It's the goal we all aspire to, the gauge we use to measure our accomplishments. But what is success…and how do today's young people learn about it, understand it and begin their journey?

President Theodore Roosevelt, in a speech delivered early in the 20th century just as 4-H was being established in the United States had this to say about success:

"There are two kinds of success. One is the very rare kind that comes to the man who has the power to do what no one else has the power to do. That is genius. But the average man who wins what we call success is not a genius. He is a man who has merely the ordinary qualities that he shares with his fellows, but who has developed those ordinary qualities to a more than ordinary degree."

To ensure that Alabama's young people have a chance to develop the qualities they need to be successful, we must invest in their future today. That's the story of 4-H in Alabama, a story of youngsters whose minds and lives are shaped by hands-on and minds-on learning through the many 4-H clubs, programs and activities.

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