Gumption

Definitions: (1) initiative; resourcefulness; (2) courage; spunk; guts; (3) common sense; shrewdness

Derivation: Middle English, “energetic common sense,” “to understand”

Compatible Qualities: When you need to do a dirty job the other qualities you will want are: efficiency, focus, patience, and tenacity.

Quote: Our souls may all be equal in the sight of the Lord, but our gumption and ingenuity ain’t. So the results of man’s labor will never be equal. — Bess Streeter Aldrich (1881-1954) American author