Gumption
gump·tion
ˈgəmpSHən/
noun informal
1. shrewd or spirited initiative and resourcefulness.
“she had the gumption to put her foot down and head Dan off from those crazy schemes”
synonyms: initiative, resourcefulness, enterprise, ingenuity, imagination
My darling friend told me a story the other night, and with great glee,
she declared that she had displayed “gumption”!
We had watched the movie “The Holiday” together about a week ago.
Come to find out, it’s a Christmas guilty pleasure for both of us.
In the movie, two women switch homes for the holidays in order to escape
toxic relationships. The woman who travels from England to Los Angeles,
Iris, befriends an elderly screen writer from the golden age of Hollywood.
He advises her to watch several classic 1940’s and 50’s movies,
to witness all the old Hollywood heroines in action.
“They’ve got gumption” he tells her,
in a not so thinly veiled attempt to stop her from being such a doormat.
He tells her to become “the leading lady of her own life”.
Gumption is such an old fashioned word.
You don’t hear it used anymore.
It’s an oldie but a goodie.
I like it.
So…my friend tells me her story, where she surprises herself with her…
Gumption!
She is an actress who just recently moved to LA from Canada.
Apparently everything regarding submitting yourself, and getting a part,
is different there.
EVERYTHING must be done through an agent.
The freedom here in LA has made her absolutely giddy!
That, and all the sunshine.
She is submitting herself for tons of parts…and getting many!
I’m sure it’s her unbridled Canadian enthusiasm,
which must be as unique as a Unicorn sighting, or real boobs
to these casting agents.
Anyway…
While she was submitting her tape through the usual channels,
she saw the familiar name of a casting agent she had booked a recent job with,
and her PERSONAL email address…
Here’s where the plot thickens.
Her brain did all the self sabotaging back talk that all our brains do.
For chissakes! Don’t send your audition to her PERSONAL email!
She could:
1) get mad ( there goes that contact)!
2) get mad and tell you to loose this email address (yikes)
3) be silent, but never cast you again (very passive aggressively LA)
4) excuse your bad etiquette, but think you’re too pushy (gulp)
But my friend doesn’t want to live that way!
So her exuberance and her gumption prevailed,
and she hit send…
Not a half hour later, the woman responded so positively,
it was like something out of a Hollywood movie!
Of course she remembered her!
“you’re perfect for the part,”
“your reading was awesome,”
“I want to see you Friday!”
The moral of this New Year’s tale?
I declare 2014 the year of Orenda, otherwise known as gumption!
Surprise yourself!
Take that leap!
XoxJanet
