Liz Forkin Bohannon is a kindred spirit to our IndyGrit.Community. Her recent book is entitled: Beginner's Pluck: Build Your Life of Purpose and Impact Now. Liz defines pluck as "spirited and determined courage." Sounds a lot like grit to me.
In her book, she defines pluck using her own story of spirited and determined courage in building a business in order to keep three young Ugandan women together, teach them a skill, and help them earn money for college. Liz modestly narrates her role in building Sseko Designs, a growing privately held company providing an online platform offering apparel and footwear made by women in developing countries. Her advice is summarized in 14 truisms that are oriented towards beginners, but applicable to all. Here they are:
1. Own your average
2. Stop trying to "Find Your Passion"
3. Dream small
4. Choose curiosity over criticism
5. Be on assignment in your own life
6. Find and replace
7. Surprise yourself
8. Get your steps in
9. Get hooked on making (and keeping!) promises
10. Be good with good enough
11. Stop, drop, and WOW
12. Dream to attract your team
13. Don't hide from the shadows
14. Walk one another home
Liz's writing style is informal, easy to read, and geared to young entrepreneurs. In my experience, some of her truisms are more peculiar to her personal journey and not as widely applicable as she presecribes. Nevertheless, she has a compelling story and I've added this book to my reading list for young entrepreneurs. In the weeks ahead, I'll share a few key points that resonated with me.