This post has been updated.
I love entrepreneurs. I’m blessed to work in groups full of heartful coaches and consultants who bring their amazing brilliance from different walks of life to the task of building their coaching business. Interestingly, as different as they are, they have the same “garden variety” fears and their beliefs are always the only thing that gets in the way of success.
That’s about being human.
Getting stuck, breaking through, taking a leap of faith, and then… ah… evolving. That’s the dynamic cycle of human life.
For some, it’s like a game and they become facile at the quick leap. So what is it that those people have going for them? Is it super intelligence, advanced degrees, the best connections or being set up financially that results in success?
No, it’s gumption! It’s having the guts, the spunk, the chutzpah — to accomplish something against all odds.
My mom had good ol’ fashioned southern gumption. It got her through the Great Depression, navigated her through business school, moved her away from dustbowl poverty to a place she thrived near the Rocky Mountains that she loved. She put four kids through college against all odds and gave us all the advantages she never had – all by gumption.
And now I realize that it’s not my degree, certifications, knowledge or confidence that got me to where I am now. It’s gumption. (Thanks mom!) And that’s a relief because I can reach inside myself to draw on that strength over and over.
So… how about you… got gumption?