Who said “It is impossible to win the great prizes of life without running risks, and the greatest…”?

Verified

Theodore Roosevelt. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceTheodore Roosevelt — An Autobiography (1913)

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“It is impossible to win the great prizes of life without running risks, and the greatest of all prizes are those connected with the home.”
— Theodore Roosevelt
VerifiedTheodore Roosevelt — An Autobiography (1913) · evidenceRisk

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Theodore Roosevelt — An Autobiography (1913).

APA

Roosevelt, T. (n.d.). It is impossible to win the great prizes of life without running risks, and the greatest of all prizes are those connected with the home. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/36276-it-is-impossible-to-win-the-great-prizes/

MLA

Roosevelt, Theodore. “It is impossible to win the great prizes of life without running risks, and the greatest of all prizes are those connected with the home.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/36276-it-is-impossible-to-win-the-great-prizes/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Roosevelt, Theodore. “It is impossible to win the great prizes of life without running risks, and the greatest of all prizes are those connected with the home.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/36276-it-is-impossible-to-win-the-great-prizes/.

Related quotes

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
— Helen Keller
VerifiedThe Open Door (1957) This quotation is often contracted into: Security is mostly a superstition... Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. or paraphrased: Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. · evidenceDetails & citeRisk

More quotes by Theodore Roosevelt

“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”
VerifiedLetter to Henry L. Sprague (26 January 1900); this is the first known use of this phrase, which became a signature motto of Roosevelt's after he used it in a speech as vice president at the Minnesota State Fair · evidenceDetails & citePower
“The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight.”
VerifiedSpeech at New York (11 November 1902) · evidenceDetails & citeDuty
“Probably the greatest harm done by vast wealth is the harm that we of moderate means do ourselves when we let the vices of envy and hatred enter deep into our own natures.”
VerifiedSpeech at Kennedy Plaza, Providence, Rhode Island (23 August 1902), Presidential Addresses and State Papers (1910), p. 103. · evidenceDetails & citeWealth
“I don't pity any man who does hard work worth doing. I admire him. I pity the creature who does not work, at whichever end of the social scale he may regard himself as being.”
VerifiedRemarks to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen in Chattanooga, Tennessee (8 September 1902). · evidenceDetails & citeUnemployment
All 67 Theodore Roosevelt quotes →