“There’s no such thing as a loser that wakes up at 5am everyday and works out.”

“My Peace is like a shaft of golden Light shining on you continuously. During days of bright sunshine, it may blend in with your surroundings. On darker days, My Peace stands out in sharp contrast to your circumstances. See times of darkness as opportunities for My light to shine in transcendent splendor. I am training you to practice Peace that overpowers darkness. Collaborate with Me in this training. Do not grow weary and lose heart.”

“If you are trying to decide among a few people to fill a position, hire the best writer. It doesn't matter if that person is a marketer, salesperson, designer, programmer, or whatever; their writing skills will pay off. That's because being a good writer is about more than writing. Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking. Great writers know how to communicate. They make things easy to understand. They can put themselves in someone else's shoes. They know what to omit. And those qualities you want in any candidate. Writing is today's currency for good ideas.”

Early in Roosevelt’s childhood, his father made a remark that would later become a mantra for the remainder of his life-

“Theodore you have the mind but you have not the body, and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should. I am giving you the tools, but it is up to you to make your body.”

Roosevelt applied these words to all things in life which not only allowed him to grow as an individual, but also pioneered a path for the United States during his presidency.

“His main interest was in training. He found rigorous exercise to be an excellent outlet for tension and stress. After a strenuous workout, he felt both mentally and physically lighter. What began as drudgery soon became a compulsion. Roosevelt would relish physical exertion, and he would use it not just as a way to keep the body fit and his mind sharp, but as his most effective weapon against depression and despair” 

Sickened after losing the election of 1912, Roosevelt decided to embark on a perilous journey to the ‘River of Doubt’ (now known as Rio Roosevelt) in the Amazon rainforest-

“Throughout his life Roosevelt had turned to intense physical exertion as a means of overcoming setbacks and sorrow and he'd come to the Amazon in search of that same hard absolution. Deeply frustrated by the bitterness and betrayals of the election, he had sought to purge his disappointment by throwing himself headlong against the cruelest trials that nature could offer him.”

“With only a handful of men he had set out on a self-imposed journey to explore ‘The River of Doubt’, a churning ink black tributary of the Amazon that winds nearly 1000 miles through, at the time, an unmapped and dense section of the Brazilian rainforest”

Roosevelt took his preoccupation with suffering and self-discovery so seriously he was willing to die during these endeavors. While impulsively planning the journey, he wrote to one of his friends-

“Tell Osborn I have already lived and enjoyed as much of life as any nine other men I know; I have had my full share, and if it is necessary for me to leave my bones in South America, I am quite ready to do so.” 

Roosevelt was 55 years old at this time, and still extremely dedicated to pushing beyond the limits of not only his body, but also his mind.

It is not ironic that most successful leaders, entrepreneurs, and pioneers have the same attitude toward physical exertion, suffering, and tribulations of many kinds.