Positivity

The Fine Line Between Persistence and Stubbornness

The past four years I?ve been steadfast in my goal to transform myself from a pure entertainer/marketer into a speaker/facilitator/consultant. I?m not fully there, but I?m well on my way.

So, have I been persistent or stubborn? The answer is yes. I?ve been both.

I?ve persisted in spite of opposition.

I?ve endured tenaciously.

I?ve insisted on reaching my goal.

That is persistence.

I?ve been stubborn in not listening to reasons ? I?m unreasonable.

I?ve been unmoving and fixed in my purpose ? I?m fixed.

I?ve been difficult to manage and refused to take no ? Don?t tell me, ?No!?

That is stubbornness.

As a society, we admire persistence.

Individually, we loathe stubbornness.

So consider this ?

Stubbornness that meets a goal is called persistence.

Persistence that falls short of a goal is called stubbornness.

Maybe the fine line between persistence and stubbornness is knowing how to bend.

Maybe the persistent are better able to adjust.

Maybe the stubborn just miss the mark.

Next Blog Title: Advice to Heed and Advice to Ignore

Next Blog Date: October 6, 2011

Five Steps to Function With Gumption

Five Steps to Better Function with Gumption

When you function with Gumption, you take 100% personal responsibility for your thinking, your getting things done, and your interactions with others. You give up excuses and blame. If we said, “Functioning with Gumption is like a box of chocolates,” we’d have to finish the saying, “you get to choose the exact chocolate that you want.”

Here are five steps you can take so that you will not only feel confident in your choice, but so you’ll also be aligning your life to function with Gumption.

Stories of Gumption ? My Father, the Family House, and Another New Chapter

stories-of-gumption
Stories of Gumption is a regular column that profiles individuals who admirably demonstrate Gumption as we define it. These are the stories of real people who exhibit gumption in overcoming personal challenges, and validate the spirit of Gumption during their journey. Let?s take inspiration from those who seize 100% personal responsibility and show us how to live a life that exhibits Gump-like character traits worthy of applause!

Historically, the elderly would stay in their homes until they died ? at least the fortunate ones. Oftentimes, they were forced to leave the family house and live out their remaining days with either caring relatives or in a nursing home. This unpleasant relocation became necessary when they reached the stage of life where caring for themselves was simply no longer possible.

The family home of 58 years sold as Dad moves to retirement community

The old house was filled with 40, 50, 60, or even 70 years of memories, antiques, memorabilia, and lots and lots of junk. Wading through all of the stuff, giving mementos to family members, finding charities to benefit from still usable items, and filling a dumpster with everything else was a job left to the survivors. That process, while potentially therapeutic for the memories, was a task more necessary than fun.

Thank you, Dad!

Thank you for doing today what we won?t have to do tomorrow … or in five, ten, or in seventeen years, three months, and twenty-one days when you celebrate your 100^th birthday. God willing, that is what we will do on your 100^th birthday ? celebrate all together!

This week, my father will complete the sale of the family house of fifty-eight years and move into a retirement community.

Today, I salute my father as a man who is still living his life with Gumption. At age eighty-two, he is making a bold move. Any time one starts a new chapter in life, it takes courage. Starting the closing chapters takes foresight and shows great compassion.

Thanks, Dad, for doing today what will make your next five, ten, or seventeen-plus years more comfortable for you, Amy, me, and my siblings. You are a man of Gumption. You are my hero.

Here are a few more of my personal thoughts about Dad, the family house, traditional elder care, and a new way for the elderly to care for themselves.

What Do You Do When Your Dream Comes True?

Jenny's-Dream-Had-Come-True — Jenny?s dream was to be a folk singer ? like Joan Baez

When Forrest sees Jenny playing the guitar and singing Bob Dylan?s Blowin? In The Wind in the sleazy Memphis strip joint, he says tenderly in a voiceover, ?Her dream had come true. She was a folk singer.?

So what happens next?

Jenny gets harassed by the guys in the front row, has a confrontation with Forrest on stage, ends up storming off the stage, flags down a passing truck, and asks the driver:

Jenny: ?Can I have a ride??

Driver: ?Where you going??

Jenny: ?I don?t care.?

Doesn?t seem like much glory in that dream coming true for Jenny.

Here is my take on dreaming, having your dreams come true, and most importantly ? living your dream.

How To Be Another Kind of You

Transforming from entertainer to speaker was Steve?s way of becoming another kind of you

In my last post, Jenny discussed her dream of being another kind of you. Forrest naively asked, ?Aren?t I going to be me?? Jenny replied, ?You’ll always be you, just another kind of you.?

Jenny wasn?t talking about an improved same-old-person. She wasn?t referring some new fancy clothes on the same-old-body. And she wasn?t talking about cosmetic changes like a new hair color or some make-up.

No, Jenny?s dream was about becoming someone with a new mindset and new outlook on living. A person willing to gets things done with moxie. A person resolved to take charge of her communications and interact graciously with others. Jenny was talking about a transformed you.

Here are six steps you can take to become another kind of you.

Gumption and Mindset

Forrest-Gump-Mindset — Forrest Gump had positivity at the core of his thinking.

Mindset is the way you regularly think.

Mindset is your overall attitude towards living.

Mindset is the intentions you take to the world.

Mindset is the mood you convey to others.

Mindset is the disposition you take in controlling your own destiny.

Mindset is your inclination to see things as either possible or impossible.

Mindset is your tendency to see things in their simplest truths.

People with Gumption?have a mindset that includes three key characteristics: positivity; possibility; and simplicity.

Today we?ll examine the three traits of a Gumption Mindset in more detail.

Positivity

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