That's what life is about: about daring greatly, about being in the arena.

Source: "Listening to Shame." TED2012. Mar. 2012. Conference Presentation. Additional Information: This quote by vulnerability researcher Brené Brown, from Brown's 2012 TED Talk on shame, is actually a reference to another quote, this one by Theodore Roosevelt:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, 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 and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, 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.

As Brown explains, the quote means that life is about being courageous, being brave enough to try our best, without being daunted by the threat of failure and the shame we associate with it. Watch the full TED Talk here: Brené Brown - Listening to Shame

“Listening to Shame.” TED2012. Mar. 2012. Conference Presentation.