Archived April, 2011

No Shortcuts to Success

Thursday, April 28th, 2011
Short-Cut-Road-Nic-McPhee

Photo by Nic McPhee

 

 

Thanks to mountain climber Ed Viesturs for inspiration on today’s blog. The title is a variation of his book titled No Shortcuts to the Top which I discussed in my previous post.

 

The overriding theme I took from Ed’s presentation and book is that taking shortcuts doesn’t work. All big endeavors take planning, patience, and persistence. And, you’d better be plenty motivated!

 

Taking shortcuts on the mountain can get you killed.

 

Taking shortcuts in business and life may lead to short-term successes, but you’ll compromise your chances for long-term success, and you’ll compromise your integrity along the way.

 

Television commercials continually spout instant success. Lose 20 pounds. Find happiness with one blue pill. Be admired. Be loved. Be the envy of the neighborhood … all without much effort. Social media gurus claim you can have instant success by simply following their six steps or easy formula. Our world of instant gratification is based on shortcuts.

 

Climbing a mountain takes time and lots of effort.

Succeeding in business is a process and takes lots of hard work.

Obtaining fulfillment in one’s life involves giving more than you take … day after day.

 

There are no shortcuts.

 

Have the shortcuts you’ve been taking produced the long-term results that you want?

What shortcuts are you currently taking that you know won’t lead you to your goal?

Are you willing to stop taking shortcuts?

 

 

Next Blog Title:  Lt. Dan Makes His Peace with God 

Next Blog Date:  May 2, 2011

 

Steve Weber is a Forrest Gump tribute artist, speaker, event maker, blogger, and aspiring author. He uses the simple, yet powerful, truths of Forrest Gump to turn meetings into events. You can learn more at SpeakingGump.com.

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Stories of Gumption: Ed Viesturs

Monday, April 25th, 2011

 

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!

 

Last Tuesday I heard mountain climber Ed Viesturs talk about his story. He has climbed the fourteen highest peaks in the world. These fourteen Himalayan peaks all exceed an elevation of 8000 meters (26,247 feet).

 

No-Shortcuts-To-The-TopEd’s quest took him eighteen years to accomplish. He went on thirty expeditions and reached the summit twenty times – including summiting Mt. Everest seven times. It’s a story of patience, persistence, and Gumption.

 

Today Ed continues to climb mountains, although with a different purpose than when he was singularly focused on becoming the first American to reach all fourteen peaks without the use of bottled oxygen. That quest, which he dubbed Endeavor 8000, is chronicled in his book No Shortcuts to the Top. It’s an exciting read.

 

Ed’s life story is one of Gumption. It’s more than just a story of accomplishment and persistence. It’s about presence of mind, integrity in the goal, the choices one makes, the adversity one faces, creating opportunities, communicating, and ultimately being receptive to conditions out of one’s control.

 

Here are some highlights I noted from Ed’s presentation.

 

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Traditional Gumption Defined

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

 

andertoons-spunk-gumption

 

For the better part of a year now I’ve been writing about and developing my theory of Gumption. Capital “G” and italicized Gump differentiates Gumption from traditional gumption. Today’s post is simply dedicated to defining gumption in the classic, traditional manner.

 

Traditional gumption has two general meanings:

  • Sound practical judgment
  • Fortitude and determination

 

Do you use gumption when making decisions?

Do you go about your business with gumption?

 

Here are a few traditional gumption synonyms, usage examples, and quotes. 

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Why do some see talent and others see only a ‘local idiot’?

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

 

Coach-Bryant-Spots-Talent

Some see what they've always seen, while some see talent.

In my last post I suggested that making your own luck is possible. And the chances of creating your own luck increase as you play, attempt, participate, and then attempt time and time again.

 

The example I used was Forrest being discovered as he ran onto the local high school field while the team scrimmaged. The legendary Alabama football coach Bear Bryant was in the stands and noticed Forrest’s blazing speed. Coach Bryant saw talent, potential, and an opportunity for his team.

 

The Greenbow High team coach only saw Forrest as the local idiot.

 

Is it a coincidence that one of the greatest coaches of all time was able to see talent while a small-town high school coach missed it?

 

Why do some see talent and others see only what they’ve always seen?

Are you wearing blinders to talent (and potential opportunities)?

What opportunities are running by you right now?

 

 

Next Blog Title:  Traditional Gumption Defined 

Next Blog Date:  April 21, 2011

 

 

Steve Weber is a Forrest Gump tribute artist, speaker, event maker, blogger, and aspiring author. He uses the simple, yet powerful, truths of Forrest Gump to turn meetings into events. You can learn more at SpeakingGump.com. 

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Make Your Own Luck

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

 

Bear-Bryant-Scouting-For-Talent

Was it luck that Coach Bear Bryant happened see Forrest run by?

 

The teenage Jenny yells, “Run, Forrest, Run!” as the bad dudes throw rocks and start chasing Forrest in their old pickup truck.

 

With the truck bearing down on Forrest, the hooligans throw more rocks. Forrest veers off into a field, leaps over a five-foot fence and onto another road. The taunting boys yell and hoot and pound on the pursuing truck’s roof. Forrest makes a right turn to safety onto a football field where the high school team is practicing.

 

The legendary Alabama football coach Bear Bryant is in the stands watching the scrimmage. He wears his trademark plaid hat. A group of assistant coaches sit around him, as is the local high school football coach.

 

Just as the quarterback throws the ball into the air, Forrest runs past the quarterback. The receiver catches the ball. Forrest runs past the receiver while an opposing player tackles the amazed receiver.

 

Coach Bryant stands and asks, “Who in the hell is that?” The high school coach snidely replies, “That there is Forrest Gump, Coach. Just a local idiot.”

 

And of course, Forrest’s legendary football career was born.

 

Was it simply luck? Or did Forrest make his own luck?

 

Here are four reasons why getting on the field of life is necessary if you want to make your own luck.

 

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Accepting Without Complaint

Monday, April 11th, 2011

 

ItWasABulletThatBitYou

"It was a bullet ... That jumped up and bit you.”

 

“It was a bullet, wasn’t it?” asked the man seated on the bench next to Forrest Gump as Forrest recalled the circumstances of Bubba being killed in Vietnam.

 

Forrest questioned the man, “A bullet?”

 

The man clarified, “That jumped up and bit you.”

 

Forrest’s reply, “Oh yes, sir. Bit me directly in the buttocks. They said it was a million dollar wound, but the Army must keep that money, ’cause I still ain’t seen a nickel of that million dollars. The only good thing about being wounded in the buttocks … is the ice cream.”

 

In that simple dialogue, Forrest shows us that accepting without complaint is much more productive (and healthier) than either accepting while complaining or the worst case – complaining and not accepting.

 

Here are five lessons we can learn from Forrest getting bit in the buttocks:

 

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I’ve Worn Lots of Shoes

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

 

ThoseLookLikeComfortableShoes

Forrest wore lots of shoes

 

In the opening dialogue of the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest starts a conversation with a woman in a nurse’s uniform as she exits the bus and sits down on the bench next to Forrest. He is mostly talking to himself, although she pretends to politely listen as she attempts to read her magazine.

 

Forrest says, “Those must be comfortable shoes. I’ll bet you could walk all day in shoes like that and not feel a thing. I wish I had shoes like that.”

 

The nurse retorts, “My feet hurt.”

 

Unflustered by the curt remark, Forrest continues, “Momma always says there’s an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes. Where they’re going. Where they’ve been.”

 

The woman stares at Forrest as he looks down at his own shoes.

 

He continues, “I’ve worn lots of shoes. I bet if I think about it real hard I could remember my first pair of shoes.”

 

The brilliance of this opening scene is that shoes are analogous to the different roles we play in life. The scene sets the stage for the many roles Forrest will play in his life. The movie is about to reveal those roles played, and the different shoes worn, by Forrest.

 

How many shoes have you worn in your life?

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Stories of Gumption: John Grabowski

Monday, April 4th, 2011

 

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!

 

“Have a good life.”

 

Those were the last words spoken to me by my late uncle John Grabowski. I visited him in his Philadelphia home on January 11, 2010. Just fourteen months later, he was gone after losing a painful battle with mesothelioma.

 

“Have a good life.”

 

Uncle-John-Six-Grandchildren

Uncle John and his six grandchildren

Those words shocked me as he closed his front door and I descended the steps toward the street. As I climbed into the car to drive off from my brief 30-minute visit, I wanted answers. What did he mean by that? My first thought was he was mocking me because I hadn’t seen him in years – I was marinating in my own guilt. I next asked myself, “Have I not been living a good life to date?”

 

I was making Uncle John’s departing words all about me.

 

Uncle John’s words lingered frequently in my thoughts over the next few days and weeks. Months later, I still remembered them exactly. “Have a good life.”

 

I came to realize those words were spoken in love from a man who knew he was dying. He knew we would never see each other again. He graciously and lovingly wished me to “have a good life.”

 

Now, how generous was that?

 

Here are few thoughts on why my Uncle John lived and died with Gumption.

 

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Practice Spirited Presence

Friday, April 1st, 2011

 

Forrest-Goes-To-Church

Forrest practices a spirited presence when praying for shrimp!

 

Gumptionable is a combination of conventional gumption with Gumption, and means being 100% personally responsible for your actions and interactions. Today we’ll examine the 2nd of the 7 principles of being gumptionable: Practice spirited presence.

 

And to complete the gumptionable series, here are links to all that’s been previously written about the other six principles: one, three, four, five, six, and seven.

 

From the original post on being gumptionable, Practicing spirited Presence is described as:

 

To be in the moment is to focus all one’s energy and attention toward a given activity. To do so in a spirited manner is the difference between lackadaisical and enthusiastic.

 

Using the other six principles of Gumption as a starting point, here are six ways you can practice spirited presence and become more enthusiastic (and less lackadaisical) in all that you do.

 

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