“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. Nothing in life is easy. But that’s no reason to give up. You’ll be surprised what you can accomplish if you set your mind to it. After all, you only have one life, so you should try to make the most of it.”
― Louis Sachar

Gumption involves doing something despite the energy level, the resources, or in spite of obstacles. It is the idea that you are bound and determined to make something happen because you know it is the right thing to do or you have a desire to make it happen.  Moxy is an attitude; it is the little bit of spunk and resourcefulness that comes about from having gumption. The gumption gets you started, the moxy is what makes others take notice and possibly want to join in.

One of my favorite movies is “The Holiday.”  In the movie, Iris, the main character spends so much time pining for what she refers to as unrequited love.  When she finally realizes the love is just not going to happen, she contemplates several things and eventually decides to run away from it all.  She soon discovers a wonderful new adventure, but the most important thing is she meets a man that introduces her to a whole group of women from screenplays that have “gumption.”  This gumption leads to a whole new Iris, the Iris she was always meant to be.

This idea of gumption had me thinking of some of the great women I always looked to, and I soon realized that all of them not only had the quality of gumption, but they had this bold attribute of moxie and the traits of grace. What a powerful mixture and how could you not want a taste of that in your life!  Living a life of halves might look appealing to some and may even be the easiest path to take, but I cannot even fathom that way. I want to do great things! Despite all the odds, I want to make a difference and hopefully have a small amount of the shine that is present in those women. Hard road or path of least resistance does not interest me as much as being on the right road. If forging a new path is the way that leads to the right direction, then I am ready to climb that mountain, and I hope to do it with such moxy that others will want to walk beside me and pick up to take over if I lose my way.  The most important thing is, I hope to do it with class and grace.