause the health of our family , the success of our family , driving our family to a place that we haven't been before , and we want to make our kids life , our family life , better , different than the one that we had .
And the way to get there is to continue to motivate ourselves and whatever that looks like , and if it's Reading a speech like this , like it is for me sometimes , then you know what it is and then you put that shit into action . So that's what I'm throwing out there for you guys . Appreciate you listening . I really really do .
These things about being a dad are such an awesome opportunity For us to have a really positive impact on the world . So , thank you , thank you for listening . Go to the durable dad calm , check out that free course that's coming up and have an awesome week .