Professional keynote & seminar speaker using the wisdom & persona of Forrest Gump to inspire individuals and companies to self motivate and control own destiny.
The Sixties produced the Peace symbol.
The Sixties produced the Love movement.
The Sixties produced Rock ’n Roll.
I’ve decided to borrow the hippie phrase in a modified form – Gumption will replace Rock ’n Roll.
Why?
Peace, Love & Gumption simply describes the benefits one receives from living a gump-like life.
Here’s my thinking …
Last weekend my niece, Liz, married Scott.
Liz & Scott were married under the ‘chuppah’ – a wedding canopy. It’s a symbol of the home they will create.
It was a wonderful wedding in which two thoughtful human beings took responsibility for their own futures. Their union was witnessed and supported by the people who matter most – loving families and friends. I was honored to be one of those witnesses.
While I’ve attended many family weddings over the years, this wedding was special because it was my first Jewish wedding. Not only was I able to experience the ceremonial differences, I had the opportunity to confront my own prejudices and incomplete thinking.
I’m grateful for Liz, Scott, my family, and my new extended family – the world just got a little better.
And then Redneck had four chicks.
And then there were five.
In my last chicken update, I told you about Redneck being the superstar and hatching out seven chicks.
A few days ago, I closed the coop for the evening and Redneck had seven chicks … the next morning, she had only four chicks.
Where’d three chicks go?
What happened to them?
Did one of the other chickens decide they didn’t like all the little chicks around?
Did the cat sneak into the chicken coop?
Did one of the magpies who likes to visit the chick scratch snatch a chick or three?
It’s a mystery. Good thing I didn’t count my chickens while they were still only little baby chicks.
P.S. Thelma (or Louise) still has her one chick, so the total number of chicks is now five (from the original 24 fertilized eggs). See Part 1 here for the original story.
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Next Blog Date: June 25, 2012
Steve Weber is a speaker, Forrest Gump tribute artist, facilitator, blogger, and author. The three principles of Gumption are specifically designed to get you (and your team) to Function with Gumption. Steve uses the simple, yet powerful, life lessons from the movie Forrest Gump to bring positivity back into the workplace. Learn more at SpeakingGump.com.
Forrest wore lots of shoes
“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 … I’ve worn lots of shoes. I bet if I think about it real hard, I could remember my first pair of shoes … Momma said they’d take me anywhere.”
Forrest certainly did wear many different shoes. This chart shows some of those different shoes. Forrest’s shoes included football cleats, soldier boots, ping-pong tennis shoes, shrimp boat rubber boots, father loafers, and husband shoes. Plus the running shoes that took him across America –four times! Forrest wore lots of shoes.
Here’s the deal …
You too wear lots of shoes.
You too get to decide where your shoes will take you.
Here’s why …
A suitcase packed for your life journey should have a mix of light memories and future desires.
Do you remember Forrest Gump’s antique, cloth-covered, wooden suitcase?
Forrest’s suitcase was small in size, easy to carry, and contained a mix of memories and useful items. The memories included his ping-pong paddle and some magazines with Forrest and Lt. Dan on the cover. Useful items included his red Bubba Gump hat, toothpaste and a couple of pairs of socks. Forrest also brought along his favorite book, Curious George, which he used to press the feather between its pages.
Forrest’s suitcase contained the basic things a person would take with them on a short trip.
What if the trip was your life journey?
What if the suitcase was where you put your past memories?
What if the suitcase was where you put your future goals and dreams?
Here is my theory for the suitcase being the perfect metaphor for the things you take with you during your life journey.
The Rhode Island Red with her one very healthy chick.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my chicken-and-egg experiment. I had three broody hens sitting on eight fertilized eggs each.
Twenty-four eggs … twenty-four potential chicks.
Turns out if I were a baseball player, my .333 average would be considered pretty good. But like political polls, when you dig deeper into the data, the headline can be misleading.
In my case, I had one superstar, one marginal player, and one total washout. Here is the story.
What advice would Forrest give to today’s graduates?
The only time in the movie that Forrest gives a speech is at the Vietnam War protest in Washington, D.C. It was spontaneous. It wasn’t planned. It was just something Forrest said from his heart.
The irony is that the audience could not hear the speech because the microphone plug had been pulled. All they heard was Forrest’s ending, “… and that’s all I’ve got to say about that.” Abbey Hoffman was onstage with Forrest. He was obviously moved by Forrest’s words. He embraced Forrest on the shoulder and softly replied, “That’s so right on, man. You said it all.”
What if Forrest was to give a commencement address today? What would he say to the assembled group of graduates? What words of wisdom and Gumpisms would he share with the grads and their families? What advice would he give to those in the midst of their life journey who are transitioning from an educational life chapter to their next life chapter?
Here is my imaginary Gump Commencement Address.
Norman Rockwell’s Freedom Speech portrait is about intellectual honesty.
Forrest said, “A promise is a promise.” If we take integrity as a whole, it’s more than just keeping your promises.
While keeping your promises is clearly at the core of integrity, integrity is more than just keeping your word.
One important subset of integrity is intellectual honesty.
What does it mean to be intellectually honest with yourself?
Does the road you’re on ring true to you?
Forrest pursued Jenny over his lifetime. First as a friend. Then as his girlfriend. And finally as his wife and lover.
Pursuing Jenny rang true to Forrest. It wasn’t a burden. It was natural.
Forrest wasn’t distracted from his pursuit of Jenny by other girls. Girls who sat next to him in his home economics class were just classmates. Floozies he met on New Year’s Eve tasted like cigarettes. They didn’t ring true to Forrest.
When something rings true, it’s more than what lands next to you by chance.
When something rings true, it tastes good.
When something rings true, it sings to your heart.
My own journey has been a bit like Forrest’s journey.
406.396.4611 | steve@speakinggump.com 
Forrest Gump is a fictitious character created in the book Forrest Gump, Winston Groom (1986) and the movie Forrest Gump, Paramount Pictures (1994). Steve Weber has been a Tribute Artist portraying Forrest Gump since 1996. Although Steve Weber has worked for the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. under license as Forrest Gump since 1996, nothing herein is intended to imply sponsorship or affiliation with either Paramount Pictures or Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.
