The other day, I saw an interview between “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert and Nick Offerman (who will always be “Ron Swanson” in my mind).

They talked glowingly about the term “gumption,” even invoking a tale of self-starter Teddy Roosevelt, the former U.S. president who arguably was the embodiment of a can-do, take-charge attitude.

If you go to Dictionary.com and look up the term — which is in the title of a 2015 Offerman book — you’ll see such descriptions as “initiative,” “courage,” “resourcefulness,” “guts” and “common sense.”

After writing about half the stories in this issue’s special section and editing the other half that my colleague Nick Zulovich wrote, “gumption” may be the most accurate way to describe the common thread among this year’s Women in Remarketing.

These leaders are courageous folks. Their stories about resourcefulness in business decision-making, taking initiative and having the guts to not just overcome obstacles, but thrive because of them.

If you ever need a swift kick of motivation, consider just a few quotes from this year’s honorees:

• “More often than not, you will find these problems are truly opportunities to improve. So evaluate, make the best possible decision you can with the information present, never look back with regret, then move on to the next problem to tackle.”
   
• “My advice for those interested in the auto industry is to work hard every day and learn as much as possible to understand the work flow between people, businesses, departments, and automobiles.”
   
• “Problem-solving for me is tearing the problem apart, looking at each step, and then putting it back together again with specific goals, actions, results, and accountability.”
   
• “When I do something, I do it 100 percent. I may not win every time, but it will never be because I didn’t give it my all.”
   
• “Never stop learning and growing within your field; continue to push yourself out of your comfort zone.”  
   
• “Be confident. Walking into a full conference room or meeting hall with people you don’t know can be intimidating. Don’t be afraid to walk up to someone, offer a strong handshake and introduce yourself.”
   
• “After a challenging experience selling a vehicle on my own, I knew that a path to entrepreneurship — and specifically one in the automotive industry — was cemented.”
   
• “It was a great deal of work, but ultimately very worthwhile.”

And there’s many more inspiring stories of gumption within our April 15 Women in Remarketing issue..

President Roosevelt’s self-starting fortitude may be thought of as a lost art in this country, but it’s alive and well among these business leaders.

Congratulations to all of this year’s Women in Remarketing. It’s an honor for me to include your stories in our publication.