Gumption Quotes

“Find out what makes you kinder, what opens you up and brings out the most loving, generous, and unafraid version of you—and go after those things as if nothing else matters. Because, actually, nothing else does.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“It’s amazing, the wool the people in power of any nation will try to pull over the eyes of the citizens if there’s a buck to be made. Unfortunately, human nature seems to allow this to occur regularly, out of laziness and ignorance. – Gumption”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“Human beings are not simple. We are, in fact, quite complicated. In recent American history, we have engaged in such contradictions as owning slaves, while declaring all people to have equal rights, while heading to church to pray for peace and tranquility, while dropping bombs on Middle Eastern nations to secure the oil we need to fuel our vehicles in order to drive to church. We're a mess, and we have to count ourselves as part of the whole, because we're all complicit.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“When our citizens are determined to openly wear pistols on their belts to go shopping at Walmart, that signifies to me a failure on the part of the macho ideal. Ostensibly, the handgun is displayed to let evildoers know, in no uncertain terms, that this is not a person with whom to trifle. It then follows that the wearing of the pistol presumes a situation in which the bearer will need to shoot someone, rendering the brandishing of the weapon a badge of fear, does it not? It occurs to me that if we keep on turning to such “masculine” methodology to solve our conflicts, the only inevitable ending is a bunch of somebody’s family lying in a bloody schoolhouse, movie theater, or smoking Japanese city. I guess we just hope it’s not our family? I don’t like the odds.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“For candidates to achieve any high office in our state or federal legislature, they are required to make loud, ambitious public promises during their campaigns, which can never be completely fulfilled, even by the greatest humanitarian intentions. Therefore, we’re starting off our relationship with each prospective leader on the wrong foot, a foot of mistrust.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“There are men who love out-of-doors who yet never open a book; and other men who love books but to whom . . . nature is a sealed volume. . . . Nevertheless among those men whom I have known the love of books and the love of the outdoors, in their highest expressions, have usually gone hand in hand.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“Consider Herbert A. Simon, a right sharp scientific thinker, who did his thinking most frequently at Carnegie Mellon, by which I mean this chap was smart as shit. Check out some of his smart-thinks: “In an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.” A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention. Slogan-worthy.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“Now, I know what you’re thinking: Isn’t this the guy who said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”? Well, not exactly. This quote has been somewhat paraphrased and hijacked by many of our nation’s craft breweries, and rightly so. It may be revisionist writing, but I for one am okay with it. What Franklin did write was, “Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.” Beer, wine . . . come on. Six of one, etcetera. He also coined the euphemism for drunkenness “Halfway to Concord,” which tickles me to no end. That, my friends, is fun with words.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“It always amuses me when any one group of people takes it for granted that, because they have been privileged for a generation or two, they are set apart in any way from the man or woman who is working in order to keep the wolf from the door. It is only luck and a little temporary veneer and before long the wheels may turn and one and all must fall back on whatever basic qualities they have.” This”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“Personal experience is the surest method by which one can determine the truth of a supposition, no matter how reputable the reporter, since so many experiences are subject to individual proclivities.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“What if we pagans happen to be the most Christ like Samaritans on the planet, but we don't believe in God?”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“Pay more, eat less”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“Wendell and Tanya and I spoke at length about one of his themes that drives me with constancy, that of “good work.” One aspect of this topic that I often regurgitate is his dislike for a society that celebrates the notion of “Thank God it’s Friday!” Taking this position, people are necessarily saying that they despise five of every seven days of their lives. He said he first noticed it when he was teaching college, that people would answer the question “How are you doing?” with “Well, pretty good, for a Monday.” This exposed a joylessness that filled Mr. Berry with concern. “It’s a great harbinger of what’s to come. If you don’t like the classes about what you’re going to do, you’re not going to like going to do it.” “More”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“I would also just like to point out that there are no scientists handing out any brochures on any street corners, hoping to convince people that their version of creation is actually true. The scientists are at the pub watching a sporting match of “footie” whilst enjoying a pint with their mates. The difference between their relative confidence and your uncertainty, Bible-brochure-hander-outers, is that they can prove the facts of science (to put it very simply), and you can’t prove the first phrase of your claims. Please think about that. Why do you suppose some guys who wrote a Bible had the “God” character in the Bible recommend that you convince all the other people to sign up for this program? What if we pagans happen to be the absolutely most Christlike Samaritans on the planet, but we don’t believe in God? Is that not okay with you? Think about it.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“would rather have people happy than sad and coping in some way, but to me the best thing— I don’t get to make the rules, but if I [did], everybody would work really, really hard at being okay with not knowing. Everybody would just put their heads together and hug each other and say, ‘We don’t fucking know.’ So let’s dance.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“I’m going to go ahead and assert that the vast number of Americans who claim to follow Christ and yet support actions like our imperialistic tendencies, including slavery, “internment” camps (sounds more gentle than “concentration”), genocide, “police actions,” torture, and “collateral damage” . . . well, you’re clearly full of shit.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“The older I get and the more I pay attention, life’s messages seem to reiterate: We’re all the same. We’re all in this together. Interestingly, sitting there in church, I thought of Tom Laughlin’s impact on my life, which made me think of John Lennon, who penned, “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“If the bravest protagonist is the one who lays down his or her weapon, then doesn’t our desperate clinging to our guns make us cowards?”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“Despite the rather puritanical tone of his guidelines, Franklin was still a lot of fun. I mean a lot of fun. I am heartened by his advice to set up an orderly, structured, and productive life, and then fuck around within that framework, ensuring that you engender mirth whilst remaining optimally productive.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“To succeed in life, you need two things:
ignorance and confidence. —MARK TWAIN”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“A part of human nature tends toward laziness and comfort, which is the part being so lucratively exploited by corporations, but there is a more noble part: the portion of the human spirit that revels, not in ease, but in having its capabilities tested. These estimable characters know the profoundest, bone-deep satisfaction of having themselves challenged by the world, and, relying only upon their human capabilities—their gumption—they not only win the contest, but they infuse those around them with the inspiration to shine as well.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“Play should never be allowed to interfere with work; and a life merely devoted to play is, of all forms of existence, the most dismal. But the joy of life is a very good thing, and while work is the essential in it, play also has its place.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“If you don't love your work enough to have a good time doing it then maybe you're showing up at the wrong job.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“Nature’s four seasons can be beautiful on the East Coast, but they’re lovelier by far if one is wearing pants.”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“For example, when George Washington was elected our nation’s first president, Madison wrote his inaugural address, as well as the House of Representatives’ congratulatory reply to Washington’s address, as well as Washington’s reply to the House’s reply!”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“Thus the great and hazardous enterprise we have been engaged in is, God be praised, happily completed. . . . A few years of peace, well improved, will restore and increase our strength; but our future safety will depend on our union and our virtue. . . . Let us, therefore, beware of being lulled into a dangerous security; and of being both enervated and impoverished by luxury; of being weakened by internal contentions and divisions.” Right?”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“All we can do is continue to unravel this intricate puzzle in which our patriarchs have ensnared us until everybody is earning a wage commensurate with everybody else. There will always be assholes, and there will always be saints, and both can oftentimes be found within each of us. If we can make things equal based on gender and race and creed, then we can be free to just focus on the asshole/saint ratio. My”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

“Let’s talk about pussy. Let’s also talk about balls. No, things are not about to get pornographic, I’m sorry to say, but hopefully they will remain juicy. There is a deeply encoded tendency in our society to describe negative concepts with female terminology, and vice versa. For example, in the sports locker room we might say to a weak team member, “Don’t be a pussy.” Conversely, should a woman distinguish herself, utilizing her talents and gumption, we might say of her, “she’s got balls.” I’m sure you can think of more examples—“Don’t be a little bitch,” for instance. (The same goes for “faggot” and “gay,” obviously, but that’s another chapter.) Every time this sort of imagery is utilized, it subtly but firmly reinforces negative gender stereotypes. This usage must be extirpated from daily use if we are to progress in a substantial way. We have enough trouble with the patriarchal foundations of the language to begin with, without worrying about our naughty bits being misrepresented. For example, a few paragraphs back, I accused Ms. Anderson of exhibiting showmanship, which is anatomically incorrect. However, that’s how the dudes who created our words set it up. We don’t have the word showwomanship. This is clearly bullshit. One”
― Nick Offerman, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers