WHAT IF YOU ACTUALLY KEPT YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS? For starters, you’d profoundly impress your family and friends. That’s because self- improvement is not easy. Most of us try and fail to lose weight, be better partners, get fit, get organized or fix our finances. We know what to do, but we can’t make ourselves do it. Consultant and philosopher Robert O’Connor puts a name on the elusive power to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. It’s gumption: courage, resourcefulness, and common sense in harness together. O’Connor shows how you can build your gumption in this inspirational, handy collection of practical life instruction sprinkled with maxims such as “Don’t confuse Easy and Magic with the work of real change”; “Put excellence before success”; and “Don’t lead with your wallet.” His advice is firmly supported by true-life examples of gumption-driven problem-solving success stories (e.g., NASA’s Apollo 13 rescue, Billy Beane’s Moneyball success, and Texas governor Ann Richards’ victory over political foes and alcohol). O’Connor draws lightly on his own failures and recoveries, then gives concrete ways to rewire destructive ineffective thought patterns. Not just a cheerleader, he’s careful to note that “Enthusiasm is not gumption” because, like good luck, it’s “great when you have it, but out – side of your control.” Sixteen compact chapters, some with worksheets, spell out how to cultivate what you can control (your character) and show how properly applied doses of gumption can root out fears, and head off destructive responses, and help you do what needs to be done
Rx: read every six months or p.r.n. This is a remarkable book. More a conversation than a lecture, it offers first-person stories that are helpful without being condescending, second-person insights that are instructive without being judgmental or patronizing, and third-person illustrations that will firmly cement your own memories to the points the author is making. If you want to arm yourself for your next run at your favorite gauntlet, you could spend a few years and a few thousand dollars on intensive psychotherapy– or you…
Improve Yourself, And Your Self-Improvement, Through Gumption I had the unique pleasure of meeting and working with the author, as my company was hired to record the audio version of this book. As a result, my first exposure to Bob’s concept of Gumption–courage, resourcefulness and common sense in harness together–was from the author himself, in his own voice.Â
Chapter-By-Chapter Summary of a Book I Got a Lot Out of The best way to start is simply to quote O’Connor’s introduction: “Gumptionade is an essay expressing a primary idea: Your happiness depends largely on what you choose to do – or not do – with the cards life deals you. Gumption is the power to play your hand well, to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done.”Â